Thus far the Lord has helped me

artwork by Krista Hamrick

Krista Hamrick’s beautiful artwork so inspired me that I felt led to do a word study of I Samuel 7:12…

NIV: Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”

AMP: Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and he named it Ebenezer (stone of help), saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”

CEB: Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer, explaining, “The Lord helped us to this very point.”

NOG: Then Samuel took a rock and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer [Rock of Help] and said, “Until now Yahweh has helped us.”

RSV: Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Jesha′nah, and called its name Ebene′zer; for he said, “Hitherto the Lord has helped us.”

What does Ebenezer mean? “Stone of help” or “Thus far the Lord has helped us” (I Samuel 7:12) One of the most catastrophic military losses in Israel’s history occurs when the Philistines capture the ark of the covenant at Ebenezer (I Samuel 4:1-11). About twenty years later (and after retrieving the ark), the Israelites engage the Philistines in another significant battle, only this time it is they who prevail (I Samuel 7:7-11). Unlike the first battle, in which the nation acts without consulting God (I Samuel 4:3), they choose to rely on divine intervention (I Samuel 7:8) and are rewarded with an improbable if not miraculous victory (I Samuel 7:10-11). This is a significant triumph as it marks the first time in the nation’s history that they defeat the Philistines. Samuel, Israel’s last judge, first prophet and de facto leader, commemorates the occasion by erecting a monument which he names: “Ebenezer” (I Samuel 7:12). Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” (I Samuel 7:12) Israel now has a new religious symbol, a boundary with both geographic and spiritual meaning. Samuel sought to keep the memory of God’s deliverance current in Israel’s mind. He wanted Israel to remember the past and be thankful for God’s help. Remembering God’s help in the past also encourages hope for the future, and hope sustains faith.

As a part of Beth Moore’s Believing God Bible Study, which I completed several years ago, we were asked to complete a timeline of our life in ten-year segments, asking God to reveal to us all the spiritual mile-markers in our lives: broken places, hurts, disappointments, accomplishments, and joyful times--to help us see that God had been there all along and that His grace is sufficient. God has used this timeline process to heal me in so many ways. I learned the Hebrew concept of time is like a person rowing a boat. We see where we have been, we back into the future. I can clearly see that God has been there with me all along. I am not stuck in the past, I am rowing into the future, moving forward, proactive, with my focus, my mindset, on God, who is sovereign. He sees the past, the present, and the future all-at-once.

In the Believing God Bible Study, Beth Moore writes: “Ebenezer means “stone of help.” As we walk out the remainder of our timeline of faith, let’s keep memorializing God’s obvious interventions and spiritual markers through stones of remembrance. In the meantime, by faith, let’s walk with a (figurative) stone in our hand as an “Ebenezer” until we see the next astonishing evidence or spiritual marker and lay it on our timeline. You see, the “Ebenezer” stone constantly reminds us, “Thus far the LORD helped us.” In other words, with God’s help we’re making it so far, and we’ll make it some more.” Christ has taught me to live one day at a time, depending on Him alone to “give me this day my daily bread.” I can remember in the early days of getting through the withdrawal of addictive sin that I’d seek Him in the morning, then live on His sufficiency until noon. Then until dinner. Then until bedtime. Then the worst time of all: the black of the long night. Sometimes I’d sleep with my Bible open on my chest. Other times I literally slept with it open on my forehead because I knew that my biggest problem was my broken mind. I begged God to help me make it without turning back. How I pray I will never again look at life from the bottom of a pit, but all I know for sure is this: “Thus far the LORD has helped me.” With the writer of the familiar hymn, I too can sing:

 Here I raise my Ebenezer; Hither by Thy great help I’ve come; And I hope, by Thy good pleasure, Safely to arrive at home. Jesus sought me when a stranger, Wandering from the fold of God; He, to rescue me from danger, Interposed His precious blood; O to grace how great a debtor Daily I’m constrained to be! Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, Bind my wandering heart to Thee. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love; Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above.

"I want you to picture picking up a stone from the ground presently beneath your feet, raising it high, and proclaiming, “Thus far the LORD has helped me.” And He’ll help you again tomorrow, the next day, and the next. If you tumble into unbelief, cry out to God, reach around you for another Ebenezer stone, stand back to your feet, and start walking again. Never forget that long-term victory happens one day at a time.”

My daily prayer using the Believing God Bible Study Five Statement Pledge of Faith:

1.               God is who He says He is.

2.               God can do what He says He can do.

3.               I am who God says I am.

4.               I can do all things through Christ

5.               God's Word is alive and active in me.
I'm Believing God.

God is Who He says He is.

You are Jehovah Ra’ah, You are my Shepherd, I lack nothing. You make me lie down in green pastures, You lead me beside the still waters. You restore my soul. You lead me in the path of righteousness for Your name’s sake. Even when I walk THROUGH the valley of the SHADOW of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your Staff, your Holy Spirit and Your Word, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  

SEVEN NAMES OF GOD	PAIRED WITH PSALM 23:1-6
JEHOVAH-RA’AH The Lord, my shepherd (Psalm 23:1)	The LORD is my shepherd;
JEHOVAH-JIREH The Lord, my provider (Genesis 22:14)	I shall not want.
JEHOVAH-SHALOM The Lord, our peace (Judges 6:24)	He makes me to lie down in green pastures: he leads me beside the still waters.
JEHOVAH-RAPHA The Lord, my healer (Exodus 15:26)	He restores my soul:
JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU The Lord, our righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6)	He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
JEHOVAH-SHAMAH The Lord, ever-present (Ezekiel 48:35)	Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
JEHOVAH-NISSI The Lord, our banner (Exodus 17:15)	Thou prepares a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
JEHOVAH-RAPHA The Lord, my healer (Exodus 15:26)	Thou anoints my head with oil; my cup runs over.
JEHOVAH-JIREH The Lord, my provider (Genesis 22:14)	Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

God can do what He says He can do. Nothing is impossible for You, Lord Jesus, Absolutely Nothing!  I am casting all my cares upon You because You care for me. Supply the needs I have today to know You and believe You, to glorify You, to find my satisfaction in You, to experience Your peace, and enjoy Your presence...

Five Key Benefits God Intends for His Children	Obstacles which stand in the way of the Five Key Benefits God Intends for His Children
To Know God and Believe Him	Unbelief—I pray to roll away the obstacle of unbelief which is revealed in my doubt, fear, worry, and discouragement.
To Glorify God	Pride—I pray to roll away the obstacle of pride which is self-absorption, whether I am absorbed with how wonderful I am or how miserable I am. Forgive my self-focus. Worship is focus, help me focus on Jesus Christ alone.
To Find Satisfaction in God	Idolatry—I pray to roll away the obstacle of idolatry which is putting anything ahead of or instead of Jesus Christ.
To Experience God’s Peace	Prayerlessness—I pray to roll away the obstacle of praylessness. Prayerless lives are powerless lives; prayerful lives are powerful lives. Peace is the fruit of authority—let the peace of Christ rule. Christ brings His peace where He is Prince—the Prince of Peace.
To Enjoy God’s Presence	Legalism—I pray to roll away the obstacle of legalism with a heart which desires an intimate, personal relationship with my Lord Jesus Christ, not rules, regulations, and religion.

I am who God says I am. In Christ, I am blessed with every spiritual blessing, accepted in the Beloved Son of God, adopted as a child of the King, chosen before the foundation of the world, redeemed by the blood of Christ, forgiven by His grace, loved with an everlasting love and underneath are the everlasting Arms, a love that will not let me go. 

I can do ALL things through Christ Who gives me strength. Lord Jesus, I cannot do this, but You can!  Won’t You give me Your smile?

God’s Word is alive and active in me...I’m Believing God.

During my study of scripture, I came to a place in my life where I wanted, more than anything else, to love God more. I began to pray, Lord, I want to delight in you! God is so inconceivably good. He’s not looking for perfection. He already saw it in Christ. He’s looking for affection. That’s why every lasting change will invariably be a change of heart. He’ll even supply the heart, if we’ll ask Him.

Lord Jesus, give me a heart which longs to be a planting of the Lord for the display of Your splendor. Give me a heart which yearns for Your Presence, a yearning for You that draws me over and over into Your Presence, a yearning that makes only a few days without time in prayer and Your Word seem like an eternity. Give me a heart which is motivated first and foremost by a desire for You, not for what You can do for me, but a yearning for Your Presence. Give me a heart that wants You more than anything else You could give, to love You and know You more than anything in life. Give me a heart that takes what You have made known to me and makes You re-known to everyone else, a heart that makes Your name and renown the desire of my heart. Give me a heart to feel Your Holy Spirit woo me once again to the place where I meet You. In the simplicity of my prayer time, give me a heart to be suddenly confronted by the majesty of my Redeemer—the One Who is responsible for any good in me. Lord, each morning, give me a heart that seeks Your forgiveness for past sins, and welcomes Your fresh mercies which fall like manna from Heaven, and once again move my heart. I surrender all. Morning after morning.

The verdict is final. The case is never going to be re-tried—irrevocable. On that we can rest—we are justified on the basis of the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. It is a blessing to know that I am, right now, under the completely sufficient imputed righteousness of Christ. Because I have placed my trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ, I am redeemed by His precious blood. The threat of failure, judgment, and condemnation has been removed. Knowing that God’s love for me and approval of me will never be determined by my performance is the most encouraging promise to which I cling.

Lord Jesus, thank You for the free gift of salvation, that we are justified on the basis of Your finished work on the Cross. Thank You that, right now, we are under the completely sufficient imputed righteousness of Christ. Because we have placed our trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ, we are redeemed by Your precious blood. The threat of failure, judgment, and condemnation has been removed. Knowing that God’s love for us and approval of us will never be determined by our performance is the most encouraging promise to which we cling. We love You, Lord. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

Look up – Meditate on I Samuel 7:12. Pray to see what it reveals about the character of God.

Look in – Meditate on I Samuel 7:12. Pray to see how you might apply it to your life. Be propelled to ask galvanizing questions about your discoveries: “Because God is ______________, I will ______________.”

Look out – Meditate on I Samuel 7:12. Pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others. Let the nature of God impact on every relationship, for your good, and for His glory.

* If you liked this post, you’ll love this book – Name Above All Names Devotional: Focusing on 26 Alphabetical Names of Christ

Speak, Lord, Your servant hears

artwork by Krista Hamrick

When I saw Krista Hamrick’s beautiful artwork depicting young Samuel’s response to the Lord, I felt led to do a word study based on I Samuel 3:10:

AMPC: And the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, Samuel! Samuel! Then Samuel answered, Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.

ICB: The Lord came and stood there. He called as he had before. He said, “Samuel, Samuel!” Samuel said, “Speak, Lord. I am your servant, and I am listening.”

NCV: The Lord came and stood there and called as he had before, “Samuel, Samuel!” Samuel said, “Speak, Lord. I am your servant and I am listening.”

WYC: And the Lord came, and stood, and called as he had called the second time (and called to him as he had called the other times, saying), Samuel, Samuel. And Samuel said, Speak thou, Lord, for thy servant heareth.

Hear (shama) means to hear, to listen. Webster's on "listen" = to hearken; to give ear; to attend closely with a view to hear. To obey; to yield to advice; to follow admonition. Since hearing/listening are often closely linked to obedience, shama is translated obey or to understand. KJV translates shama "hearken" a word which means to give respectful attention. Shama means “to hear intelligently and attentively and respond appropriately." The most famous use is the so-called "Shema" in Dt 6:4 “Hear, (a command, in the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures, the Septuagint states, "present imperative - habitually, continually.") O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!"  “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

The greatest significance of the use of shama is that of relation of man to God, especially where the context speaks of obedience. Obedience is the supreme test of faith and reverence for God. The Old Testament conception of obedience was vital. It was the one important relationship which must not be broken. While sometimes this relation may have been formal and cold, it nevertheless was the one strong tie which held the people close to God.  

Pastor Charles W. Spurgeon writes: “The child Samuel was favored above all the family in which he dwelt. The Lord did not speak by night to Eli, or to any of Eli’s sons. In all that house, in all the rows of rooms that were round about the tabernacle where the ark of the Lord was kept, there was not one except Samuel to whom Jehovah spoke! The fact that the Lord should choose a child out of all that household, and that He should speak to him, ought to be very encouraging to you who think yourself to be the least likely to be recognized by God. Are you so young? Yet, probably, you are not younger than Samuel was at this time. Do you seem to be very insignificant? Yet you can hardly be more so than was this child of Hannah’s love! Have you many troubles? Yet you have not more, I daresay, than rested on young Samuel, for it must have been very hard for him while so young a child, to part from his dear mother, to be so soon sent away from his father’s house, and so early made to do a servant’s work, even though it was in the house of the Lord!

“Speak, Lord.” Oh, how often has our heartfelt this desire in the form of a groaning that cannot be uttered! “Lord, I want to know You! You are behind a veil, and I cannot come to You. I know that You are, for I see Your works, but, oh, that I could get some token from Yourself, if not for my eyesight, yet at least for my heart!” When the Lord said to the child, “Samuel, Samuel,” it was a distinct, personal call. All who have heard the gospel preached have been called to some extent. The Word of God calls every sinner to repent and trust the Savior, but that call brings nobody to Christ unless it is accompanied by the special effectual call of the Holy Spirit! When that call is heard in the heart, then the heart responds! The general call of the gospel is like the common “cluck” of the hen which she is always giving when her chickens are around her. But if there is any danger impending, then she gives a very peculiar call—quite different from the ordinary one—and the little chicks come running as fast as ever they can, and hide for safety under her wings! That is the call we need—God’s peculiar and effectual call to His own! And I would, if I could, put into the heart and mouth of each person now present this prayer, “Speak, Lord, speak to me. Call me. When You are calling this one and that, Lord, call me with the effectual call of Your Holy Spirit! Be pleased so to call me that, when I hear You saying, ‘Seek you My face,’ my heart may say unto You, ‘Your face, Lord, will I seek.’”

Do pray this prayer—“Speak, Lord.” If you will not, it shall always be my prayer. I would seek the presence of my God and cry, “As the heart pants after the water brooks, so pants my soul after You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God! When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say to me, Where is your God?” But when my heart can answer, “Here He is! He is with me.”

“Speak, Lord.” I have known the time—and so have some of you—when one word of His has saved us from a grievous fall. A text of Scripture has stopped us when our feet had almost slipped. A precious thought has helped us when we were ready to despair, and when we could not tell what to do. One word out of the inspired Book, applied to the soul by the Holy Spirit, has made a plain path before us, and we have been delivered from all our difficulties! I commend to you, then, very earnestly, the personal prayer of the soul desiring: “Speak, Lord.”

“But how does the Lord speak?” someone asks. That is a very important question. I know that He has many ways of speaking to the hearts of His people. We do not expect to hear audible words. It is not by sense that we live—not even by the sense of hearing—but by faith. We believe, and so we apprehend God!

God often speaks to His children through His works. Are there not days when the mountains and the hills break forth before us into singing, and the trees of the field clap their hands because God is speaking by them? Do you not lift up your eyes to the heavens at night and watch the stars, and seem to hear God speaking to you in the solemn silence? That man who never hears God speak through His works is, I think, hardly in a healthy state of mind. Why, the very beauty of spring with its promise, the fullness of summer, the ripeness of autumn, and even the chilly blasts of winter are all vocal if we have but ears to hear what they say!

God also speaks to His children very loudly by His providence. Is there no voice in affliction? Has pain no tongue? Has the bed of languishing no eloquence? The Lord speaks to us, sometimes, by bereavement—when one after another has been taken away, God has spoken to us. The deaths of others are for our spiritual life—sharp medicine for our soul’s health. God has spoken to many a mother by the dear babe she has had to lay in the grave. And many a man has, for the first time, listened to God’s voice when he has heard the passing bell that spoke of the departure of one dearer to him than life itself. God speaks to us, if we will but hear, in all the arrangements of providence both pleasant and painful. Whether He caresses or chastises, there is a voice in all that He does.

The Lord speaks to us chiefly through His Word. Oh, what converse God has with His people when they are quietly reading their Bibles! There, in your still room, as you have been reading a chapter, have you not felt as if God spoke those words straight to your heart then and there? Has not Christ Himself said to you, while you have been reading His Word, “Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in Me”? The text does not seem to be like an old letter in a book, rather is it like a fresh speech, newly spoken from the mouth of the Lord to you. It has been so, dear friends, has it not?

Then there is His Word as it is preached. It is delightful to notice how God speaks to the heart while the sermon is being heard—yes, and when the sermon is being read. I am almost, every day, made to sing inwardly as I hear of those to whom I have been the messenger of God. And my Lord has many messengers, and He is speaking by them all! There was one man, who had lived a life of drunkenness and impurity, and had even shed human blood with his bowie knife, or his revolver, yet he found the Savior, and became a new man! And when he died, he charged one who was with him to tell me that my sermon had brought him to Christ! “I shall never tell him on earth,” he said, “but I shall tell the Lord Jesus Christ about him when I get to heaven.” It was by a sermon, read far away in the backwoods, that this great sinner was brought to Christ! But it is not only in the backwoods that the Lord blesses the preached Word, it is here, it is everywhere where Christ is proclaimed! If we preach the gospel, God gives a voice to it, and speaks through it. There is a kind of incarnation of the Spirit of God in every true preacher—God speaks through him. Oh, that men had but ears to hear! But, alas, alas, too often they hear as if it were of no importance! And the Lord has to say to His servant as He said to Ezekiel, “Lo, you are unto them as a very lovely song of one that has a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear your words, but they do them not.” Oh, that each one of our hearers always came up to the sanctuary with this prayer in his heart, and on his lips, “Speak, Lord, by Your servant; speak right down into my soul.”

The Lord has a way of sometimes speaking to the heart by His Spirit—I think not usually apart from His Word—but yet there are feelings and emotions, tenderness and trembling, joys and delights which we cannot quite link with any special portion of Scripture laid home to the heart, but which seem to steal upon us unawares by the direct operation of the Spirit of God upon the heart. You who know the Lord must sometimes have felt a strange delight which had no earthly origin. You have, perhaps, awakened in the morning with it, and it has remained with you. A little while after, you have had some severe trial, and you realize that the Lord had spoken to you to strengthen you to bear the affliction! At other times you have felt great tenderness about some one individual, and you have felt compelled to pray, and perhaps to go for some miles to speak a word to that individual. And it turned out that God meant to save that person through you, and He did! I think we are not half as mindful as we ought to be of the secret working of the Holy Spirit upon the mind.

I remember George Muller sweetly saying, “When you come to your time for devotion, if you cannot pray, do not try. If you cannot speak with God, do not try. Let God speak with you. Open your Bible and read a passage.” If you cannot speak to God, let God speak to you. It is also true communion with the Lord, sometimes, just to sit still, look up and say nothing. But just, “in solemn silence of the mind,” find your heaven and your God. “Speak, Lord; for Your servant hears. I have prayed to You; I have told You my grief, and now I am just sitting still to hear if You have anything to say to me. I am all ears and all heart. If You will command me, I will obey. If You will comfort me, I will believe. If You will reprove me, I will meekly bow my head. If You will give me the assurance of Your love, my heart shall dance at every sound of Your voice. Only speak, Lord; for Your servant hears.”

Listening does not come as naturally to many of us as it did to young Samuel. In fact, listening isn’t what we do best. We much prefer to do the talking! It has been estimated that the average woman spends one-fifth of her life talking and speaks about three thousand words a day. For men, the number is less, but not significantly. Yet if we want miracles in our lives and in our loved ones’ lives, if we want God to direct our steps, we need to listen to God’s leading and follow it. The good news is that hearing God isn’t a special privilege reserved only for pastors, priests, or seminary graduates. It’s not just for those who are highly intelligent or especially gifted. You don’t even have to be a grown-up to hear God. Even children, such as Samuel was, can hear the voice of the Lord if their hearts are willing, humble, and receptive. God has many things to say to you and wants to bless your life with direction and purpose as you hear his voice and follow. All it takes is a listening heart. Ask God to help you tune in to his Spirit’s leading today.

Lord Jesus, quiet my heart so that I can hear you. Remove any distractions that would keep me from being open and attentive to what your Spirit might be impressing on my heart and mind. Please make me humble and receptive and willing to answer obediently when you call on me. Your servant is listening. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen

Take a few moments to listen to his beautiful rendition of Amazing Love/Word of God Speak by Guy Penrod.


Look Up—meditate on I Samuel 3:10 … pray to see what it reveals about the character of God.

Look In—as you meditate on I Samuel 3:10 … pray to see how you might apply it to your life. Be propelled to ask galvanizing questions about your discoveries: "Because God is_________, I will_____________."

Look Out—as you meditate on I Samuel 3:10 …pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others. Let the nature of God impact on every relationship, for your good, and for His glory.

 

 * If you liked this post, you’ll love this book – Name Above All Names Devotional: Focusing on 26 Alphabetical Names of Christ

 

Weekly LinkUps…

the Lord looks on the heart...

As I pondered this beautiful work of art by Krista Hamrick and her heart-felt prayer..."Lord, when You look inside my heart, I hope all You see is YOU!"…I felt led to do a word study of the word heart from 1 Samuel 16:7…

Amplified: ... "for the Lord sees not as a man sees, man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

The word heart, kardia, does not refer to the physical organ, but is always used figuratively in Scripture to refer to the seat and center of human life. The heart is the center of the personality, and it controls the intellect, emotions, and will.

Kardia gives us medical terms such as cardiac, cardiovascular, etc. Just as the integrity of our physical heart is vital to our physical life, in a similar and even more important way the integrity of our spiritual heart is vital to our spiritual life, for our spiritual life impacts not just our enjoyment of time, but of eternity.

While kardia does represent the inner person, the seat of motives and attitudes, the center of personality, in Scripture it represents much more than emotion, feelings. It also includes the thinking process and particularly the will. For example, in Proverbs we are told, “As (a man) thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). Jesus asked a group of scribes, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts?” (Matthew 9:4). The heart is the control center of mind and will, as well as emotion.

The Scottish writer John Eadie writes, “The “heart” belongs to the “inner man,” is the organ of perception as well as of emotion; the centre of spiritual as it is physically of animal life.”

Biblical scholar W.E. Vine writes that kardia “came to denote man’s entire mental and moral activities, and to stand figuratively for the hidden springs of the personal life, and so here signifies the seat of thought and feeling.”

Pastor John MacArthur commenting on kardia writes, “While we often relate heart to the emotions (e.g., “He has a broken heart”), the Bible relates it primarily to the intellect (e.g., “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders,” Matt 15:19). That’s why you must “watch over your heart with all diligence”  (Proverbs 4:23). In a secondary way, however, heart relates to the will and emotions because they are influenced by the intellect. If you are committed to something, it will affect your will, which in turn will affect your emotions.”

Pastor Marvin R. Vincent writes, “Kardia is the central seat and organ of the personal life of man regarded in and by himself, Hence it is commonly accompanied with the possessive pronouns, my, his, thy, etc.”

Pastor Robert Haldane states, “Christian obedience is obedience from the heart in opposition to an obedience which is by constraint. Any attempt at obedience by an unconverted man, is an obedience produced by some motive of fear, self–interest, or constraint, and not from the heart. Nothing can be more convincing evidence of the truth of the Gospel than the change which it produces on the mind of the believer. Nothing but almighty power could at once transform a man from the love of sin to the love of holiness.”

Heavenly Father, I am so grateful that when You look at me, You see my heart covered by the blood of Jesus...Thank You for giving me a heart which yearns for Your Presence, a yearning for You that draws me over and over into Your Presence, a yearning that makes only a few days without time in prayer and Your Word seem like an eternity. Thank You for giving me a heart which is motivated first and foremost by a desire for You, not for what You can do for me, but a yearning for Your Presence. Thank You for giving me a heart that wants You more than anything else You could give, to love You and know You more than anything in life. Thank You for giving me a heart that takes what You have made known to me and makes You re-known to everyone else, a heart that makes Your name and renown the desire of my heart. Thank You for giving me a heart to feel Your Holy Spirit woo me once again to the place where I meet You. In the simplicity of my prayer time, thank You for giving me a heart to be suddenly confronted by the majesty of my Redeemer—the One Who is responsible for any good in me. Lord, each morning, thank You for giving me a heart that welcomes Your fresh mercies which fall like manna from Heaven, and once again move my heart. I gratefully surrender all. Morning after morning. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

Look Up—meditate on 1 Samuel 16:7

Look In—as you meditate on 1 Samuel 16:7 ....pray to see how you might apply it to your life. Be propelled to ask galvanizing questions about your discoveries: "Because God is_________, I will_____________."

Look Out—as you meditate on 1 Samuel 16:7 ...pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others. Let the nature of God impact on every relationship, for your good, and for His glory.


 * If you liked this post, you’ll love this book – Name Above All Names Devotional: Focusing on 26 Alphabetical Names of Christ

Weekly LinkUps…

YOU put DELIGHT in me!

As I was driving to work the other day the Brandon Heath song, "The Light In Me" came on the radio. I began singing along and then suddenly, as if a voice was whispering in my heart, every time I sang the words of the song,"The Light"... what I heard in my spirit sounded like ..."De Light"... so I sang along with these new lyrics ... "You put De Light in me"... "You put DeLight in me"...  then suddenly ... an "ah-ha" God-moment ..."YOU put DELIGHT in me!"

What a joy! What a revelation! God himself put DELIGHT in me...I have always loved the Scripture Psalm 37:4…“Delight yourself in the LORD; and He will give you the desires of  your heart.”

Here on my blog, in October 2010, I wrote a blog post about it ... Delight yourself in the Lord


Whenever I hear that song or read that Scripture, I am reminded of that moment, the "ah-ha" awareness of His Presence in my car with me as I drove to work and sang and listened to Him speak.


It is not me who has to "work up" delight in the Lord, HE has already put DELIGHT in me :)


Here's the YouTube video of Brandon Heath singing "The Light In Me" with a really cool visual movie playing in the background....with a surprise ending...be sure to watch til the end :)

 

In what ways does God speak to you?