I'm currently doing a bible study titled Annointed, Transformed, Redeemed by Priscilla Shirer, Beth Moore, and Kay Arthur. During last weeks DVD lesson as Priscilla was teaching, she listed off the following descriptions of who God is. I felt it was worth sharing (thanks to Karla for typing it up!) ::
He is the first and the last. The beginning and the end.
He’s the keeper of creation. And the creator of all.
He’s the architect of the universe and the manager of all time.
He always was, always is, and always will be unmoved, unchanged, undefeated and never undone.
He was bruised but brought healing. He was pierced but eased pain.
He was persecuted but brought freedom. He was dead to bring life.
He has risen to bring power and raised to bring peace.
The world can’t understand him.
Armies can’t defeat him.
Schools can’t explain him.
Leaders, they can’t ignore him.
Herod, he couldn’t kill him.
Nero couldn’t crush him.
The new age cannot replace him.
And Oprah cannot explain him away. She can’t!! she can’t do it!!
He is light. He is longevity. And he is the Lord.
He is goodness and kindness and faithfulness and he is God!
He is holy and righteous and powerful and pure.
His ways are right. His word is eternal. His will is unchanging.
His mind is on us.
He’s my saviour, my god, my peace, my joy, my comfort, my Lord.
And he rules my life.
I serve him because is bond is love. His burden is easy. His yoke is light.
And his goal for me is abundant life!
I follow him because he’s the wisdom of the wise. He’s the power of the powerful.
The ancient of days. The ruler of rulers. The leader of all leaders.
His goal is a relationship with me.
He’ll never leave me. Never forsake me. Never mislead me. Never forget me. Never overlook me.
And never cancel my appointment in his appointment book. Never!!
When I fall, he’ll lift me up. When I fail, he’ll forgive me.
When I am weak, he’s strong. When I am lost, he’s my way.
When I am afraid, he’s my courage. When I stumble, he will steady me.
When I am hurt, he’s going to heal me. When I am broken, he will mend me.
When I am blind, he will lead me. When I am hungry, he will feed me.
When I face trials, he’s with me. When I face persecution, he shields me.
When I face problems, he will comfort me.
When I face loss, he will provide for me. And when I face death, he will carry me home to meet him.
He is everything for everybody, everywhere, everytime, and in every way.
He is my god….and that is who I belong to!!
"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me behind still waters. He restores me soul..."
In the bible study I'm doing in small group this semester, this scripture was used in one of the days of study. I've probably heard Psalm 23 over 100 times in my life; in sermons, Sunday school lessons, even songs. But I've never read and understood it the way I do now (thanks to a great small group leader and work of the Holy Spirit). He MAKES me lie down in green pastures to restore my soul. He knows when I need a break! He knows when I've reached my limit. So he may bring rest through circumstances (bad or good) or people that he brings in (or out) of my life. I've realized that even if I don't see the reason or good in the circumstance, I must trust that he knows what I need. And he is going to MAKE me rest; whether I like it or not! His timing is perfect, even if I don't realize it. I LOVE how he speaks through scripture and how you can read something 100 times and learn something new every time! so cool.
I wanted to share a frustrating, but yet funny, story with y'all...
So, my church is having a Ladies Tea tomorrow in honor of Mother's day. The past couple of days I have been helping Karla prepare for the event. Well, yesterday she took 12 tablecloths to a local dry-cleaners to have pressed; so that everything looked top-notch for the event. After picking them up and paying $56 for the pressing, we attempt to put them on the tables at the church. But we soon noticed that the tablecloths were in fact just as wrinkled and creased as before they were "pressed". So we take them back to the dry-cleaners to try and work the situation out. We go into the establishment and explain to one of the employees the dilemma; Karla nicely asks that she either get a refund or they press the cloths again. After a few minutes of conversation, the lady walks to the back and gets this man (I'm guessing her boss). He comes out and explains to us that they cannot get creases out of fabric! (which I've yet to fully understand). We argue for a few mintues about the meaning of the word "pressed", but seem to be getting nowhere with the employees. Then, without saying anything to Karla or me, this man starts taking each tablecloth off the hanger, unfolds all of them, wads each one up and puts it on the counter. In the meantime, Karla and I are confusingly looking at each other, wondering how his actions are going to solve the problem. Eventually, Karla asks the man what he was doing, and (pointing to the stack of hangers on the counter) he says "these are mine!"....
result: Karla receives a refund and we iron the tablecloths ourselves.
The More I Seek You by Kari Jobe
The more I seek you, the more I find you
The more I find you, the more I love you
I wanna sit at your feet, drink from the cup in your hands
Lay back against you and breathe, feel your heart beat
This love is so deep, it's more than I can stand
I melt in your peace, it's overwhelming
I think the main reason why I love this song so much is because it's so true to my life right now. I'm being forced to seek God more (in a good way). I've reached a point in life where even though I don't understand why He has brought me to this season, I have to trust that His way is best and continue to seek Him. And the more I seek Him and his purpose for my life, the more I am amazed at His love for me. This love is so deep, it's more than I can stand. I melt in your peace, it's overwhelming...
Lord, bend me. Take out everything that's not of
you- every habit, every thought, every dream, every desire. I want to be filled with You.
