joyful joyful lord we adore thee

our hearts at rest in His presence....

let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
-1 john 3:18-20

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they are in Your hands... you provide and you heal.

25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
-matt 6:25-34
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i will restore you to health and i will heal you of your wounds, declares the lord. jer 30:17

You know my heart and my thoughts. You know me.

don't know if anyone reads this, but i'll post it anyway...
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O LORD, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my every thought when far away.

You chart the path ahead of me
and tell me where to stop and rest.
Every moment you know where I am.

You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, LORD.

You both precede and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to know

I can never escape from your spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the place of the dead, you are there.

If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.

I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night--
but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.

Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

~parts of psalm 139~
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a loving reminder

so i havent posted anything up on this blog this entire time...waiting to get inspired i guess...interestingly enough, i find myself 'blogging' when i feel not inspired but...disappointed...in myself i guess.

for various reasons, that need not be mentioned in this blog. however...i recently received a friendly reminder through a passage that never fails in getting me remember how the Lord's grace showers over all my shortcomings.

"and may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how WIDE, how LONG, how HIGH, and how DEEP his love really is. may you experience the LOVE of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. then you will be FILLED with the FULLNESS of LIFE and power that comes from God."

Ephesians 3:18-19

i hope this reminder may serve us all well...that in the times where we feel most undeserving of God's love...He loves us anyway. how humbling a truth this is.

god provides...

“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
-Matthew 6:31-34

"And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever."
-Philippians 4:19-20

“If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith? And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
-Luke 12:28-34

He works in and through us....

perhaps i shouldnt be bouncing around like this... but here are some verses that touched me today...

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1 cor 12:4-11... there are different kinds of service, but its the same lord we are serving...

matt 25:14-30 ...to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance....

proverbs 19:21 ...many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails....

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rich and glorious inheritance

recently, the thought of heaven crossed my mind... and for some reason, i got excited and there was this joy in me about it and about the great things he has in store for us in our eternal life...

and god just got me excited about that... and about how we have been chosen... and how god has an inheritance for us...

it's not that i'm excited to die or that i want to rush my death... but just thinking about the promises He has for us... it just made my heart skip and jump and leap for joy... heh.

maybe i should explain a lil bit more, but i have to go right now.... here's a passage though that struck me...

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How we praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we belong to Christ. Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure. .....
Furthermore, because of Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us from the beginning, and all things happen just as he decided long ago.

......Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for Christians everywhere, I have never stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly,asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future he has promised to those he called. I want you to realize what a rich and glorious inheritance he has given to his people.

-excerpts from ephesians 1

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