Rest In the Stillness of My Presence

"REST IN THE STILLNESS of My Presence while I prepare you for this day. Let the radiance of My Glory shine upon you, as you wait on Me in confident trust. 'Be still and know that I am God.' There is both a passive and an active side to trusting Me. As you rest in My Presence, focusing on Me, I quietly build bonds of trust between us. When you respond to the circumstances of your life with affirmations of trust, you actively participate in this process.

I am always with you, so you have no reason to be afraid. Your fear often manifests itself in excessive planning. Your mind is so accustomed to this pattern of thinking that you are only now becoming aware of how pervasive it is and how much it hinders your intimacy with Me. Repent of this tendency and resist it, whenever you realize you are wandering down this well-worn path. Return to My Presence, which always awaits you in the present moment. I accept you back with 'no condemnation'.

From Sarah Young's "Jesus Calling" book, page for April 24. References: Psalm 46:10 & Romans 8:1

I Had A Vision of Jesus

"But God's Mercy is so abundant, and His Love for us is so great." (Ephesians 2:4 GNT)

This speaks so much to me. I had a vision Saturday night, if I may call it that, that confounded me.

In worship at Mercy Chapel. The words of the song brought this to mind and I felt it. Just picture this: you are on the ground under the weight of a big cross you're trying to hold up. This cross is all of your sins, everything you did wrong against someone else and to yourself - and above all, to God. It's all your guilts, your faults, your hurtful ways, your lusts and greeds, your resentments, jealousies, judgments against others, your prejudices, your shames, everything bad about you. It's all there and you have to carry it for miles and you can't even get up; it's so heavy.

Then you see Jesus coming to you. He crouches down to your level. He is so gentle, almost meek (for lack of a better word), in His approach to you. He's saying, "May I help you with this? Please let me help you." And only with your permission - He doesn't help you carry it - He takes it from you completely and carries it Himself (which is to the destination of torture, mutilation and death -- your punishment, your death He is going to take for you and then throw it all away, for you.

It just confounded me His gentleness as He came to me. There was no judgment or anger or authoritativeness or admonishment or demonstration of His Omnipotent Power in this moment - all of which He truly has but I did not feel from Him in this single moment. He was just so gentle and loving. It was like someone handling a new-born baby. So gentle and endearing. Have you ever thought of Jesus in just this way?

I Am With You (the reassurance of My Presence)

"I AM WITH YOU.  These four words are like a safety net, protecting you form falling into despair.  Because you are human, you will always have ups and downs in your life experience.  But the promise of My Presence limits how far down you can go.  Sometimes you may feel as if you are in a free fall, when people or things you have counted on let you down.  Yet as soon as you remember that I AM WITH YOU, your perspective changes radically.  Instead of bemoaning your circumstances, you can LOOK TO ME FOR HELP.  You recall that not only am I with you, I am holding you by your right hand.  I guide you with My counsel, and afterward I will take you into Glory.  This is exactly the perspective you need: the reassurance of My Presence, and the glorious hope of heaven."
(from Sarah Young's devotional book, Jesus Calling for February 18)

References: Zephaniah 3:17 (GNT)  "The Lord your God is with you; His power will give you victory.  The Lord will take delight in you, and in His love He will give you new life.  He will sing and be joyful over you."

Psalm 73:23-26 (GNT)  "I did not understand You.  Yet I always stay close to You, and You hold me by the hand.  You guide me with Your instruction and at the end you will receive me with honor. What else do I have in Heaven but You? Since I have You, what else could I want on earth?  My mind and my body may grow weak, but God is my strength; He is all I ever need."




The Branded Heart, a fun, Western tale about Faith in Jesus by Michele Fischer is available on Amazon.com

The Prayer Jesus Said To Pray...

This is my beloved son

“When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying,” This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Matthew 3:16–17
 
This image is very different. Not a flaming sun of intolerable brightness, but a soft, quiet, vulnerable dove - the kind of animal poor people offered for sacrifices in the temple. God’s pleasure in his Son comes not only from the brightness of his majesty but from the beauty of his meekness. The Father delights in his Son’s supremacy and in his servant hood. “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand” John
3:35. “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights” Isaiah 42:1
The Father’s very soul exults with joy over the servant-like meekness and compassion of his Son. The Father cries, “Behold, my Servant in whom my soul delights!”
 
One of the sermons of Jonathan Edwards that God used to kindle the Great Awakening in New England in 1734–1735 was titled “The Excellency of Christ.” In it Edwards unfolds the glory of God’s Son by describing the “admirable conjunction of diverse excellencies in Christ.” His text is Revelation 5:5–6, and he unfolds the union of “diverse excellencies” in the Lion-Lamb. He shows how the glory of Christ is his combining of attributes that would seem to be utterly incompatible in one Person. In Jesus Christ, he says, meet infinite highness and infinite condescension; infinite justice and infinite grace; infinite glory and lowest humility; infinite majesty and transcendent meekness; deepest reverence toward God and equality with God; worthiness of good and the greatest
Patience under the suffering of evil; a great spirit of obedience and supreme dominion over heaven and earth; absolute sovereignty and perfect resignation; self-sufficiency and an entire trust and reliance on God.”
 
God calls us to love and admire the Son as He loves and admires His only Son. When we do, we bring delight to the Father and glory to the Son.

Man Must Put God First

MAN MUST PUT GOD FIRST! And why don't we?! He made us! He gave us life! Our very existence! The world we live in! Our families! Our children! All we need to survive and the Blessings in our lives! And Eternal Life! A relationship with HIM - the CREATOR OF ALL, the GREAT I AM. Think about it!!! If we don't put God first in our lives, it leads to destruction and death. Think about it. The state of mind of the world today. The devastations that are happening. Yes, the planet is changing too and these are natural causes. But Who made nature? Certainly not us! I'm reading the Book of Jeremiah and it was time when God's people turned from Him a lot and they paid for it - a lot. From attacks from other nations, in their cases. Not to diminish everything I just posted about the FORGIVENESS OF SINS. THAT ALWAYS HOLDS TRUE. But to completely turn from God, ignore Him, to not think we are sinning and not repent it (as I once did)...It makes ya think. That's enough from "Pastor Me" :)  -- -- And God says put God first. ('Thall Shalt Have No Other God But Me')  God's first commandment

Christ By His Precious Blood Does Actually Put Away Sin

"The grandest fact under heaven is this - that Christ by His precious blood does actually put away sin, and that God, for Christ's sake, dealing with men on terms of divine grace, forgives the guilty and justifies them, not according to anything that He sees in them, but according to the riches of His mercy which lie in His own heart. "It is God who justifies the ungodly”; He is not ashamed of doing it. We should never tire of proclaiming it. We should not be ashamed to receive it. " by Pastor Rex