God Delights in You

Lately I’ve been reflecting on the verses I’ve stumbled upon that talk about how God delights in His children. The Almighty Creator of the universe delights in our poor, broken, wretched little souls...that blows my mind! We serve a beautiful God, folks.  Listen to this while you’re reading the Scriptures; it’s a beautiful song that's from God's perspective in how we are His beloved. Here are the lyrics also. I hope these verses are an encouragement to you as they were to me. Never forget that you are loved and delighted in.

·         Isaiah 62:4-5. It will no longer be said to you, “Forsaken,” Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”; but you will be called, “My delight is in her,” and your land, “Married”; for the Lord delights in you…And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you. Definitely one of my favorite passages in the Bible.

·         Zephaniah 3:17. The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

·         Psalm 145:9. The Lord is good to all, and His mercy is over all that He has made.

·         Isaiah 43:1,4. But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! Since you are precious in My sight, since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life.’

·         Deuteronomy 30:9-10. Then the Lord your God will prosper you abundantly in all the work of your hand, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your cattle and in the produce of your ground, for the Lord will again rejoice over you for good, just as He rejoiced over your fathers; if you obey the Lord your God to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law, if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul.

·         Psalm 147:11. The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His steadfast love.

·         1 Peter 5:6-7. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

·         John 17:13 (Jesus praying for us…gets me every time). “But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves.” Jesus knows that the ultimate Joy is Himself, and so He wishes that we would have that Joy. It's beautiful how much He loves us.

If y’all know other verses that talk about God delighting in us, please feel free to share them in the comments. Happy Wednesday!

Taking a Breather

What I love about Sarah Young’s devotion “Jesus Calling” is that for those of us who are constantly on the go, it’s a chance to take a breather and be reminded of what’s truly important. Praying for more days full of stillness so I can treasure my God’s goodness. Here’s the February 10 entry:

Trust me enough to spend ample time with Me, pushing back the demands of the day. Refuse to feel guilty about something that is so pleasing to Me, the King of the universe. Because I am omnipotent, I am able to bend time and events in your favor. You will find that you can accomplish more in less time after you have given yourself to Me in rich communion. Also, as you align yourself with My perspective, you can sort out what is important and what is not.

Don’t fall into the trap of being constantly on the go. Many, many things people do in My Name have no value in My kingdom. To avoid doing meaningless works, stay in continual communication with Me. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.

Luke 10:41-42 But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.

*bold added by me for the things that stood out to me*

Look For Christ Where You Lost Him

This blessed me so much this morning; I hope it blesses you, too. Happy Saturday!

Morning, January 19
“I sought him, but I found him not.” –Song of Solomon 3:1

“Tell me where you lost the company of Christ, and I will tell you the most likely place to find him. Have you lost Christ in the closet by restraining prayer? Then it is there yo must seek and find Him. Did you lose Christ by sin? You will find Christ in no other way but by the giving up of the sin, and seeking by the Holy Spirit to mortify the member in which the lust doth dwell. Did you lose Christ by neglecting the Scriptures? You must find Christ in the Scriptures. It is a true proverb, “Look for a thin where you dropped it, it is there.” So look for Christ where you lost Him, for He has not gone away…

 

Take care, then, when you find your Master, to cling close to Him. But how is it you have lost Him? One would have thought you would never have parted with such a precious friend, whose presence is so sweet whose words are so comforting, and whose company is so dear to you! How is ti that you did not watch him every moment for fear of losing sight of Him? Yet, since you have let Him go, what a mercy that you are seeking Him, even though you mournfully groan, “O that I knew where I might find Him!” Go on seeking, for it is dangerous to be without thy Lord. Without Christ you are like a sheep without its shepherd; like a tree without water at it's roots; like a sere leaf in the tempest – not bound to the tree of life. With thine whole heart seek Him, and He will be found of thee: only give thyself thoroughly up to the search, and verily, thou shalt yet discover Him to thy joy and gladness.”

- Charles Spurgeon

Stepping In

Then Esther spoke again to the king, fell this feet, wept and implored him to avert the evil scheme of Haman the Agagite and his plot which he had devised against the Jews… ‘For how can I endure to see the calamity which will befall my people, and how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?’–Esther 8:6

This is the attitude that I think believers should have about non-Christians. Those who are not children of God are living as prisoners of the world, and Jesus has sent us to liberate them, just as Esther sought to set her people free from the death grip of Haman.

When I read this verse, it reminded me of another passage we talked about in Apologetics class the other day. I’ve breezed through this passage many times, never realizing its inspiring message. Paul shares his deep love for his people in Romans 9:1-3:

I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow an unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh…”

How crazy is that?! Paul loved his people so much, that he would rather spend eternity in hell if it meant that his people would have salvation. Maybe one day, God will grant me a deep love like this, but I for sure don’t have that right now. I think Paul and Esther are very much alike in that they would go through any adversity or trial in order to see their people saved. This kind of love can only come from God, but we should pray for this love constantly. My youth pastor is very passionate about the idea of being “broken for the lost”, and this is what I desire to have. Just as Esther knelt before her king, begging for the salvation of her people, so should we kneel before our Heavenly King praying for the salvation of those around us.

God and I had a lot of fun this morning as I read Esther, because then He showed me Romans 9:1-3, and then He reminded me of a passage that has stayed with me since I heard it for the first time freshmen year:

It came about, however, when the congregation had assembled against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tent of meeting, and behold, the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord appeared. Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly.’ Then they fell on their faces. Moses said to Aaron, ‘Take your censer and put in it fire from the altar, and lay incense on it; then bring it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone forth from the Lord, the plague has begun!’ Then Aaron took it as Moses had spoken, and ran into the midst of the assembly, for behold, the plague had begun among the people. So he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. He took his stand between the dead and the living, so that the plague was checked. –Numbers 16:42-48

 

 

This passage convicts me every time I read it. God was about to pour out His wrath on those who were assembling against Moses and Aaron. But Moses, who loved his people so much, sent Aaron to make atonement for the people, and stopped the plague. There are millions of people in the world today who are under the “plague” of sin, and God has given us the power to do the job of stepping in and stopping the plague. We as Christians claim that we love everyone, including non-Christians, but do we live that love out? Do we love unbelievers so much that we would be willing to do anything in order to see God rescue them from their imprisonment?

Watchman for the Night

It was a total God thing that I stumbled upon this tonight. Today in my apologetics class, we talked about how we should never walk into battle without our Sword. For those of you who don’t know that lingo, basically it means that we should never go through life without the Sword of the Spirit and God’s Word. This life we are living isn’t just Earthly stuff – it’s a spiritual battle with forces we cannot even understand (Ephesians 6:10), and we always need to be ready. And what do ya know, here’s some advice about that very thing. Here’s a word from my good man, Spurgeon:

Evening, January 17

“And it came to pass in an evening-tide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house.” 2 Samuel 11:2

“At that hour David saw Bathsheba. We are never out of the reach of temptation. Botha at home and abroad, we are liable to meet with allurements to evil; the morning opens with peril, and the shades of evening find us still in jeopardy. They are well kept whom God keeps, but owe unto those who go forth into the world, or even dare to walk their own house unarmed. Those who think themselves secure, are more exposed to danger than any others. The amour-bearer of sin is self-confidence…Reader, beware of evening temptations. Be not secure. The sun is down but sin is up. We need a watchman for the night, as well as a guardian for the day. Oh blessed Spirit, keep us from all evil this night. Amen.”

A Hardcore Poem about Jesus

Read this in AP Lit yesterday and I really liked it...so...here ya go:

Batter My Heart, Three-Personed God

Batter my heart, three-personed God; for you
As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurped town, to another due,
Labor to admit you, but oh, to no end;
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captivated, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I love you and would be loved fain,
But am betrothed unto your enemy;
Divorce me, untie or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.

-John Donne

Rooted in Jesus

Read this from Spurgeon this morning and it really stood out to me:

Morning, January 11
"These have no root." Luke 8:13

"My soul, examine thyself this morning by the light of this text. Thou hast received the word with joy; thy feelings have been stirred and a lively impression has been made; but, remember, that to receive the word in the ear is one thing, and to receive Jesus into thy very soul is quite another...

Good growth takes place upwards and downwards at the same time. Am I rooted in sincere fidelity and love to Jesus? If my heart remains unsoftened and unfertilized by grace, the good seed may germinate for a season, but it must ultimately wither, for it cannot flourish on a rocky, unbroken, unsanctified heart...

Let me count the cost of being a follower of Jesus; above all let me feel the energy of His Holy Spirit, and then I shall possess an abiding and enduring seed in my soul."

Happy Friday everyone! :)