Fringes

"Behold, these are the fringes of His ways; And how faint a word we hear of Him! But His mighty thunder, who can understand?" (Job 26:14)

He stretches out the north over empty space
And hangs the earth on nothing
And how faint a word we even hear of Him
And yet – our eyes and ears and minds get all the candy


I sing for grace
For grace it lets me sing
And all I’ve ever seen or heard
Or haven’t seen or heard
It’s His
There is no other
All of this is but the fringes


And these are but the fringes
And all the world hinges
On His grace and on His word
It speaks things into being
And the spoken things revealing
The glory of our God and King


I’m stumbling upon things that aren’t mine
Things he spoke to life before time
Name one thing that’s not
One law or thought
He taught the clay
Molded it
Behold, He called the sheep
That’s why they came
Sheep! Who by grace get a peep
And make it cheap by calling it mine

I Apologize to those that I haven't loved through my words, my thoughts, and my actions. Forgive me.

[The Way of Love]
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
(1 Corinthians 13 ESV)

Worthy is the Lamb

Piper on Technological Temptations to Distractedness

Predictions for 2011

1. The Bible will still have all the answers.

  2. Prayer will still be the most powerful thing on Earth..

  3. The Holy Spirit will still move.

  4. God will still honor the praises of His people.

  5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.

  6. There will still be singing of praise to God.

  7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.

  8. There will still be room at the Cross.

  9. Jesus will still love you.

10. Jesus will still save the lost when they come to Him.

"The Word of the Lord endures forever." ~ 1 Peter 1:25

post from Marty Schoeleber

I Almost Let Go - Kurt Carr

God's mercy kept me, so I wouldn't let go.

I almost let go.
I felt like I just couldn't take life anymore.
My problems had me bound
Depression weighed me down.
But God held me close, so I wouldn't let go.
God's mercy kept me, so I wouldn't let go.

I almost gave up.
I was right at the edge of a breakthrough but couldn't see it
The devil really had me;
but Jesus came and grabbed me,
And He held me close,
So I wouldn't let go.
God's mercy kept me,
so I wouldn't let go.

So I'm here today because God kept me.
I'm alive today,
only because of His grace.
Oh, He Kept me,
God Kept me,
He kept me,
So I wouldn't let go.

I almost Let go.
I felt like I just couldn't take life any more,
My problems had me bound,
depression weighed me down,
God held me close
So I wouldn't let go.
God's mercy kept me,
so I wouldn't let go.

So I'm here today because God kept me.
I'm alive today, only because of His grace.
Oh, He Kept me, God Kept me, He kept me, So I wouldn't let go

Revelation 12:11

"And they have conquered him (satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death."

We conquer satan by the Blood of Jesus and by the word of our Testimony.

Jesus, grant us boldness by the power of the Holy Spirit that we follow your Spirit in preaching Your work in us.

Amen.

My Master

The day You heard my plea,
You looked right through me
You saw the pit I was in
And You came and pulled me out...

You set my feet upon a rock
And put a new song in my mouth
Then You called me Your own
And I'm never turning back

I love my Master, I will not go free...
I take Your name and live in liberty
My life is Yours forever
I'll serve You faithfully
I love my Master, I will not go free...

You're a love I've never known
And Your faithfulness has shown
No matter what I'm about
You always find me out

And You lovingly remain
Age to age the same
And for all of my days
I will tell of Your ways..Your mighty ways...

Covenant Keeper
You are, You are
Merciful, Kindness
You are, You are
Passionate Father
You are, You are
Lifeblood redeemer
You are...

Hosea 2:19-20

"And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the LORD."

The Thirsting Soul Satisfied in God.

Psalm 63
A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

O God, You are my God;
I shall seek You earnestly;
My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You,
In a dry and weary land where there is no water.

Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.

Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips will praise You.

So I will bless You as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.

My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.

When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches,

For You have been my help,
And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.

My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.

But those who seek my life to destroy it,
Will go into the depths of the earth.

They will be delivered over to the power of the sword;
They will be a prey for foxes.

But the king will rejoice in God;
Everyone who swears by Him will glory,
For the mouths of those who speak lies will be stopped.

thank You, Abba!

There's no need to be afraid
Daddy's here and it's okay
My love will take the fear away, my little one

You can give to me the doubts and fears
Pour out your heart I'll catch the tears
I'm always been the God who hear, my little one

You've held it in a long long time
So let it out, it's okay to cry
My heart and arms are open wide, my little one

I'll hold you close and tight to me
I'll help you through the unbelief
I've said I would never leave my little one

The man who's full of grace and truth
One day He will come for you (YES!!!)
He's gonna make it all brand new (YES!!!), my little one

On the mountain close to Jacob's stair
A place for you I have prepared
My light in truth will take you there, my little one

My love will take the fear away, my little one
I'm gonna make it all brand new, my little one

My Little One lyrics - Jon Thurlow

How I'm feeling this morning:

"O Jesus, take my bent away / For thinking much of me, / And kill my pride, and from this day / With mercy make me free." John Piper.

"Broken Vessel"

Here I am, Lord

A Broken Vessel

Still I will sing to You

Let it be a sweet sweet song

Here I am, Lord

A Broken Vessel

Still I will sing to You

Still I will sing to You

Still I will sing to You

Lift up my weak cry

Lift up my weak voice

I know that You hear me

I believe that You Love Me

Lift up my weak cry

Lift up my weak voice

I know that You hear me

I believe that You Love Me

"Only God can move mountains, but faith and prayer moves God." E.M. Bounds

Thank You, Jesus, for being moved by us.

A reminder to myself...

"Comparing yourself to others is worthless. God won't grade your life on the curve, but on the Cross."

"The dead aren't hurt by insults, nor driven by praise." -- Rick Warren

"But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified (dead) to me, and I (am dead) to the world."

Galatians 6:14 (New American Standard Bible)

my God is merciful...

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
(1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ESV)

ONLY by the blood of Jesus.

[Repent or Perish]

There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

(Luke 13:1-5 ESV)

My nephew... What a ham. =)

Screenwriter Randall Wallace (Braveheart) at National Prayer Breakfast | Two Handed Warriors

Screenwriter Randall Wallace (Braveheart) at National Prayer Breakfast | Two Handed Warriors

"You can own the pages, but you don't own the pages of the Bible until you lived it."

"When I pray with or for my friends, my first concern isn't whether they are the followers of the foot steps of Jesus, but whether I am."

"Some of you here lead nations. Some of you here, lead the world. All of us here have one heart inside of us and it is in that one heart where the whole battle is fought."

"I will lose my life and I will win it in loving in all the ways You lead my heart to love."

-- Randall Wallace

The speech in words is here.

"Do You Want to be Healed?

By: Ray Ortlund

“He that . . . wants relief must come to Christ himself. He must not be content with coming to His Church and His ordinances or to the assemblies of His people for prayer and praise. He must not stop short even at His holy table or rest satisfied with privately opening his heart to His ordained ministers. Oh no! . . . He must go higher, further, much further than this. He must have personal dealings with Christ Himself. All else in religion is worthless without Him. The King’s palace, the attendant servants, the richly furnished banqueting house, the very banquet itself — all are nothing, unless we speak with the King. His hand alone can take the burden off our backs and make us feel free. . . . We must deal directly with Christ.”

J. C. Ryle, Holiness (Old Tappan, n.d.), pages 266-267.

If we go to church just to be with one another, one another is all we will get. And it isn’t enough. Eventually, our deepest unmet needs will turn to anger at one another. Putting community first destroys community. We must put Christ himself first and keep him first and treat him as first and come to him first and again and again. He can heal as no other can. Can, and will. If we come to him.

An honest heart

By Ray Ortlund

Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit. Psalm 32:2

We cannot deceive God. Twice in the Acts God is called “the Heartknower” (Acts 1:24; 15:8). But we can deceive ourselves. Here are four differences between deceit and honesty in our hearts.

One, a deceitful heart doesn’t know its sin because it doesn’t want to know. But an honest heart is saying, “Bring it on.”

Two, a deceitful heart notices how well a sermon applies to someone else. But an honest heart is too concerned about itself to judge another.

Three, a deceitful heart, when it isn’t growing, blames its inertia on hardship or its church or even on God himself. But an honest heart says, “It’s my fault. I need to get in gear.”

Four, a deceitful heart delays response. It says, “I’ll get around to it, even soon. But I can’t right now.” An honest heart puts God first. Delayed obedience is a way of saying, “I’m setting the terms. I am Lord.” But an honest heart says, “Lord, whatever you want – right now.” An honest heart says, with the old hymn,

The dearest idol I have known, whate’er that idol be,
Help me to tear it from thy throne and worship only thee.

from Nefarious Documentary

The Cold Facts of Modern Slavery

• A child is trafficked every 30 seconds. – UNICEF
• The average age of entry into commercial sex slavery in the United States is 13 years old. – United States Department of Justice
• Human Trafficking occurs in 161 out of 192 countries. – The United Nations
• Pornography is a 96 billion dollar per year industry. – The Internet Filter Review
• Up to 96% of women in prostitution want to escape but feel they can’t. – United Labor Organization
• Human Trafficking is a 32 billion dollar per year industry. – The United Nations
• In some countries it is estimated that 70% of men purchase sex. – Victor Malarek; The Johns
• Over 27 million people are enslaved around the world. This is more than double the number of Africans enslaved during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. – Kevin Bales; Free the Slaves

Jesus,

I pray for the broken family units. I pray for the parents that don't know you that pour out distorted love onto their kids. I pray for the children that receive verbal, sexual, and physical abuse from their families. I pray for the oppressors to know You, Jesus. I pray that when kids find brokenness in their homes that Your Holy Spirit will open the eyes of the children to seek You, Jesus. Jesus, I pray that hearts discover true peace in You, that you are a loving Abba. Jesus, may you destroy the lies of the devil that are ingrained in this generation's children that there is no hope to brokenness. Holy Spirit, wake all of our souls up from drowning in movies, tv shows, sex, and other activities that we try to numb our pain and reality. May You be our fulfillment in our brokenness. I pray for every child that gets "nobody likes you" or "everybody hates you" may find true healing from the power of Jesus Christ. We are successful because we are loved by the God of the universe that loves us the best. Jesus, your name is above every name in Love. Jesus, we ask for divine appointments in brokenness. Jesus, raise up laborers to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit that yield to You, to speak Your Words with power and to give way to You even in the weakness of our words to those that are suffering in brokenness. God, we ask for hearts to be cut and convicted by Your Truth,

by the authority of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Oh Lord, You're Beautiful Lyrics
Jesus Culture

Music and Word: Keith Green

Oh Lord, you're beautiful,
Your face is all I seek,
For when your eyes are on this child,
Your grace abounds to me.

Oh Lord, you're beautiful,
Your face is all I seek,
For when your eyes are on this child,
Your grace abounds to me.

I want to take your word and shine it all around.
But first help me to just, live it Lord.
And when I'm doing well, help me to never seek a crown.
For my reward is giving glory to you.

Oh Lord, please light the fire,
That once burned bright and clear.
Replace the lamp of my first love,
That burns with Holy fear

I want to take your word and shine it all around.
But first help me to just, live it Lord.
And when I'm doing well, help me to never seek a crown.
For my reward is giving glory to you.

John Wooden, Christ Follower, Coach and Basketball Player Hall of Famer

"Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation, because your character is what you really are while your reputation is merely what others think you are."

D.L. Moody

“The world is yet to see what God can do through a man fully yielded to Him, and I intend to be that man!”

“Right now I’m having so much trouble with D.L. Moody that I don’t have time to find fault with the other fellow.”

Show Me Your Glory - Kim Walker

I see the cloud, I step in
I want to see Your glory as Moses did
Flashes of light, rolls of thunder

I’m not afraid, I’m not afraid

Show me Your glory, show me Your glory
Show me Your glory, show me Your glory

I’m awed by Your beauty, lost in Your eyes
I want to walk in Your presence like Jesus did
Your glory surrounds me and I’m overwhelmed

I long to look on the face of the One that I love
Long to stay; in Your presence is where I belong

Oh how we love You, oh how we love You
Oh how we love You, Jesus