prayer. 8/22/10

Today,

I pray I can pray more. I pray for my students that are in buildings with 100s of non believers. I pray for the students at IBC that are also nonbelievers. I pray for their example and their words in the schools today. Jesus help them realize your presence, help me realize your presence.

There's so many of us that want to just KNOW what you're up to in our lives, and then take control and either make that happen in a more comfortable way or in a quicker way. Jesus you are sovereign. You have the most perfect plan and the most perfect path. I am only a character in your story God PLEASE help me remember that. We were created for you and by you so that YOU might be glorified. I want to live like I believe that.

1 Kings 3 - Soloman asks for wisdom and the ability to see right from wrong. God says: because you have requested this and did not ask for a long life or riches for yourself, or the death of your enemies, but you asked discernment for yourself to understand justice. I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has never been anyone like you before and never will be again. I will give you what you did not ask for both riches and honor, so that no man in any kingdom will be your equal during your entire life

the simple power of prayer. i want to understand it!

2 Thessalonians 2

Rejoice always

Pray constantly

Give thanks in everything, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Don't stifle the spirit.

Don't despise prophecies, but test all things.

Hold on to what is good.

Stay away from every form of evil.

^^ Rejoice, pray, give thanks. seems pretty simple!

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely. And may your spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

From the beginning God has chosen YOU for salvation through sanctification by the spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, so that you might obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal encouragement and good hope by grace, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good work and word.

4/15

Beautiful

Beautiful oh I am lost for more to say.

Beautiful

Beautiful oh Lord. You're beautiful to me.

Holy

Holy

Holy you are, you are.

Here before your alter, I am letting go of all I've built. Of every motive, every burden. Everything thats in myself. I just want to wait on you My God, I just wanna dwell in who you are.

Here in your presence I am not afraid of brokenness. to wash your feet with humble tears. oh i would be poured out till nothing's left.

Oh i just wanna wait on you my God. I just wanna dwell in who you are.

You're my beloved your my bride

to sing over you is my delight.

Come away with me, my love.

Under my mercy come and wait

till we are standing face to face.

I see no stain on you my child.

You're beautiful to me.

So beautiful to me.

I sing over you my song of peace

cast all your cares down at my feet

Come and find your rest in me.

I'll breathe my life inside of you.

Ill bear you up on eagle's wings and hide you in the shadow of my strength.

I'll take you to my quiet waters

I'll restore your soul

come rest in me and be made whole.

Sweep Me Away

Father i love your ways.

You came in your mercy and died in my place

all i can do is bow

bc of your goodness and your sovergn grace

you sweep me away

sweep me away in your love

and nothing else matters.

Tears rolling down my face bc of your love and your sweet embrace

the peace that just overflows

its you that i know

you have been waiting to sweep me away

sweep me away in your love.

Your grace it covers me.

Your love it covers me.

God you cover me.

Help me to remember this every day God. Every day. Just swept away in your love. This is what i want and where I need to be. pull me back to you. pull me back to your place where You rule over me. Sweep me God. With your gentle touch. Hold me close to you firmly. do not let me go. God i want to kNOW your love. I want to be ONE with you. I want to see my value in you. I want to know your love and be swept from this earth into your grace. I want to know your peace.

Beautiful, Beautiful

Dont know how it is you looked at me

and saw the person i could be

awakening my heart breaking through the dark

suddenly your grace

like sunlight burning at midnight

making my life something so beautiful beautiful

mercy reached in and saved me

all that i need, you are so beautiful, beautiful.

theres a joy inside i cant contain

but even perfect days can end in rain

i know its pouring down

i see you through the clouds

shining on my face.

i have come undone

but i have just begun

changing by your grace

1 John 4 - Love

1 John 4:7-21

7) love one another. love comes from God (not from ourselves)

Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. (This is interesting to me bc i know nonbelievers that do love. That do give to the poor and do serve a lot better than some believers)

8) Anyone who does not love does not love God, for God is love. (In the same way, believers and non believers I know - love and hate almost equally..)

9) God showed us love by sending Jesus, so we might have eternal life through Him.

10) This is real love- not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as sacrifice to take away our sin. (The part about SENDING Jesus sticks out to me today more than the sacrifice part. Like the fact that God was distant from Jesus for us, and THEN sacrificed him).

11) Since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. (It's that THAT much love should be inside us - pouring out of us to each other. Not that we owe it to God to love each other but that it should just happen! If THAT much love is here... there's no room for hate.)

12) If we love each other, THIS is how God is brought to full expression. (I see that He delights in our love for others).

13) God has given us the Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. (Bc if he was an unimaginable being-God, or a human-Jesus... then we can't picture Him living in us).

14) The father sent his son to be the savior of the world.

15) All who confess that JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD, have God living in them, and they live in God. (This verse doesn't say anything about action, just confession of the truth).

16) We know how much God loves us and we put our trust in His love. (I wonder who "we" is here. Because this is something I struggle with. His love is proven through sending Jesus and sacrificing Him AND saving us from sin... but its still unfathomable. I still have trouble "knowing" and "trusting"

17) And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgement, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. (living in God is loving. The more we love, the more perfect that love becomes).

18)

to be continued...

How to love others:

pray

give

spend time with them

correct them in their sin - Hebrews 12: 5-12. He disciplines us so we might know him and share in His holiness (10)

john 7 - the holy spirit will flow from us

with one drop in us He can become a river

Romans 5:5

"Sincere Love" - Paul Matthies

This is a sermon on the Village Church website.

PLEASE listen to it.

I pray for those in this nation that don't know Him.

...but more strongly for those that don't WANT to know Him because another follower has hurt them.

That breaks my heart. It hurts that a cause that I (try to) completely devote my life to is being crushed because of the name of the Christian.

"I bet we can list lost people in our lives that are loving their neighbors better than we are." How terribly sad this is. It is true. That is why it's sad.

Our job is to work on our hearts. If our hearts are well... the spirit will FLOW from us. It will be easy to love. Love will be all we can do. Let the intensity of your love be a reflection of your heart.

Common theme in bible - the book we believe in and say is true! -->

1 Corinthians 16:14 - let all that you do be done in the name of love.

Galatians 5:14 - "The whole law if fulfilled in one word: you shall love your neighbor as yourself".

2 Timothy 2:24-26

24 And r the Lord's servant [4]must not be quarrelsome but s kind to everyone, t able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents u with gentleness. God v may perhaps grant them repentance w leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from x the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

In other words - Be nice (love). Through you, someone might be SHOWN THE TRUTH (Jesus).

• See the love of God. 1 John 3:1 - See how great a love that God has given us that we should be called Children of God. See what type of love God has given us. Its the love of the gospel. The love of God is mind blowing.
• God's love is God given. 1 John 4.
• God's love is gospel centered. Its a self sacrificing. People should look at us and see that we are willing to lay ourselves down! Go out of your way! People should see our love and KNOW that it's different. Its a sacrifice.
• Heaven centered. You are being perfected. This is love that is not of us. This love is a fruit of the spirit! We can only LOVE if we have the spirit.
• His love is others focused. 1 John 4:12 - No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
• SEEK the love of God - 1 Corinthians 13:4. - pursue love.

Love 3/15/10

I want to know the LOVE Jesus has for me. I want to study how he shows it and gives it. I want to be challenged to evaluate how I give His love, and how He showers me with it every day!

I am loved through Grace. I am loved through constant forgiveness. I am loved through the cross and resurrection!

God, teach me to be:

patient,

kind,

happy with what I have,

humble,

considerate,

slow to anger,

forgiving,

happy in truth,

protective,

trusting,

hopeful,

and persevering.

Help me to evaluate where I stand with EACH of your criteria. Show me the ways you were patient and the ways you were slow to anger. I want to be like you and love like you Jesus.

Patience - I need to be more patient when I'm driving. Overall, I would say I am patient with situational events and the small things that come every day, which are totally out of my control.

Kind - I need to be more kind to myself and those closest to my heart. I feel like I am kind to most people and overly kind to those I do not know or those I need to impress. It seems like it's easiest to be rude to, and not kind to those whom I claim to love. If I tell you I love you, and you feel I am not always kind to you - I am sorry. I want to give my life away.

Happy with what I have - this I probably have to work on, but I feel like I have too much. I am SO thankful for what I have because I know its all a gift. This one is not hard for me because in a materialistic world, I have a lot of materials. This command in the context of love is different. "Do not envy". Does that mean if I am envious of someone else then I do not love them? Or does that mean I don't love Christ because it shows I am not grateful for what He has given me?Where does envy come into hate/love, good/evil? I know its not good or healthy to be envious but Jesus teach me why it's not loving to be envious.

Prayer Requests. Updated 3/11/2010

From Aimee Norman, a girl in my women's bible study group.
- Please send up a special prayer for my cousin Randy today. He is being shipped of to Afghanastan this morning and leaving behind a beautiful wife and baby boy. He will have to stay for at least a year before he gets to come home.I just want to pray for his safety and for strength for his wife and mom as they watch him go.Please pray for him. He is such a great guy, and we all want to see him again!

For Laura Rhea - Irving Bible Church's Early Childhood Director. She's pregnant and due any day! God has taken her through what seems like a breezy pregnancy but she is working until her water breaks! I pray for the ministry while she is gone. God please let her know that he work is in good hands, and that YOU will take care of everything. God THANK you for Laura and her motherly skills. Thank you for Scarlet. Thank you that she is healthy up to now. Jesus be here. Be in the delivery room. Hold their hands through their new family transition. God I pray for Clara, that she is not negitively impacted by sharing her family, but loves her little sister.

Jesus THANK YOU for the word and for our guidelines. We are not here to follow rules but we are here to follow you in faith. God i am so thankful for your simply laid out guidelines of HOW to look like you and love like you. You have given us a tool to bring ease and peace.

For Gary Brummett - Jesus thank you for showing the doctors what's been going on with dad's nose and helping them to fix it. God i pray for his stress level and his worry about work. Let him know you have it all taken care of and there's nothing for him to worry about. Let him recover like you have made his body to recover. Thank you Jesus for my dad.