oh how You just walk into the room!!!!!

"...when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you."
-John 20:19

"Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!"
-John 20:26

the presence of the Lord is so sweet in the secret place. "Peace be with you."

the Spirit of adoption

David Platt: "I love you"

2 year old adopted son: "why?"

DP: "because you're my son"

son: "why?"

DP: (in tears) "because i came to get you"

we are sons of the living God! Christ took the wrath that should have been poured out on us and redeemed us to God!!!!! He is the Anchor of my hope

REMEMBER THIS REMEMBER THIS REMEMBER THIS

"For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power."
-1 Corinthians 4:20

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."

-Romans 5:1-11

Lord, guide my steps

there is me sitting here and knowing that He is out there watching me but i'm not watching back. there is me knowing who He is and its like He is standing right in front of me but i can't see Him and am looking right past Him. what i want is for Jesus it be right here and me gaze right back into His eyes. i want real communion and a real relationship. i want to believe the Scriptures that testify about Him and i want to come to Him for life. He is our Lover.

"Submit to God and be at peace with Him; in this way prosperity will come to you. Accept instruction from His mouth and lay up His words in your heart. If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored; If you remove wickedness far from your tent and assign your nuggets to the dust, your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines, then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you. Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty and will lift up your face to God. You will pray to Him, and He will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows. What you decide on will be done, and light will shine on your ways. When men are brought low and you say, 'Lift them up!' then He will save the downcast. He will deliver even one who is not innocent, who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands."
-Job 22:21-30

Isaiah 58

"But about the Son He says, 'Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set You above Your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.'"
-Hebrews 1:8-9

"Don't hide your face from Me. I love you. I love you. I love you. And I'm never letting go."

a couple weeks ago the Lord woke me up in the middle of the night just to tell me He loves me. oh to go deep into His heart. what would we find? the Lord has been reminding me of this scripture a lot. i ask that you take this deep in us Holy Spirit. Amen

"You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me to have life."
-John 5:39-40

come and marry me

life lately has felt so incredibly weird. here were are on this earth. we are living every day and trusting the God, whom we don't see, is near and in control. honestly sometimes i'm amazed i'm even alive and that everything is even really happening...that earth is even real. the Lord is really amazing and i think He is trying to bring me to my ends to take me deeper. actually i know He is. He knows my every thought. He knows how i feel more than i know how i feel. i know He is gazing upon me. i just want to gaze back. i want to stare Him in the eyes. He will give us more faith if we ask for more faith. draw is nearer, Lord, and draw nearer to us. i pray for truth and to see Your glory and to experience Your love. that Your Word would be alive in me. that You're kingdom would come to earth and Your will would be done here as it is in heaven. let me gaze upon You, Lord! forgive my unbelief. please help me believe. Amen

"Do you know the way you move Me?"

Lover~
"How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are doves."
-Song of Songs 4:1

i read this and imagined being at a wedding (me being the bride...as weird as that might sound but thats who we are to Jesus; we are His bride) and imagined Jesus lifting the veil from my face and seeing His intense gaze for the first time as being ONE with Him. His love is so sweet and tender and serious. we are His precious bride! and the truth of it is that that veil has already been removed! and not only removed but torn! never to be put back together and placed between us ever again!!!! Hallelujah!!!!! He has made a way for us to enter the Holy Place and commune with Him and gaze upon His beauty and glory. show us Your glory, Jesus! please glorify Jesus in this place, Holy Spirit. thank you Father!

"Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him [Jesus] and cause him to suffer..."
-Isaiah 53:10

Jesus is in heaven and the Holy Spirit is with us. the Holy Spirit longs to make known the glory of God and to glorify Jesus, who longs to please and glorify the Father. the Kingdom of Heaven is here. we have communion with the Holy Spirit because He knows the heart of God and He knows our hearts and He reveals the deep secrets of God's heart to us in order to glorify Jesus. the entire Trinity deeply loves us! it glorifies Jesus for us to love Him and be loved by Him. He wants to make known His Kingdom thru us and in us. it's all for His glory!!!!!

"the Holy Spirit is EAGER to glorify Jesus"

i am my Beloved's and He is mine

the grace and love of Jesus is beyond words...

"here in Your presence God, i find my rest"

nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, nothing can take us away from His ever lasting love! He just keeps coming and coming and loving and loving and showing mercy after mercy after mercy and grace after grace after grace.

i feel like when we proclaim the Truth of God to others the Lord tests it in us...to see if we really believe what we are saying, to test it and make it go deep deep deep into us to make us like a tree who's roots are deep into the ground so that when a storm comes we will stand firm and not be up rooted. thank you Jesus! may we endure in Your name and keep our eyes on Your gaze! Amen

"However, as it is written:
'No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him'[Isaiah 64:4]– but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God."
-1 Corinthians 2:9-11

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence! (Hebrews 4:16)

"You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me to have life."

-John 5:39-40

an email i got from my sister

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrRxFoBSPng
"Here's the video of the JHOP San Fran team being taken out of the Castro. They were worshipping the Lord in the city like they have for the past 3 years on Friday Nights. The city residents were so angry over the passing of the same sex ban Prop 8 that they started screaming at them, hitting them, some threw hot coffee at them, took their bibles away and harrased them. The police had to come and escort them out."

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.

-1 Peter 4:12-14, 16

face to face, Lord!!!!!!

the other day i felt the Holy Spirit told me how we're to live...what mind set to have...how we may hurt and go through difficulties yet never be disappointed or feel rejected.

He told me to live life to bless Him. He then gave me this definition of "to bless": to give, not wanting anything in return. i wrote, "to bless God is to love and praise and serve Him freely; not working but giving yourself just because you love Him. You would do it even if it meant getting nothing in return."

"I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs. So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." "...how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"
-Luke 11:8, 13

oh to know how near He wants to come and draw us

"Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me wwelcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all–he is the greatest."
-Luke 9:48

oh Truth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
oh to be like Paul who knew that he had done the task that was set before him. that he knew that he had run the race and fought the good fight. build faith and intimacy Jesus! eyes to see and ears to hear, Lord! may Your kingdom come! Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven!!!!! Your kingdom is here! faith Jesus!!!!!

He's calling us closer

have faith and be joy full ALWAYS! because He is always at work to bring us nearer. (Romans 8:28, 10:8, Ephesians 2:13, Philippians 4:5, Hebrews 7:19)

Christ in you, the hope of glory

"And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for 12 years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind Him [Jesus] and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
'Who touched me?' Jesus asked.
When they all denied it, Peter said, 'Master, the people are crowding and pressing against You.'
But Jesus said, 'Someone touched me; know that power has gone out from me.'
Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at His feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched Him and how she had been instantly healed. Then He said to her, 'Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.'"
-Luke 8:43-48

this amazes me. the bleeding woman knew that there was something available for her. she knew that if she touched Jesus she would be healed. she didn't ask, she didn't get his attention (in fact she tried to hide when she realized He knew)...she just knew that He had something that could help her and she took it. i've heard a lot of sermons about "reaching up and pulling heaven down to earth." i feel this is an example of that. that as heirs to God, sons of the Father, the bride of Christ, that He has made available to us the riches of His kingdom. that we have Christ in us, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). there is something powerful in this. very powerful. she didn't wait, she took...she took what was hers thru faith in Jesus. she had faith in His goodness and power. she had faith that He was from God and that what she had heard about Him (and possibly saw at some previous point in time) was true. she took and it was credited to her as faith... hm.....????? Lord, revelation on this please. Amen

what is the glory of God like?

21Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."
-John 14:21


i miss having faith in the realities of Christ and the intimacy He wants with us. i must die to myself and lose everything in me and come to life in Him. He has shown me the supernatural of His realm is real...where has my faith gone? thank You for Your mercy, Lord. please take me back. please take me deeper. to seek Your face. to commune with the Holy Spirit. to know He is always with me. His presence is the sweetest and greatest thing. to feel His heart... i've searched all of my days and have found none like Him.

when i consider Your heavens, the works of Your fingers, the moon and the stars which You've ordained...who am i???

i was driving home last night from nashville and it was about 1:30 in the morning. i was listening to some worship music and looked up into the pitch black clear sky, filled with stars and the largeness and control of God over this world seemed so easy. what could i possibly worry about that the God who made all of this would even have a problem with? and on top of that He loves me with everything in Him! i am His son. He is my Father. i am my Beloved's and He is mine!

i was at a church a couple weeks ago and the pastor described faith as the belief during the absence of the promise. to believe that the promise is still true when there are no signs of it. to know that when i don't feel Him, He is still IN me and gazing upon me. the other day the Lord showed me that when we repent it is like the widowed woman who lost her son. He sees us broken and in need and He is moved with compassion, maybe even to tears, when we turn to Him.

"Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy." - Micah 7:18

to walk in the cool of the day with You...

Jesus and the widow who lost her son

"When the Lord saw her, His heart went out to her and he said, 'Don't cry.' Then He went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, 'Young man, I say to you, get up!' The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother."
-Luke 7:13-16

He looooovvvveeeesssss humbleness...humbleness is so sweet

i love how the Lord moves in us individually as well as corporately. i feel He has been doing this a late with songs lately. He'll put this old worship song in my heart and then i just keep hearing more people randomly busting it out too. today i was in the shower and that song "Lord, have Your way in me" was put in me and i just put on the ihop prayer room and they were singing it. then like a month ago i was praying and the Lord put in my heart that song that is like "may it be a sweet sweet sound in Your ear." like a week after that alex and i were taking communion and he just started busting that out. then the other day at church the worship leader randomly just started singing it after a song ended too. He is so sweet. the Lord is so so sweet!

here i come Lord, a broken vessel. but still i will sing to you. Let it be a sweet sweet sound

i love when the Lord makes me love sick for Him. it's to lead us into that transition to love drunkenness. i don't want base my life with Christ off of anyone else anymore. i want to just gaze upon His beauty and get lost in it. i want to rest in His arms and let Him take me and lead me. i want to live fully by the Spirit. i want full faith in Him.

I love i love, i love you Jesus
I love i love, i love your presence

I once was lost, but now I'm found!

"...the word of God came to John, son of Zechariah, in the desert. He went into all the country around the Jordan preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins."
-Luke 3:2-3


it's the baptizing of your life into a constant state of repentance and receiving of our glorious Father's forgiveness (to die to yourself and be raised to life with Christ Jesus). being made holy and righteous, being sanctified thru and thru. a precious cleansing thru the blood of Christ! this is obviously different from the baptism of the Holy Spirit...
"I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." - Luke 3:16

"I AM the resurrection and the life"

"'Lord,' Martha said to Jesus, 'if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.'
Jesus said to her, 'Your brother will rise again.'
Martha answered, 'I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.'
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?'
'Yes, Lord,' she told Him, 'I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.'"
-John 11:21-27

"Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 'Take away the stone,' He said.
'But, Lord,' said Martha, the sister of the dead man, 'by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.'
Then Jesus said, 'Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?'
-John 11:38-40

the Kingdom of Heaven is here!

THATS MY KING!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX_7j32zgNw

Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;
if we are faithless,
he will remain faithful,
for he cannot disown himself.
-2 Timothy 2:11-13

"why would i find beauty/truth/intimacy exciting if it did not matter or mean anything?"

the very depths of me groan for beauty and peace. there's something amazing about how a singly note can calm your soul, a painting that makes you feel like there's hope, a melody that opens up your spirit to receive the goodness and love of our Father, whether we realize that that is it or not. there's something to the stillness of His presence. something very powerful. getting still can be so hard. in the stillness, in the secret place with Him is where this beauty i long for lies. its the only place i even get a taste of it. i know its real because i've tasted it. its something no one could have told me about or explained, only something that can be known through His grace, and it is available for all. this beauty is the most real thing i've ever experienced. its something i would do or give up anything for. He is worth it all. thank you Jesus, my Lover.

i'm struggling to find rest. i feel like a lot has been demanded of me lately which excites me but at the same time i have become very exhausted. i know He isn't disappointed in me and that it's all a learning process. "but those who Hope in the Lord will renew their strength." i'm trying to hold onto this. to gaze upon His beauty and know He loves me to death and is not disappointed by my weaknesses because my weaknesses give Him a chance to show His strength and to lift me up. You are good Father. Be near. Take me nearer always.

i don't think anyone reads this but if they ever do please pray for me. i want to obey the Spirit and find my life and rest in Jesus and be close to Him and intimate with Him...to be someone He knows He can go to and use...to be someone He can get alone with and reveal His deepest secrets and His face...to know Him face to face every day and every night...

i just hung out with a homeless friend of mine who just got saved the other day...

i realized i'm incredibly weak and need much more faith. be near Lord

faithful, You're always faithful

(Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.) - Numbers 12:3

oh to be truly humble...

Where there is forgiveness there is healing and deliverance and freedom. "where the Spirit of the Lord is, THERE is freedom." (2 Cor. 3:17). We can have perfect love, perfect health, perfect deliverance, perfect healing, perfect forgiveness, perfect mercy, perfect grace because all the atrocities that are caused by our sin have been bought by Christ and taken from us. He bought a pure and spotless bride! "You are not your own, you were bought at a price." (1 Cor. 6:19-20). "Therefore, honor God with your body." (1 Cor. 6:20). Jesus forgave and healed. we aren't merely supposed to stop at the forgiving portion because Jesus keeps going in scripture to bring about full purity and redemption. We must believe that He bought ALL of our infirmities, ALL of our sorrows, ALL of our transgressions, ALL of our iniquities, suffered OUR punishment so instead WE would have peace, and by His wounds we ARE healed (Isaiah 53:4-5). Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. so have righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. This pleases our Lover! (Romans 14:17-18).

Lord, teach us the art of giving it all to you and instead of receiving what we deserve i pray we would receive Your grace, tender mercy, and love that You want to give to us instead. It's why You came Jesus. Hallelujah.

Jesus coming to Earth and dying on the cross was/is a BIG deal. I pray to know the fullness of this Jesus!

He just wants to love us and no matter what we go thru He is there. He is THE good Father. Amen

You're Beautiful

"...if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place."

2 Chronicles 7:13-15

now there is one thing that i will desire, to gaze on the beauty of The King

if i am good, if i am merciful, if i am forgiving, if i am merciful, if i am loving in any way...it is because He was these things to me first. it is all by His grace. just the way i like it haha. He doesn't have to but He proves His grace and love. so amazing! AMEN!

"we love because He first loved us." 1 john 4:19

"Be still, and know that I am God"

...to be sensitive to the Spirit... He never leaves us

"Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more." Hebrews 10:17

He stays with us even when we mess up because their has been forgiveness thru Jesus and His Spirit remains in us. Amazing! to hear the Holy Spirit is to hear Jesus and to hear the Father because they are all One and the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ who is in the Father; therefore they are all One!!!! Jesus us in heaven but His Spirit is with us! God with us!!!!! we are not left alone.

"So as the Holy Spirit says: 'Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried Me and for forty years saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, 'Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.' So I declare on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.'" (Hebrews 3:7-11)

BUT!!!!!!! if we HEAR Him and BELIEVE Him and stand on the Rock, which is Jesus, we will forever enter His rest and "share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first." (Hebrews 3: 14)

Hallelujah and Amen

i love the way You move. the way You just walk into the room

i'm convinced that conquering sin is not merely a matter of suppressing the sin (the sin would still be in us...just not active) but to desire the love and intimate presence of Christ, our Lover and Power, more than the sin. to where we no longer even think about the sin but constantly see Jesus and His splendor

I need this and more every day

what if when we felt alone instead of seeking out that companionship in other people we sought out this fulfillment in Jesus. that his closeness would be our comfort...that the presence of the Spirit would fill us in every way beyond any nearness or love any human could pour out on us? that we would actually talk to him (prayer) and build a relationship (which is only possible thru communication)...that he would be REAL to us. what if we trusted and had faith in Him that he TRULY is for us. trust and believe that he knows our hearts, that he delights in showing us mercy, that he IS a good father who knows how to give good gifts, that he IS alive and powerful...that he heals, that he draws near to us, that we are his absolute joy, that we believed that the Father sees us the same way he sees his son Jesus, that the Father's wrath has been satisfied to that the only thing that is showered on us is his grace, mercy, joy, delight, love and everything else that is good and compassionate? what if we truly had faith and believed in Him to the point that no matter WHAT there is absolutely nothing to worry about EVER!!!? that when we screw up He doesn't care and just wants us to keep our eyes on him and keep coming? that when we fall He WILL lift us up and restore us? what if we had a gram of faith? what if we honestly believed that one day we are going to die and meet Jesus face to face and BE MARRIED TO HIM!!!!? what if...

if brokenness is what it takes, brokenness is what i want

...to remember the grace and mercy and intimacy He had on me and to strain for what's ahead...

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." - David