Sunday, September 14,
2014, 9:00 p.m. – the Lord Jesus put the song in mind, “Refresh My Spirit, Lord.” This was followed by “Lord, Move Me.” Both songs have a
similar theme.
Refresh My
Spirit, Lord /
An Original Work / August 8, 2011
Based off of
Psalm 51 & Matthew 11:28-30
Refresh my
spirit, Lord. Revive my heart today.
Move me to
serve You, Lord in all I do and say.
Be my heart’s
one desire; my spirit set on fire
In pure devotion,
Lord, to love you and obey.
Create within
me, Lord, a pure heart, this I pray,
So I can
worship You and yield to You always.
May all Your
love and pow’r be lived in me, I pray,
So I might love
as You; be Your witness today.
Jesus says,
“Come to me all you with heavy hearts,
And find in me
your peace, and give to me your all.
My yoke is
light to bear, ‘cause I paid for your sin,
So you might be
set free, and purified within.”
I
have been really dragging for a couple of days. Part of it is emotional, I am
sure, as multiple things are on my mind, and I am praying over several
situations going on in my life right now. Part of it is physical and hormonal,
too. Those types of things come and go, or are cyclical, so they are a fact of
life which must be recognized so that I (we) don’t let these times weigh me
(us) down. All these things affect me spiritually, so it is during these times
that I need to be refreshed in my spirit, revived in my heart, moved to follow
my Lord in obedience, and reminded of God’s absolute faithfulness in my every
part of my life.
I
am presently reading in Romans for my quiet times with the Lord each day. So,
after reading the lyrics to these two songs, I prayed, “Speak, Lord, your words
to my heart.” Then, I read Romans 3-5.
When I got to Ro. 4:18, I knew this
was where I was to read.
Against Hope
In hope against
hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to
that which had been spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” Without becoming
weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was
about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect
to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith,
giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was
able also to perform. Therefore it was also credited to him as righteousness.
Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, but for
our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who
raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, He who was delivered over because of our
transgressions, and was raised because of our justification. ~ Ro. 4:18-25
NASB
I
must admit that sometimes there are situations in my life which appear hopeless
on the surface. It is hard to wait, at times, for things promised, because of
things present which give the indication of the opposite of what is hoped for.
And, so I need to be encouraged to keep pressing on, believing God, even when I
can’t see what lies ahead. I need to keep believing even when the evidence is
not physically present with me. I must believe God even when all looks as
though there is no way. So, I find much encouragement in this story of Abraham’s
faith, and in how he believed God even when, from all physical evidence, it
looked absolutely hopeless. I was immediately strengthened in my faith as the
Spirit spoke his words of encouragement to my heart through this story.
Sometimes
we read the word, and we intellectually take it into our minds, but it has no
real power or effect, for whatever reason. Other times we are affected by it,
and we learn from it, and we grow from it, but we don’t sense the Spirit
putting his finger on any particular area of our lives. Then other times we
read the word and the Spirit of God quickens our minds and hearts and deals
specifically with situations in our lives. Then what we read immediately convicts
our hearts, gives us direction, instills hope, and/or it refreshes our hearts,
encourages our spirits, and it strengthens us in our faith. This was one of
those times when I knew that God had a personal message for me through this
story.
The
Lord Jesus immediately lifted my spirits when I read how Abraham believed God,
against hope, and how he did not waver in unbelief. His faith did not weaken,
but he grew strong in his faith, and he gave glory to God, even when he had not
yet realized the fulfillment of the promise. As well, he was fully persuaded
that God had the power to do what he had promised, and that he would fulfill
that promise. Amen! Lord, I believe!
No Pain, No
Gain
Therefore,
having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this
grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only
this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings
about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character,
hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out
within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. ~ Ro. 5:1-5
NASB
You
have probably heard the old saying, “No pain, no gain.” Apparently it has to do
with physical exercise, toning of body muscles, and losing weight. Getting in
physical shape takes discipline, hard work, and muscle soreness in order to
gain the end goal of toned muscles, healthier bodies and weight loss.
Well,
a similar situation occurs as we get in shape spiritually, i.e. as we grow in
faith and in our walks with the Lord. Certainly we do so in the power and
strength of the Spirit within us, yet the Spirit takes us through situations in
our lives to help with that process. In other words, these difficult situations
in our lives, which I mentioned earlier, which can try our faith, also serve
God’s purposes in our lives. As we go through these difficulties, and we learn
to turn to him, and to draw on his strength, we grow in faith, and he develops
his (godly) character within us.
Difficult
times teach us perseverance, i.e. the waiting I spoke of previously, and the
steadfastness in continued faith, even when all looks hopeless. When we
persevere, even in the face of much difficulty and/or persecution, his
character is proven in our lives in how we respond to those troublesome circumstances.
The more we become like Jesus in all that we think, do and say, the greater our
faith will be so that we will be more hopeful by trusting in our Lord and in
his many promises to us, and we will not waver in unbelief. Our God is
absolutely faithful in all that he does, and he will do all that he has said he
will do, and that is why true hope will never disappoint, because we hope for
what God has promised.
Lord,
Move Me / An Original Work / October 16, 2011
Be
my desire, my heart set on fire,
Lord,
move me to worship You only, I pray.
Fill
with Your Spirit, my heart overflow.
Lord,
may I long for You; Your word to know.
Teach
me to walk with You, Lord, in Your power,
And
may I serve You, Lord, right now in this hour.
Lord,
how I want to obey You forever.
Help
me to hear You, Lord, so I will not stray.
Teach
me to love You; adore You always.
Envelope
me, Lord, with Your grace today.
Meet
me in my need, and show me Your mercy.
Forgive
me for all things, as I humbly pray.
Counsel
me, lead me, direct me, and guide me,
So
I follow You, Lord, where’er You lead now.
I
love to hear You speak Your words to me.
I
am so grateful that You set me free.
Wash
me, and cleanse me, and make me like You, Lord,
And
I will live with You for eternity.
No comments:
Post a Comment