As a Hen Gathers her Chicks

Monday, November 19, 2012, 2:00 a.m. – the Lord woke me with the song “Seek the Lord” playing in my mind. So, I spent some time in prayer, inquiring of the Lord if he had something he wanted to say to me or if he had something he wanted me to do or to write, and then he said: “Write: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Matthew 23 (quoting vv. 33-39 NIV 1984):

“You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.  Look, your house is left to you desolate.  For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

Today’s Church

You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces…

The Pharisees and teachers of the law of Jesus’ day shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces through legalistic teaching that taught strict adherence to external requirements of the law over and above mercy, love, and compassion for their fellow man. They taught the way to God was through following a set of external rules and regulations, religious rites and rituals, and/or through following the traditions of men. Their religion was self-glorifying, because it was based off fleshly works and forms of religion that were external only, in order to give off the appearance of being righteous. They tried to earn their way to heaven through doing what they chose to do, supposedly for God, yet they failed to acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Messiah and Lord, they failed to bow to God in humility and repentance, and they failed to hear God’s voice speaking, and to obey it.

Much of today’s church is right where many of the Jews and religious leaders were in Jesus’ day, only perhaps on the other end of the spectrum, yet with the same result. Legalism used to be a major force in Christianity back in the 1950’s, when I was a child, yet today the pendulum has swung the other direction, though not entirely devoid of carryovers of legalism and/or traditionalism, either. The biggest threat to the true gospel of Jesus Christ today, I believe, is not legalism but liberalism. There is a movement that has swept across evangelical Christianity in America, where I live, which teaches, either by omission or commission, that repentance and obedience to Christ are not required for salvation. That is a false gospel which gives people a false hope of salvation, and thus today’s church is indeed shutting the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces.

You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside…

Through this same movement that has swept across evangelical Christianity here in America has also come a huge concentration and focus on how things appear outwardly. The “stage production” on Sunday mornings in the auditoriums of many of our institutional churches is often front and center in the ministry and budget of the church. There is a great focus on entertainment and on doing what will draw in large crowds of people to the church, often using worldly methods to attract worldly people, but is that what the church is supposed to be? Is not the church the Body of Christ, which is supposed to come out and be separate from the world? And, are we not to go out to the world to make disciples of all nations? Is not the purpose of the gatherings of Christ’s body to be for the mutual edification and encouragement of the saints of God, not for the purposes of entertaining the world?

We have this so backwards in so many of our local congregations. We are not supposed to attract the world into our meetings. We are to gather believers in Christ Jesus together for the teaching of the word, prayer, fellowship, the breaking of the bread, and encouragement and edification of the saints of God through the use of our spiritual (of the Spirit of God) gifts, as opposed to natural talents. God does not usually set as his criteria to choose the most talented, or the most likely to “draw in large crowds of people,” or the most physically attractive or influential people by the world’s standards to carry out his work. He often chooses the lowly, the despised, the rejected, the humble, and the weak to carry out his work, because then the glory goes to him, not to man. He is not looking for our abilities (what is outward). He is looking for our obedience (resulting from changed hearts).

We would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets…

It is so easy to look back at what people did throughout history, including Biblical history, or to even observe the actions of others and to think to ourselves, “I would never do that.” Yet, we may indeed be guilty of doing just that and may not even realize it, or we may realize it and we may just not care.

Jesus said that whatever we do “to the least of these” we do to him. How we treat others is a reflection of how we treat Christ, and/or Christ Jesus considers it the same as us treating him thus. The Bible also says that we are not to say to a part of the body “We have no need of you,” yet that is being done much in today’s church. Since today’s institutional church is, for the most part, being run like big business, utilizing big business plans, marketing schemes and the like, which have appeared to replace the word of God in most of our churches in teaching us how we should grow Christ’s church, and how we should conduct our meetings, those who have been gifted of the Holy Spirit to give messages to the church, to call the church to repentance and obedience to Christ, are often rejected and discarded. They are discarded because the church finds them an offense, and a blight on the plans of men, and on the future growth of these man-made organizations called “church.”

Yet, God has sent and is still sending his messengers to the church to call the church to repentance and obedience to Christ. In America, we may not kill them (yet) by shedding their physical blood, yet we may kill them by silencing their voices, by ostracizing them from the fellowship of the believers, and/or by spreading lies about them in order to try to dissuade our “sheep” from listening to them.

Imagine with me, if you will, today’s church here in America, primarily driven by men and man-made business plans and marketing schemes. They use worldly methods to attract the world into their meetings. This means they often also dilute the gospel of Jesus Christ in order to make it more palatable and appealing to the “itching ears” of their congregants. Then, the Lord Jesus sends them one of his messengers telling them they need to repent of their sins and that they need to obey Jesus Christ; that they need to cease teaching a false gospel of men, and they need to begin teaching the true gospel of Jesus Christ. So, they find a way to silence this messenger of God by getting rid of him or her so that she or he can no longer be a blight, i.e. to have a ruinous, damaging or spoiling effect on the plans of men. This, my brothers and sisters, is happening much in today’s church, and God notices!

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem

The church, the Body of Christ, is the new (heavenly) Jerusalem, the City of God, so this is speaking to the church today. God is speaking to the church which has chosen to turn a deaf ear to God’s calls to repentance and obedience, and which has decided, instead, to follow the ways of men, even to the exclusion and rejection of God’s chosen messengers and his servants. He is saying to the church of today, I believe, the same as he said to the Jerusalem of Jesus’ day. He longs to gather you in his arms, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you are not willing. You are ok with attending church meetings, with singing in the praise team, serving in the nursery, teaching a small group fellowship, serving on a planning committee, and/or going on short-term mission trips, and the like, but you are unwilling to humbly submit and surrender your all to God/Jesus, as his servants (slaves), repentant and obedient, willing to do whatever HE asks you to do.

This passage from Isaiah 55, upon which the following song is based, is an urgent call to come to or to return to the Lord and to be restored to a right relationship with God. The people of God at that time, evidently, were complacent and settled in their worldliness and wickedness, like some of us may be today. So, God asks us why we waste our money and energies on what will never satisfy us. He counsels us to come to him, and to receive his living water welling up in us unto eternal life, i.e. the Spirit of God, or else to receive spiritual refreshment and renewal. The call is urgent, because we never know if we have tomorrow. We must turn from our sins, and turn to God via faith in Jesus Christ. God’s word will be fulfilled. He will pardon our sins when we turn from our wickedness, and we experience his grace and mercy. Then he will restore us and will bless us with great spiritual blessings. The return to God will be accompanied by much joy and peace, and will produce much spiritual fruitfulness to the glory of God. Then we will say,

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

Seek the Lord / An Original Work / July 20, 2012

Based off Isaiah 55

“Come to Me all you who thirst; come to waters.

Listen to Me, and eat what’s good today,

And your soul will delight in richest of fare.

Give ear to Me, and you will live.

I have made an eternal covenant with you.

Wash in the blood of the Lamb.”

Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him.

Let the wicked forsake his way, in truth.

Let him turn to the Lord, and he will receive mercy.

Freely, God pardons him.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,”

declares the Lord, our God.

“My word that goes out of My mouth is truthful.

It will not return to Me unfulfilled.

My word will accomplish all that I desire,

And achieve the goal I intend.

You will go in joy, and be led forth in peace.

The mountains will burst into song… before you,

And all of the trees clap their hands.”

Song lyrics @ Public Domain

http://youtu.be/Ny56wgNs4UQ

My Testimony

The Lord Jesus has opened an opportunity for someone to build a website for me, so I wrote out my testimony to go on the site, and thought I would share it on my blog, as well:

Saturday, November 17, 2012

I was born and raised in Akron, Ohio (USA), the middle child of five, but the oldest of three girls. I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior at summer camp at Beulah Beach in Vermillion, Ohio, when I was a young child, possibly at the age of seven. I know as I sat on that hard bench seat in The Pavilion, and I listened to the speaker preaching about God’s saving grace, that my heart was heavy with my burden of sin. So, I got on my knees, poured out my heart to God in repentance and faith, and turned my life over to Jesus Christ to be his forever.

I was brought up in the Christian & Missionary Alliance Church, a solid evangelical church at that time with a strong emphasis on holy living and worldwide missions. When I was a teenager, I received permission from my parents to sit down at the front of the church auditorium where I could take in the sermon, with very little distraction. I drank in the word of God and wanted nothing more than to obey God fully in all things. I joined Youth for Christ, a Christian campus organization at my local school, and I became actively involved in that club. I was also very active in my youth group at church. Then, I got involved in Child Evangelism Fellowship and began teaching Backyard Bible Clubs for children.

I attended the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio, from 1968 to 1972, with a major in Music Education, and with a concentration in voice. It was there that I met my husband in University Singers. In 1972 I married my husband Rick, who was also a student at Akron U. He joined my church, and we began to be involved in ministry together there. We both sang, so we sang in the choir and in ensembles. I also did solo work, and we, as well, frequently sang duets in church. We also helped organize a mixed quartet with some friends of ours. We called our group The God Squad. We sang together all over Akron. We are still friends today with the other two members of that group, we still remember the songs we used to sing together, and our voices still blend. Rick and I also became the youth leaders of the church, and some of those youth are still friends with us today (on Facebook).

Fast forwarding… In 1982 our family of six moved to the Southeastern United States, and that is where we have been ever since. Our four children grew up, got married, and had children of their own in the Southeast USA. All but one of them lives nearby. We have one son in the U.S. Army.

My husband and I have now been married forty years. Over the course of our forty years of marriage we have been involved together in various Christian ministries and in community volunteer work. The last ministry we were involved in together was a ministry God gave us to college-age adults in our community. [We have two colleges in our town.] We provided Bible study, prayer groups, music, recreation, meals, community outreach projects, and ministry opportunities for some two hundred (+) young adults over the course of the seven years we housed and facilitated this ministry, primarily out of our home. Then, one day the Lord closed the doors to that ministry, and he opened up another door of ministry for me.

In 2006, the Lord called me to write out what he teaches me each day through his word, and to post that on the internet. I do this nearly daily. Then, in April of 2011 the Lord gave me a new gift – the gift of writing simple songs of faith, of praise and worship to my Lord God, and of sharing the gospel (of salvation) of Jesus Christ. I home recorded the songs, and the Lord had me include them with many of my daily devotions. Then, this past September, the Lord led a music producer to contact me about coming to Nashville to professionally record some of my songs. The Lord said for me to “go to the regions beyond,” that he would “make a way where there seemed to be no way,” and that “with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” So, my husband and I stepped out in faith, went to Nashville, and recorded the song For Our Nation.

Afterwards, the Lord led me to send the song to several radio stations. Two stations wrote back and said they would love to air the song. One of them also requested audio recordings of short devotionals. I had never done anything like that before, but the Lord gave me the words, and so we now have two recordings to date. Praise Jesus! The Lord also laid it on the heart of a friend of ours, and fellow musician, to help me get the rest of my songs recorded more professionally and with live instrumentation, so that is a work in process. As well, this website is a creation of a new friend who volunteered his services to help me get the gospel of Jesus Christ “to the regions beyond,” and this is also a work in process. To God be all the glory, honor and praise for all that is accomplished through this new work of HIS! Amen!

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.” ~ 2 Co. 2:14-17 NIV 1984

Last night, as I was praying through this new extension of the ministry to which the Lord Jesus has called me, the Lord Jesus spoke to me through the words of this old hymn:

Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah / William Williams / John Hughes

Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,

Pilgrim through this barren land.

I am weak, but Thou art mighty;

Hold me with Thy powerful hand.

Bread of Heaven, Bread of Heaven,

Feed me till I want no more;

Feed me till I want no more.

Open now the crystal fountain,

Whence the healing stream doth flow;

Let the fire and cloudy pillar

Lead me all my journey through.

Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer,

Be Thou still my Strength and Shield;

Be Thou still my Strength and Shield.

When I tread the verge of Jordan,

Bid my anxious fears subside;

Death of deaths, and hell’s destruction,

Land me safe on Canaan’s side.

Songs of praises, songs of praises,

I will ever give to Thee;

I will ever give to Thee. Amen.

My Lord encouraged my heart to proceed forward without fear, that he would guide my steps, that he would hold me, and that he would give me (feed me) all I need to do this new work to which he has called me.

“Songs of praises, I will ever give to THEE! Amen!”

Sue

The Seven Churches

Wednesday, November 14, 2012, 6:21 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “Seek the Lord” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.  I read Revelation 2-3 (quoting 3:14-22 NIV 1984):

“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

The Church

God the Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, is speaking here to the seven churches in Asia. These were literal church congregations, yet they are also symbolic of the church, as whole, and they still speak to our hearts today. Many feel as though the church in Laodicea is a prefiguring of the church in these last days. I am definitely of the belief that this represents the church in America, as a whole, in our present day, though not necessarily describing each individual or each specific church fellowship. Many people are of the belief that these churches represent the church down through the ages, ending with the church in Laodicea, which is a picture of the church prior to the judgments in Revelation. Yet, everyone one of these letters to these churches has something to say to the church today, I believe.

The Good

The Lord Jesus had something good to say about every one of these church congregations, except for the church in Laodicea. He spoke of their hard work and perseverance, how they endured hardships for the sake of the name of Christ and had not grown weary, how they hated compromise with the pagan world and sinful practices that went on in the name of religious liberty (God’s grace); and the fact that they did not tolerate wicked men and false teachers, and in fact, they tested teachers of the word and found some of them to be false. We need to do more in our day to test teachers of the word instead of buying into everything they tell us. False teachers abound in our churches here in America today.

Some church congregants were afflicted and poor, yet they were rich in faith. They endured the slanders of those who claimed God as their Father, but who were really of the “Synagogue of Satan.” In other words, they faced slanderous accusations from those who said they were of God when, in fact, they were followers of Satan, which was obvious by their lifestyles and the things they taught. Other church fellowships remained true to the name of Jesus Christ even though they lived where Satan had his throne, i.e. in an area that was much given over to Satan and to sinful practices. These followers of Christ did not renounce their faith in Jesus Christ, even though they faced much opposition from sinful men, persecution and the reality that they could lose their lives for their testimony for Christ. And, still others our Lord commended for their love, faith and perseverance.

In a church congregation where God chided them for their hypocrisy, he spoke well of those who had not “soiled their clothes.” Amen! When we invite Jesus Christ into our lives to be Lord and Savior of our lives, we put on Christ Jesus as a holy and righteous garment we wear, not on top of our old way of living, but in place of our sinful pasts. So, to soil our clothes would mean to return to sinful practices and to follow the ways of this world and of our society and to “dance the dirge” with those who live according to the pattern of this world. So, when Jesus commended these followers of Christ for not soiling their garments, he was saying that they remained true to God and to his word and they did not compromise with the world of sin. He said they would walk with him in white, “for they are worthy!”

Then, the Lord spoke to a church congregation who had kept his word and had not denied his name and who had kept his commands to endure patiently. Amen! Even though they had little strength, possibly due to persecution and hardship, God had honored them by providing an open door of ministry for them which no man could shut. Amen! I had to learn that through some tough battles that when God opens a door, no man can shut it, so we should never fear men or circumstances or even our own trials and tribulations, because God is absolutely sovereign and is in control, and if he opens a door, it will remain open until he decides to close it. Hallelujah!

The Bad

There were only two congregations that our Lord Jesus had nothing bad to say about. They were the afflicted and poor who had endured slanderous accusations from those who claimed God as their Father, but who were not of God, and the ones who had kept God’s word and had not denied his name, and for whom God had placed an open door that no man could shut.

One congregation had many good and positive things going for it, but they had forsaken their “first love.” To forsake one’s first love would be like committing adultery against one’s spouse. I can still remember when I was dating my husband. He was on my mind much of the day. I wrote him notes and put them in his mailbox at school, we talked at school, and we talked on the phone when we were at our separate homes. He is the one I wanted to share everything with, do everything with, and be with as much as possible. And, I couldn’t wait until the day we were married and we could be together forever. If we don’t have that kind of love and desire for our Lord Jesus Christ then we, too, have forsaken our first love.

Our Lord Jesus scolded another congregation because they had those among them who held to a false teaching, which taught people how to lead other people astray – a false teaching which deceived the minds of naïve and immature Christians into compromise with worldliness and immorality. They taught a libertine approach to God’s divine grace, i.e. a grace with no restrictions and no holy requirements, which gave the people the freedom to practice idolatry and immorality, because they were now under grace and they felt their eternity was secured. This type of false teaching abounds in today’s church in America. And, it mostly goes unchecked. So, if you receive a teaching absent of the need to repent of sin and to walk in obedience to Christ as required for your salvation, then that teaching is false. Another congregation was guilty of tolerating such compromise with the world of sin. Make sure today that you are following the true gospel, and not this false gospel of men.

Yet another congregation our Lord chided because they had a reputation of being alive but they were really dead. In other words, they gave the outward appearance of one thing while inwardly they were truly something else. Much of what goes on in today’s church in America is for the show, the appearance, and the performance. Many church congregations are following Marketing 101 for how to build their churches instead of or certainly over and above God’s holy word. They have bought into the whole image thing and the need to attract the world to the “church” with worldly methods, in order to try to “sell” something. They may have great performances that may draw in large crowds of people, but are they teaching the truth of the gospel? And, are they operating in the power of the Holy Spirit of God, or in the will and strength of men? These are questions we need to ask ourselves.

Lastly, Jesus spoke against the church in Laodicea. They were neither on fire for Christ nor were they particularly cold (opposed) to him. To coin a phrase used by author Kyle Idleman, they were probably “fans” but not “followers.” A fan is like a cheerleader who sits on the sidelines and cheers on the team, but they don’t really get in the game and play for keeps. Christianity and contemporary worship services are popular today in America. And, they are loaded with many fans. That is why we have such big attendances at these public gatherings, but even very large church congregations struggle to get workers, though this is not to say that all church (institutional) workers are followers of Christ and are not merely fans. We can work for our churches but not be following Jesus Christ at all.

The point is that we can have an association of some kind with Jesus Christ and with Christianity, and we may have even been followers of Christ at one time, so we are obviously not antagonistic about Jesus Christ. We may even believe we are following him, but if our lifestyles show that our passion and desires are centered more around ourselves and what we want out of life rather than us having passion and desire to follow Jesus Christ and to obey him in all things, then we, too, may fit into this “lukewarm” category. Those are who are lukewarm are generally complacent and worldly and Jesus is not the focus of their lives. They may even generally ignore him except on Sundays or at small group meetings. Jesus does not want us part-time or occasionally. He wants us 24/7 committed to him to listen to his voice, to obey him, and to follow him wherever he leads us.

The Call

At the end of each one of these letters there was a call of some kind - to persevere, endure, be faithful, continue, and/or to wake up, repent of their sin, and obey Christ. There was certainly a call to return to Christ to those who had strayed to a false gospel, to hypocrisy (appearance only faith), or to lukewarmness. And, in each of these letters there was a call to overcome. And, the Lord Jesus is still calling his church today to hear him speaking, to listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches, to identify where we are at fault, and where we need to change, and then to repent of our ways and turn to walk in obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ faithfully to the end of time.

To those who think God will not judge his church, think again. He said to these churches that if they did not repent (turn from their sin) he would come and remove them from their place, or he would come and fight against them with the sword of his mouth, or to those whom he has given plenty of time to repent but they have refused, the judgment may already be on its way. To others he said that if they did not wake up, repent and obey he would come like a thief, and they would not know at what time he would come. And, to the church in Laodicea (the spiritually lukewarm church of today) he says he is about to spit us out of his mouth, i.e. judgment is imminent. Yet, he is still calling us to get it right, to hear what he is saying, and to follow him in obedience.

To those who overcome, and who do the will of God to the end, Jesus promises eternal life. In other words, to those of us who, in the strength and power and working of the Holy Spirit of God within us, by his grace alone, conquer, defeat and prevail over our flesh, Satan and sin, and who choose to walk in obedience to Jesus Christ by God’s grace, he will give the crown of life, and we will rule and reign with him when he comes again and sets up his kingdom here on this earth. Many, many scriptures in the New Testament teach us that true faith is enduring faith that is continuous and that perseveres to the end. So, make sure today that you have turned from your sin, that you are walking in obedience to Christ, and that you are a follower of Jesus Christ and not just a fan.

Seek the Lord / An Original Work / July 20, 2012

Based off Isaiah 55

“Come to Me all you who thirst; come to waters.

Listen to Me, and eat what’s good today,

And your soul will delight in richest of fare.

Give ear to Me, and you will live.

I have made an eternal covenant with you.

Wash in the blood of the Lamb.”

Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him.

Let the wicked forsake his way, in truth.

Let him turn to the Lord, and he will receive mercy.

Freely, God pardons him.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,”

declares the Lord, our God.

“My word that goes out of My mouth is truthful.

It will not return to Me unfulfilled.

My word will accomplish all that I desire,

And achieve the goal I intend.

You will go in joy, and be led forth in peace.

The mountains will burst into song… before you,

And all of the trees clap their hands.”

http://youtu.be/Ny56wgNs4UQ

Take it To Heart

Tuesday, November 13, 2012, 8:00 a.m. – the Lord woke me with the song “Jesus Paid it All” playing through my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Revelation 1:1-8 (NIV 1984):

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

John,

To the seven churches in the province of Asia:

Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

Look, he is coming with the clouds,

    and every eye will see him,

even those who pierced him;

    and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him.

So shall it be! Amen.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

The Purpose

God the Father gave his Son, Jesus Christ, God the Son, this revelation, which God/Jesus then made known to John via an angel. The purpose of the revelation was for Jesus Christ to show his servants (his followers) what must soon take place. The word “soon” (or “near”) was used here and often in the New Testament in relation to the final days on the earth. Since this was written nearly 2000 years ago, we can assume that “soon” and “near” were more in the context of being “imminent,” i.e. approaching, upcoming, or in the future, though certainly certain elements of this revelation have taken place throughout history since Jesus died, rose from the grave and ascended back to heaven from which he came.

So, why was it important for Jesus to give us this revelation in order to show us what must soon take place? I believe it is a matter of perspective. In other words, when we view our lives in the perspective of eternity and our future, and we do take it to heart, then it should change how we view God, eternity, our time on this earth, and our purpose in being here, and ultimately it should change how we choose to live our lives. If we have the perspective that all these things are near, and we take to heart what is written here, not just about future events, but about the need for the church to wake up and to repent of her adulteries and to return to her first love, then we should begin to see revival break out and people coming to true faith in Jesus Christ by the masses. So, do we really take this to heart?

I believe it is also important that we have this revelation to lead us to holy living and to prepare our hearts for judgments of God and for persecution to come to the saints of God. Although I don’t know when Jesus Christ is going to return, I believe it is a dangerous philosophy (teaching) in America which teaches that the church will be raptured before any of this takes place. We have so soft-pedaled the gospel of Jesus Christ, from beginning to end, here in America that what is written here in Revelation does not seriously or radically impact many of our lives and how we live them, because we don’t believe we will be here when any of this takes place. It makes for nice reading in the “Left Behind” fictional series of books based off Revelation, as well as many people like to debate and argue over the various interpretations of what all this means, but if it is not impacting how we live our lives, then we have truly missed the point of it all. Again, “Do we really take this to heart?”

To Heart

So, what does John mean when he said “Blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it”? It means to take what is said here seriously and to apply it to our lives personally, believing that it has significant value to how we live out our lives on a daily basis. It means for our lives to be much affected by what we read, and to live accordingly as though we believe that what is written here is true, is for us, and that it could directly impact our lives on a major scale. It also means to take God seriously and to understand that what he wrote to those seven churches still applies to the church today, where it fits.

For instance, let’s begin where John proclaimed that Jesus Christ is the one who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood. What does that mean to you? Does it mean that positionally you are in Christ Jesus through faith and that one day you will get to be with your Lord for eternity in glory? Yes, but that is only part of the picture. If we truly take this to heart, we realize that Jesus Christ, God the Son, left his home in heaven to take on human flesh and to suffer as we suffer, to be tempted as we are tempted, yet without sin, and that he suffered persecution, abandonment, misunderstanding, false accusations, rejection, denial and betrayal at the hands of his closest companions, mockery, abuse, beatings and a cruel death on a cross, as well as when he died, he took upon himself the sins of the entire world. And, he did this for you and for me.

So, why do you think he went through all that pain and agony? He did this because he loves us, and so we would be truly free from our sins, not just free positionally so that we can go to heaven one day, but so we would be free of slavery to sin while we still live on the face of this earth, and so we would be free to love, honor and obey him the rest of our lives, and to walk with him in perfect fellowship. When he died, our sins died with him, so that when we come to him in faith we could die to our old way of living in sin and to please ourselves, and so we would live new lives in Christ Jesus, our Lord, “created to be like Christ in true righteousness and holiness” (see Eph. 4:17-24; John 9:23-24).

So, if we take this to heart, it means we will die to our old lives of sin and we will choose to live new lives in the power and strength of the Holy Spirit of God within us. We will put to death the misdeeds of the flesh, and we will walk in the Spirit of God in true holiness and righteousness. Our lives will no longer be our own to do with what we desire, but our lives will be committed to obedience to Jesus Christ. So, knowing all this, are we taking this to heart in our lives?

As well, Jesus Christ made us to be a kingdom and priests of serve his God and Father forever and ever – to him be all the glory! So, are we taking this to heart? Are we serving our Lord God with all our hearts, minds and strength? I am not talking here about serving in the institutional church in some type of church ministry, though that could very well be where God is having you serve him. Service for God has to be viewed as that of a slave with his master. We don’t choose the service. God does! And, it is our job (responsibility) to obey whatever he says, and to do whatever he has called us to do. Our reasonable service of worship, according to Romans 12:1-2, is to lay our lives down on God’s altar as living sacrifices to God, holy and pleasing to him, no longer conformed to the ways of this world, but transformed by the renewing of our minds via the Holy Spirit of God. Our lives are no longer our own, for we were bought with a price, therefore we should honor God with our lives. So, daily we say, “Lord, what do you have for me today?” And, then we obey.

One Day

One day Jesus is going to return to earth to receive his bride (his true servants) to himself, to judge the earth and its inhabitants, and to set up his earthly reign as King of kings and as Lord of lords, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Make sure today that you are taking to heart the things written in the New Testament with regard to our relationship with Jesus Christ and his purpose for our lives while we still live on the face of this earth. Make sure you are following Jesus Christ in obedience and surrender of your will to his will for your life. And, make sure you are telling others about Jesus Christ, because one day all these things will take place, and many will die without ever having come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives.

Jesus paid it all for us. All to him we owe!

Jesus Paid It All / Elvina M. Hall / John T. Grape

… your sins… they shall be as white as snow… Isaiah 1:18

I hear the Savior say, “Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray, Find in Me thine all in all.”

For nothing good have I whereby Thy grace to claim,
I’ll wash my garments white in the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb.

And now complete in Him my robe His righteousness,
Close sheltered ’neath His side, I am divinely blest.

Lord, now indeed I find Thy power and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots and melt the heart of stone.

When from my dying bed my ransomed soul shall rise,
“Jesus died my soul to save,” shall rend the vaulted skies.

And when before the throne I stand in Him complete,
I’ll lay my trophies down all down at Jesus’ feet.

Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.

Watch Out!

Watch Out!

Monday, November 12, 2012

We read in 2 John 8-9: “Watch yourselves that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son.”

There will be many deceivers who will come into our churches, or who may even pastor many of our churches, who will try to lead us astray to a false gospel of men. They will teach what is not in accord with sound doctrine, and what is not in agreement with the teachings of Christ or with that of the apostles. So, we must be watchful so that we don’t lose what was accomplished for us on the cross of Christ and through the witness of the apostles.

So, how do we watch? We watch first of all through turning from a lifestyle of sin and of living for selfish pleasure, by being transformed in heart and mind by the power and working of the Holy Spirit of God within us, and by turning to walk in faithful obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ and our Father God.

Then, we watch through time spent each day in God’s holy word, in prayer, and through obedience to his commands. We also watch through Christian community as we fellowship with other followers of Jesus Christ who have also made him Lord (boss) of their lives. We also watch through testing everything we hear of men to see if it aligns itself with the word of God. We choose to not become followers of men, but followers of God only.

Yet, if we choose to reject the truth of the gospel, and instead follow whatever wind of doctrine seems to fit our lifestyles or what suits our fancy because it is more comfortable for us, because it does not require death to sin and self, then scripture teaches us that we do not have God, salvation, or the hope of eternal life with God in glory.

So, make sure today that what you believe, and what you are following after, and what you are embracing as true is the true gospel of Jesus Christ according to scripture, and is not a false gospel of men, absent of the cross of Christ in your lives.

http://youtu.be/msr4MvtzvJs

Loving God's Children

Sunday, November 11, 2012, 8:00 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “Seek the Lord” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read 1 John 5:1-13 (NIV 1984):

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. We accept man’s testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Born of God

John not only uses multiple black and white statements in his letter to describe the contrast between a lifestyle given over to sinful indulgence and one that is living to please God, but he also makes several short statements, each describing a characteristic trait of what it means to be born of God or to know God. These statements cannot and should not be taken out of context and a doctrine or belief built around any one single statement, but they must be taken as a whole collectively within the context of the entire letter.

So, when he said that “everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God,” we should not assume that a mere intellectual belief or even an emotional belief is evidence that one is born of God. John also said that if we claim to have fellowship with God and yet we continue to live a lifestyle of sin, we are liars and the truth is not in us. He said the way in which we know we have come to know God is that we obey his commands. If we say we know him, and yet we don’t obey him, again we are liars and the truth is not in us. If we claim to be in the light and yet we hate our brother, we are still in darkness (sin). If we seek after, are passionate about, and exert most of our time and energies to love the world of sin, the love of the Father is not in us. This is some tough stuff here! But it is so true!!

So, going back to the statement about believing that Jesus is the Christ being evidence that we are born of God, we must assume here that this belief is not merely intellectual or emotional in nature, but it is a belief that is evidenced by what we do. We must discontinue living a life of sinful and selfish pleasure, we must obey God’s commandments and live to please God, we must not hate our brothers and sisters but we should demonstrate God’s love to them, and we should not chase after the things and pleasures of this world, but we should be followers of Jesus Christ in doing what he says to do and say.

Love the Children

I think in our society here in the USA that we have such a skewed idea of the meaning of the word “love.” Television and movies have certainly played a major role in our generation in developing our way of thinking and behaving. Culture and tradition also play a major role in molding our way of reasoning and acting. We tend to emulate the role models that are set before us. Many of us have had to unlearn those influences through careful study of God’s word. “Love” is often interpreted merely as an emotion (feeling), sensuality or selfish pleasure and desire. Even some things we do with the best of intentions, because that is the way we were taught, can fall into one of these three categories mentioned here.

Yet John, in the Spirit of God, said that we love the children of God by loving God and by carrying out his commands. Did you know that? And, do we truly understand what that means? He said his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. So love for God is to obey his commands, which involves overcoming the world, and this is how we know that we love the children of God – interesting! Do you see this? We have to set the right example, and we have to lead others to follow God and his commands if we are truly to love the children of God. It is not love for God or for the children of God, in other words, if we are living for self-pleasure and gratification and/or to please men. It is love for God and for the children of God if we are walking in the light of truth, are obeying God’s commands, and we are overcoming this world of sin and self-pleasure and desire.

So many people think and even preach that loving each other is only some kind of warm emotion we feel or is displayed in some type of expression of affection or act of what they might consider kindness, which could be, in some cases, culturally kind but scripturally hateful. I love affection and warm feelings of emotion toward people, and I love doing things for people that are kind and thoughtful and which make them feel good, so these are good things, but they are not the totality of what love is. Even the world loves like this. True Biblical love follows the role model of Jesus Christ, is obedient to God and his commands, is separate from the world of sin, and is in the process of overcoming the world, not embracing it. True Biblical love is unselfish, thinks of the needs (not wants) of others, reaches out to meet those needs, lays down its life (reputation, time, energies, and possessions) for others, and speaks the truth in love, even if it means being hated in return.

Water and Blood

Jesus Christ came by “water and blood.” Now, we all come into this world by “water and blood” through physical birth, so there is one aspect in which this is saying that God the Son became man, i.e. human flesh. He became human so that he could suffer what we suffer so that he could become our compassionate and merciful high priest, and so he could also become our perfect (without sin) sacrifice on the cross for our sins.

Yet, there is also a spiritual aspect to this “water and blood.” The water has to do with his baptism, at which time he accepted the cross in his life. His baptism looked forward to the cross, whereas our baptism (physical) looks back to the cross, but in both cases we are accepting what the cross will mean for us, which was/is death. For Jesus, he died a physical death on the cross for our sins, but he also took upon himself the sins of the entire world, and our sins were crucified and buried with him. For us, when we come to faith in Jesus Christ, we die to our old way of living in sin and self-pleasure. We can do this because Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sin and he already conquered death, hell, Satan and sin on our behalf. He did this by shedding his blood on the cross so we could go free from slavery to sin on a daily basis, and so we would be free of eternal damnation, so that we can live with God forever, beginning right now.

Seek the Lord / An Original Work / July 20, 2012

Based off Isaiah 55

“Come to Me all you who thirst; come to waters.

Listen to Me, and eat what’s good today,

And your soul will delight in richest of fare.

Give ear to Me, and you will live.

I have made an eternal covenant with you.

Wash in the blood of the Lamb.”

Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him.

Let the wicked forsake his way, in truth.

Let him turn to the Lord, and he will receive mercy.

Freely, God pardons him.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,”

declares the Lord, our God.

“My word that goes out of My mouth is truthful.

It will not return to Me unfulfilled.

My word will accomplish all that I desire,

And achieve the goal I intend.

You will go in joy, and be led forth in peace.

The mountains will burst into song… before you,

And all of the trees clap their hands.”

http://youtu.be/Ny56wgNs4UQ

Children of God

Saturday, November 10, 2012, 3:16 a.m. – the Lord woke me this morning with the song “Praise the ‘I AM’” playing in my mind.

Praise the “I AM!” / An Original Work / February 24, 2012

Jesus, my Savior, full of compassion,

Glorious in power, mighty in strength;

Gracious Redeemer, mighty deliv’rer,

My heart adores Him. Praise to His name!

Perfect salvation my Lord provided

When He died for my sins on a tree;

Crucified my sins; conquered in vict’ry,

When He arose, so I could be free!

I am so thankful for His forgiveness;

Grateful that He chose to pardon me,

Giving me new life full in His Spirit,

So I can serve Him; His servant be!

Walking in daily fellowship with Him,

Obeying Him whate’er He commands;

Forsaking my sins, living in freedom,

I will endure with Him to the end!

He gives me peace and calm reassurance

In times of sorrow, or in distress.

His grace is sure, and oh, how sufficient

To meet me in my need for sweet rest.

Oh, how I love You, Jesus, my Savior.

My heart longs for You where’er I am.

Your word is precious; speaks to my spirit;

Brings comfort, healing. Praise the “I AM!”

http://youtu.be/lJpj-TVfQek

Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read 1 John 3 (NIV 1984):

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

God’s Love

When I sleep at night, I pile (heap) the blankets on myself because I get cold. I tuck them close around my body and snug up around my neck. Only my head sticks out. Well, one day I looked up the term “lavish,” i.e. in the context of God lavishing his great love on us, and it rendered “heap; cover; shower; and smother,” etc. I thought, “How cool!” To lavish also means to give generously and in abundance, i.e. he gives far beyond what we could ever think or imagine. His love is never ending. Yet, what really touches my heart when I think about him lavishing his love on us is this picture of blankets heaped on me to keep me warm, and tucked closely around my body smothering me with his love, care and protection. It is also kind of like the picture of a mom wrapping her baby in a blanket and then holding her baby (child) close in her arms. His love is wrapped closely around us in much the same way, because we are his children.

We are his children because God loved us so much that he sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins. In love, Jesus willingly laid down his life for us so we could go free from slavery to sin, free from the ultimate penalty of sin (eternal damnation), and so we could be free to love and worship God in his power and strength within us. We become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. Faith, though, is not an intellectual assent to what Jesus did for us, or a mere acknowledgment that we are sinners in need of a Savior. It is not an emotional decision we make at an altar after a passionate plea or preceded by a moving story coupled with stirring music playing in the background. Faith means turning from our sin, being changed in heart and mind by the Holy Spirit of God in regeneration (new birth), and turning to God to walk with him in faithful obedience and surrender to his will for our lives (see Eph. 4:17-24; Luke 9:23-24, etc.). It means dying to our old way of living in sin, and it means being reborn to live new lives in Jesus Christ our Lord (boss).

The World

The world, in this context, is a reference to the world of sin and wickedness; worldliness; the worldly church; or to anything that stands in stark contrast or opposition to God and to his words of truth. This world does not know God, which is why this world also does not know us, i.e. it does not understand, comprehend, or acknowledge (give credence to) who we are in Christ Jesus, nor can it. There is no fellowship between us and this world, because there is no fellowship between light and darkness. That is why scripture teaches that we are to come out from them and be separate (see 2 Co 6:17; Rev. 18:4). We are to live in the world, but we are not to partake in the things of this sinful and fallen world to where we become like the world. God pulled us out of the world so we could be shining lights for his gospel to the world (see Matt. 5:14; John 15:19; 1 Jn. 2:15-16).

Continuing in Sin

John contrasts a lifestyle of sin with a lifestyle of obedience to God/Jesus throughout this letter in 1 John. Yet, this teaching is not as black and white as it may appear on the surface, because John did acknowledge that we might still sin, though he wrote this that we might not sin. We will not lose our salvation every time we sin, though sin will definitely break our fellowship with God, yet we also must not use God’s grace to us as a window of opportunity to continue in willful and repeated sin, either. So, what we need to understand here is, although being in Christ Jesus does not mean we will never sin again, what it does mean is that we will not willfully continue in a lifestyle of sin thinking God’s grace covers it all. John makes it quite clear, as does Jesus, Paul, Peter, et al, that we cannot continue to walk in sin after we have professed faith in Jesus Christ. If we continue in a lifestyle of sin, we have not seen God nor do we know him.

Then, John warns us to not let anyone lead us astray. No one who is born of God will continue in a lifestyle of sin. He cannot go on sinning, John said, because he has been born of God. So, if someone preaches a gospel message to you absent of the need to repent (turn from sin) and absent of the need to obey Christ Jesus for salvation, then he is one who is leading you astray to a false gospel, which makes him a false teacher, especially or particularly if he does this knowingly and purposefully. Some preach this false gospel by omission while others teach it by commission, i.e. they teach that repentance and obedience to Christ are not necessary for salvation and that God is pleased with you no matter what you do. Ephesians 4:17-24 and Luke 9:23-24 directly refute that teaching. So, don’t buy into a gospel that tells you that you don’t have to turn from your sin or that omits that important ingredient from the gospel. The gospel is an offense to those who are perishing, and when we preach the true gospel, to the perishing we are the smell of death.

Love One Another

Love is the opposite of hate. Hate reveals itself in hostility or animosity toward another. Hate can be rooted in jealousy, such as was the case with Cain who murdered his brother because his own actions were evil while his brother Abel’s actions were righteous. Hate is also rooted in pure selfishness, yet love does no harm to its neighbor. Hate desires to get even, to harm, to play tricks on, to withhold love and affection, and is often devious and willfully chooses to inflict some type of pain or suffering on another, even to the point of spreading lies about someone to have others hate that person. Love, on the other hand, returns hate with love, wishes no ill to its neighbor, demonstrates love and compassion, and follows Jesus Christ’s example in willingly giving of one’s time, energies, emotion, reputation and very lives in order to meet the legitimate needs of others, particularly their need of their Savior Jesus Christ, of salvation from sin, and of eternal life with God in glory.

We should not be surprised if the world hates us, because it hated Jesus, too, because he told the world that what it did was evil. So, speaking the truth to people can be love if it is motivated by love. Telling people the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ is also love if it comes from a heart motivated by love and concern for those who are dying in their sins without Christ. Exposing false teaching and false teachers is also love, because we don’t want people to be led astray and to be given a false hope of salvation and for them to hear God say to them one day, “Depart from me, I never knew you.” Teaching people they need to turn from their sins and that they need to obey Christ is also love, because we understand that this is the only way to salvation and to eternal life with God in heaven. This is how Jesus laid down his life for us so that we could go free, and this is how we need to lay down our lives for others. Refusing to tell people the truth, because we think telling the truth is not “polite,” or because we don’t want to hurt their feelings is not love. It is selfishness.

We also love one another by meeting others’ physical or emotional legitimate needs. Jesus Christ had compassion on people for their physical and emotional needs, as well as on their spiritual needs. He combined forgiveness of sins with physical healing often in his ministry. If we see someone in financial need (legitimate) and we have no pity on him, how can God’s love be in us? Obviously we cannot meet all the needs of all people, but when the Lord Jesus, via his Holy Spirit within our hearts, presses upon us that someone is in need and we choose to ignore that need, though we may be quite able to help meet the need, then we are not exercising Christ’s love within us. We have to love more than just with our words, but we must love in action and in truth in meeting whatever needs God says we should meet. Yet, we must pray for much discernment to know which are legitimate needs and which are not. Sometimes the real need is for someone to learn financial management or to get a job, and that is where we can best help him or her.

Obey His Commands

Lastly, we must obey God’s commands and do what pleases him. Then we have confidence before God in bringing our requests to him in prayer. Those who obey God’s commands live in him, and he in them. This is truth, and it is the truth we must live by if we are to be in Christ, if he is to be in us, and if we are to have the hope of eternal life with God in glory.

Jesus, Lead Me / An Original Work / July 22, 2011

Jesus, lead me all the way.

Be my hope and be my stay.

Gently lead me where I should go,

So Your Spirit, I want to know.

Open up my heart to You.

Fill me with Your love and truth.

Make my heart want to obey.

Be my Lord today. Gently lead always.

Jesus, lover of my soul,

Cleanse my heart, and make me whole;

Be transformed in my heart today,

As I turn from my sin and pray.

Make Your will known to my heart.

May I not from You depart.

How I long to hear You now,

As I humbly bow. Jesus, hear me now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTIM16o9ldg