No Greater Love and Delight

“The LORD your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”
(Zephaniah 3:17)

Do you really believe that God is rejoicing over you, that He really, really loves you and delights in you? Do you live your life with this truth embedded in your heart?

God is singing over you, delighting in you constantly. Even in your weakness, He loves you. Even in the midst of His discipline over your sin, He loves you. He knows all your weakness and failings, yet He loves you with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3).

He sings over you as you continue to press through your pain, weakness and sin to pursue Him time and time again.

He loves you, really truly loves you, His son or daughter! After all, God so demonstrated His love and delight in you by sending His Son to die for you, taking the punishment deserved by all of us because He wanted communion with us. That’s how much He loves you! For,

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”
(John 15:13)

And,

“…whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
(John 3:15-17)

He loves you and laid down His life for you. He wants union and communion with you, the intimate relationship of Father and son/daughter and friend. We so well know the above verses, but have we truly and deeply pondered them in our hearts, allowing God to encounter us with all reality through His truth in them? Oh, how He loves us so!

May we seek to know the true depths and heights of God’s love and longing and the truth of His delight in us.

“The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying:
‘Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.’”
(Jeremiah 31:3)

Further Study – IHOP Teaching Archive:

Beholding God’s Glory by Beholding His Emotions
The Father Heart of God
Wholehearted Love Starts Now

Filed under: Christian, Devotional, Encouragement, God's Word , God's delight, God's love, true joy

The Joy Set Before

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
(Hebrews 12:1-2)

You endured the Cross for the joy that was set before You.

That joy was us for whom You died.

Help me to endure and live in the midst of whatever details are ever in my life, for the Joy set before me.

For that Joy is You…

Knowing You.
Loving You.
Being with You.
Growing in You.
Living for You.

No matter what is going on around us or in our lives. It’s all about You.

Help us to live worthy of Your calling, for Your glory.

Filed under: Christian, Devotional, Encouragement, God's Word, Heart's Cry , Hebrews 12, true joy

I Have Heard Your Prayers – Part 2

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“I HAVE HEARD YOUR PRAYERS…”

With the revelation of God’s promises comes trust and strength in the waiting period between the voicing of our prayers and His answers to them. We hope in the unseen and not the seen, walking by faith and not by sight. We can rest in the promise that He will do above and beyond our imagination (Ephesians 3:20-21), for what is impossible with man is possible with God!

“From ancient times no one has heard,
no one has listened,
no eye has seen any God except You,
who acts on behalf of the one who waits for Him.”
(Isaiah 64:4 HCSB)

As David exclaimed the preciousness of God’s thoughts to him in Psalm 139:17, we can also know that our thoughts and prayers are precious to God as we seek Him with all our hearts.

Let the breath-taking thought of God’s delight in you cause you to run the race with even greater fervor. Let the humbling thought of God’s care for you awaken even deeper love for Jesus in your heart. Let the awesome thought of God moving on behalf of those He loves inspire you to intercede even more unceasingly — praying the very prayers He’s already put on Your heart.

Let Your Kingdom come, let Your will be done on the earth as it is in Heaven!

Filed under: Christian, Devotional, Encouragement, Faith, God's Word, Writing , Devotional, Encouragement, Faith, God's love, God's presence, God's Word, i have heard your prayers, Prayer

I Have Heard Your Prayers – Part 1

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“I HAVE HEARD YOUR PRAYERS…”

Your words echo in my mind… What more could this daughter of God long to hear? They carry such intense meaning for this young woman after Your heart.

To one seeking after Your heart,
those words bring healing.

To one desiring to live worthy of Your calling,
those words bring determination.

To one preparing the way for Your return,
those words communicate life.

To one with the heart of an intercessor,
those words communicate love.

To one with the heart of a worshiper,
those words stir up tears of joy.

To one longing to know You more,
those words stir up wholehearted devotion.

“Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God,
your request has been heard in heaven…”
(Daniel 10:12 NLT)

Filed under: Christian, Encouragement, Faith, Writing , Daniel, Encouragement, Faith, God's presence, God's Word, i have heard your prayers, Prayer, words of life

Write This on My Heart

Lord, write upon my heart the depth of Your love,
The love that You showed in the shedding of blood.

Inscribe upon my heart Your sacrifice given
With joy at the want of relationship with us.

Etch into my heart Your selfless humility, all that You are -
That I would live as Christ to this world.

Jesus, Your love – so pure and freely given,
Make me as one selfless and pure like You.

Write upon my heart, deeply on my heart -
All that You are, that I would love like You do.

Ever deeper and deeper, inscribe upon my heart
The depth of Your love, shown for me on the cross.

Write this on my heart. Etch it ever deeper, that I might shine forth -
Shining for the glory of God, who made and loves me.

You who are a King, yet You humbled Yourself to the point of death, death on a cross, taking the filth of our sins upon Yourself so that we could have a love relationship with You. Something so undeserved, and yet You love us that much! Do you know Jesus? God loves you!

Filed under: Christian, Encouragement, Faith, Heart's Cry, Poetry, Writing , Christ, Christian poetry, Christian writing, cross, God, God's Son, Heart's Cry, Holy Spirit, jesus, Jesus Christ, Lord, poem, Poetry, Savior, Writing

Fire of God: Better Than Fireworks

He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver;
He will purify the sons of Levi,
And purge them as gold and silver,
That they may offer to the LORD
An offering in righteousness.
(Malachi 3:3)

Life lately has seemed a rollercoaster of ups and downs. The rollercoaster has not been predictable though, as if someone has blindfolded my eyes and plugged my ears throughout the ride.

Now, for someone who doesn’t like actual rollercoasters, sometimes I’d actually rather this be literal, not a metaphor of the life of a growing Christian being continually refined by the God who loves her. In all honesty, I’d rather it be easy! I’d rather be strolling in the garden with my Savior, smiling and laughing, not walking by faith in what is not seen (Hebrews 11:1). But you know what, God is worth it!

Our walk with God is about faith in what we don’t yet see, faith that He is and that He rewards those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). Even when we don’t understand His ways, we can trust that His leadership of love is perfect. After all, His ways are higher and better than ours, yet also His love is perfect (Isaiah 55:8-9).

As God grows us in love for Him and into holiness, His refining fire is definitely not always fun and games (1 Peter 1:6-9, Malachi 3:3). At times we deeply feel His great love for us in that He is the very Flame of Love (Song of Songs 4:9-10). At other times the zeal of His jealous love burns our flesh as He seeks to purify our affections for Him (Song 8:6). And even at other moments God seems distant as if He has forsaken us though He never will (Deuteronomy 31:8), teaching us to really walk out our faith in Him and growing our love for Him (Song 5:4-8).

As frustrated as I have been today about spending yet another holiday away from friends and family, God is the best Father ever and I am beyond blessed to be accepted into His awesome family in Jesus! I know He is with me by the dwelling of His Spirit of grace within me, even though He has felt distant and His Refiner’s fire burns painfully at times! Knowing He loves me and that I am His is more precious than any fleeting holiday celebrations!

For me this Fourth of July holds more precious fireworks than those of celebrating independence. The “fireworks” for me today are those of the fire of God and of dependence on Him alone, being refined to pure gold as a vessel set apart for Him alone, the very Flame of Love and the truest Source of life.

Filed under: Christian, Encouragement, Faith, God's Word, Heart's Cry , Christ, fire of God, fireworks, fourth of July, God, God's love, hebrews, Holy Spirit, jesus, Jesus Christ, July 4, purity, real fireworks, reality, Refiner's fire, refining, Song of Solomon, Song of Songs, the very Flame of Love, the very Flame of the Lord

The Reason for the Wilderness, Hope Deferred

“You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.”
(Deuteronomy 8:2)

That You, Lord, do not outright place us into the abundant place of blessing in our destiny right away is a thing of immeasurable good. You first bring us to the wilderness. There You bring us to the end of ourselves and to the fullness of You. You test and humble us, equip and grow us–lest we fall hard and become prey to the temptations of success and blessing.

It is because of Your great goodness and love that You do this. You know what is best for Your children whom You love. Your banner over us is love! Your leadership is perfect! Your ways are just, true and right.

You want us to live for You and by Your living words of life, being led by Your Spirit alone. To do so more and more, to be deep calling unto Your deep, takes time spent growing in relationship with You. It takes time spent seeking the depths of Your Presence in the Holy of Holies by which we have access through the blood of Christ. It takes growing in hearing Your voice and obeying You. It takes patience, trust and faith in You.

You are good, so good. Your love for us is so deep. Your leadership of our lives is wholly right and truly perfect, laden with Your perfect love for us as You say, “I only want the absolute best for you. Will you trust me, My child?”

God has the very best for you. In hardship or trials, trust Him. In the pain of hope deferred, trust Him. In times of fear or failure, trust Him.

He sees you! He loves you! He has the very best for you!

Filed under: Christian, Devotional, Encouragement, Faith, God's Word, Heart's Cry, Writing , delayed hope, desert, Deuteronomy 8, difficulty, God's faithfulness, God's leadership, God's love, god's will, God's Word, hardship, hope, hope deferred, pain, relationship with God, spiritual growth, the wilderness, trials, trust, trusting God

First and Foremost

“We must agree with God’s definition of success. Many agree with lies about what success is and thus, feel like a failure and live aimlessly. They focus mostly on externals (what they do and possess) instead of internals (who they are to be in their hearts)… Jesus corrected those who put their ministry before loving God.”
(Mike Bickle, The Song of Songs)

Revelation 2:3-5 says,
“you have…labored for My name’s sake…Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.”

The first and greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Christ took the agony of death on the cross in order that we could have relationship with God. In John 17:3, Jesus prays: “…this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

It is only out of that overflow of being filled with Christ’s love, truth and character that we can truly minister to and serve others. If we don’t have intimacy with God and get filled to the fullness with Him, we end up serving and laboring out of our own strength and emptiness, which is of no value to ourselves or anyone else. If it isn’t of God–sowing to the Spirit of God instead of the flesh–lasting results won’t be reaped.

God’s love and truth are of the truest value, and we need to spend time in a growing, intimate relationship with Him in order to be able to give of the love and truth He pours into us.

Continual time in God’s presence grows us in knowing Him and His character, and as a result, we become more like Christ, reflecting His love and living out His ways in our every day lives. As we shine more and more with the glory of God, others’ lives too will be changed as they are drawn near to God! Let it be, Lord!

Filed under: Devotional, Encouragement, Faith, Heart's Cry, Worship , Galatians, greatest commandment, intimacy with God, john, loving God, Matthew, relationship with God, Revelation, sowing to the Spirit

No Longer Master

“And it shall be, in that day,” Says the LORD,
“That you will call Me ‘My Husband,’
And no longer call Me ‘My Master,’
For I will take from her mouth the names of the Baals,
And they shall be remembered by their name no more.”
(Hosea 2:16-17)

In these verses God says He will no longer be Master but Husband, and that He “will take from her mouth the names of the Baals.” In other words, He will do away with false religion and rituals that don’t flow out of an intimate relationship with God.

This brought to my mind that:

Master = religion, legalism; serving God out of obligation
Husband = relationship, intimacy; serving God because of love for Him

The Lord is our Husband, not our Master. We are His friends and His delight, not His slaves. We serve God out of love for Him, not because we have to. We’re called to be voluntary lovers of the God who saved us through the blood of His Son Jesus. We seek to serve Him not out of duty or to do “religious things,” but out of love for Him whose love for us is immeasurable and undeserved.

“You are My friends if you do what I command you. “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.”
(John 15:14-15)

Prayer: Lord, let all religion, legalism and traditions not done out of love for You be gone from our hearts and lives. Help us to serve You and Your people out of love for You, not obligation. Bring us into deeper relationship with You–an intimate friendship growing in pure and humble love for You. Give us divine revelation of Your love for us, and help us to love You and others with the love of You have for us. In the name of Jesus who gave His life for us. Amen!

I will betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me
In righteousness and justice,
In lovingkindness and mercy;
I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness,
And you shall know the LORD.
(Hosea 2:19-20)

Filed under: Christian, Devotional, Encouragement, Faith, God's Word, Heart's Cry , Christ, God, Hosea, Hosea 2, Husband, jesus, Jesus Christ, john, John 15:14-15, Master

Filled Up With God

Here are some thoughts I wrote down from the sermon at church today. I hope these will spur you on as you seek to know God more and live for Him without hindrance.

“And don’t get drunk with wine, which [leads to] reckless actions,
but be filled with the Spirit:
speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs,
singing and making music to the Lord in your heart,
giving thanks always for everything to God the Father
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
submitting to one another in the fear of Christ.”
(Ephesians 5:18-21)

“What is filling your life that is keeping you from the fullness of God?”
God, empty us of all that’s not of You, & fill us fully with You.

Worship is who we are. Are we giving that worship to God or to ourselves and other things?

When we’re truly filled to the fullness with God, we will live lives of worship to Him.

The song of each our hearts from God is the song of one redeemed, a song birthed and alive in the heart of one filled fully with God!

“You have to be in the desert to enjoy the water.” Read Psalm 63 – David knew the desert, and he knew God’s glory.

Being filled with God is being fully satisfied in Him and by Him alone. Only He satisfies, nothing and no one else can.

Only the fullness of God will do, not a little, not a bit here and there, only FULLNESS!

Our life passions should be God, His Kingdom, living like Christ, fully knowing Him and being filled wholly with His Spirit.

May we seek true satisfaction in the only One who truly satisfies. Ask Him to empty you of all that is not of Him, and fill you to overflowing with Him! I pray He will do just that for all of us and that we will continually grow in knowing Him intimately.

Filed under: Christian, Encouragement, Faith, God's Word, Heart's Cry, Worship , be filled with the Spirit, ephesians, fullness of God, God's Spirit, Holy Spirit, hunger for God, Psalm 63