May God's presence be in you, ever before you and always encompassing about you and may you dwell there always


 May God's presence be in you, ever before you and always encompassing about you and may you dwell there always.


 Another year is fast approaching its end and I feel the stirring in my heart to worship. Yesterday in church Bobby Richard spoke on worship and I felt that well-known passion stirring inside. I know it’s what makes me who I am. Worship brings God’s presence and God’s presence is my greatest passion. God is everything, my greatest love, my greatest joy and Hope. As Bobby spoke I knew worship wasn’t just for me, it’s for that heart transformation that changes the very heavens, your circumstances change, your faith is made fuller and stronger but it’s even more it charges you. It causes you to think about God and His heart, His passion becomes your passion. I was jolted into focusing outside just myself. I suppose He reminded me of who I am and what my purpose is.

My family is my greatest passion after God. My family consists of not just blood but marriage and church and friends. When I love you I love you forever. Even when I’m hurt or angry I’m never ambivalent. I’ll eventually forgive move on and love you again. But yesterday it just hit me that when I worship it changes everything. I knew that before but you know when God just drops it into your spirit again and it’s a fresh understanding. Well I’m going to end this year in worship. I want 2013 to be better, stronger and more passionate.

I had an awesome 2012, I became a grandmother (to Ethan, Arya and Samara), a wife to Cliff and a proud mother of the most awesome Kids, but I want more. I want all my family seeking God and moving in the power of His love, His anointing and His freedom. That is my passion for 2013 to never be afraid to be seen to love my God. To worship my God and make changes happen. Words have power and worship from a grateful, loving, God motivated heart, out loud with passion, will cause change to happen. My hope is stirred, my faith is stronger and my prayers are going to be answered that are prayed according to God’s will.

2012 was a year of change, a year of love. 2013 is going to be even better. I am going to grow. I’m going to create the environment that will flourish goodness. Did you know that God’s goodness brings repentance?

My family, and this world need grace.  God’s Grace is relentless, persistent, and unyielding; He created us to love us. He allowed us to seek Him. He gives us choice but created us to be loved by Him and love Him in return. When you think about life’s purpose, it’s not about gaining stuff, or knowledge for the sake of knowing more, or even finding happiness. It’s not about seeing the world, or finding yourself, or leaving a legacy. It’s not about the impact you make in this world or the influence and power you sway.  It’s about Love.

Do you hear it? God created us in His passion, in His nature, in His power to love us. When we broke relationship with Him, He didn’t call it quits, He created a way to restore that relationship. In the only way that would succeed. He had to give His sinless Son, to be sacrificed to pay for our sin so that love could again function in this world. He gave His only Son, that’s grace. We deserved separation, but He gave us restoration. We deserved isolation but He gave as relationship. God Loved, He does love and will love… us. With such a passion that we can’t contain it but if we accept it, it will change us, which in turn will change our environment, and our influence. Our purpose will turn from ourselves and become not about us but about God’s will, God’s heart, God’s Love, God’s passion in seeing everyone have his or her relationship restored.

Yesterday that became a little clearer to me. 2013 is going to be the year that I turn my focus a little less insular and hopefully I won’t be so important to me and flesh won’t win all the time. 

My New Year’s resolution isn’t going to be more exercise, a balanced diet and lose weight to get healthier. Although I do want that and will try and gain it, I want to start my day in worship so that His presence will fill my environment and cause the heavens, and His kingdom to operate and dwell here on earth around me. I want to dwell in His presence. Where His presence is He commands blessing. Darkness has no place when light enters. If my heartfelt, God driven worship creates life then I want to start, I want to continue and end my day in worship.  

2012 the year of change and love, you haven’t seen anything yet!!! 2013 will bring greater change; greater love and I will summon God’s presence in my life, in my environment and in my family, by Worshipping my God.

God chases after us yet He wants us to take that step towards Him. (James 4:8 NKJV) Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. He’s already there, and has made the way possible. In worshipping I take that step towards Him and everything changes for the better, forgiveness comes, relationships are strengthened, marriages are perfected, lives that were broken are healed, addictions are broken and freedom is operational. Fear is gone coz perfect Love has entered where God’s presence dwells. (Psalms 16:11 NKJV) You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Exodus 33:14 NKJV) And He said, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."

1 Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. 3 For the LORD is the great God, and the great King above all gods. 4 In His hand are the deep places of the earth; the heights of the hills are His also. 5 The sea is His, for He made it; and His hands formed the dry land. 6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. 7 For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. (Psalm 95:1-7a, NKJV)


RELENTLESS GRACE, words and music by Tom Read

You are God
Yet You love me with
A father's love
And I, stand amazed

You are God
Yet it's me you chase
With relentless grace
And I, stand in awe

For You are my God
And my heart’s response is
A life devoted to worship
For You are my God
And I can't contain it
This praise escaping my lips

Oh this praise in my heart
Is escaping from my lips

With relentless grace
With relentless grace
With relentless grace
Yet it's me you chase
With relentless grace

With relentless praise
With relentless praise
I will worship You
With relentless praise



May your coming year be filled with God’s presence…

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Up Too Late...

What is relationship?