Super Sunday--Adonai

It's Super Sunday at Peggy's. I love Sunday--my very favorite day of the week!!

I have had a few things on my mind this week. I'm still pondering and thinking over this verse from Revelation from the concert I went to on Tuesday evening.

I found this on Heartlight, and this picture answers any and all questions any one might have about this verse.

Who is worthy to open the scroll?


Only one--Adonai.

Now, I know that some of you aren't able to view the video, so I placed the song on a playlist so that at least you can hear it--for you--hisfirefly!

Just make sure to stop the playlist if you can see the video!!

Beth

Then Sings My Soul Saturday

I have surrendered all to my God and Savior. He is my focus in my life for everything--even down to the smallest decision I have to make.

I am so glad God waited so patiently for me to come to Him--waiting and waiting--until just the right time, when He knew I had nowhere else to turn except to HIM!!

I love my Father and He has shown me the way--through His love for me I am now able to overflow with love for others.

What I once thought was so complicated is really so simple. God loved me before I ever loved Him, never stopped loving me even though I rejected Him. He has led the way for me--showing me how to unconditionally love others--through the love He showed me through His only Son--my Savior--Jesus Christ.

For more inspiring "Then Sings My Soul Saturday's", stop by and visit Amy at Signs, Miracles and Wonders.

Beth

Worthy is the Lamb

I went to a concert last night at the Forum in Harrisburg. The El Shaddai Singers were performing--a full symphony orchestra, a full choir, soloists--and what a powerful message delivered through music, words spoken by others.

As the Director of these singers said after one song: "If you can't feel that, then your "feeler" must be stuck!" And yes, such feelings of God's love for us, the power of His Hand, the majesty of His creation, the second coming of Jesus!!

Michael W. Smith wrote the song "Angus Dei" (Latin--Lamb of God) while pondering over these verses from Revelation:

1Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. 2And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" 3But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."

6Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 8And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9And they sang a new song:
"You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased men for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation.
10You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth."

11Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12In a loud voice they sang:
"Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!"

13Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing:
"To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!" 14The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Revelation 5:1-14

He wrote this song imagining what Heaven will be like--with all the angels and all of the redeemed--falling down and worshiping the Lamb--for worthy is the Lamb--the only ONE who is worthy.

Love Dare Day 22--Love Is Faithful

LOVE IS FAITHFUL

I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, then you will know the Lord.....Hosea 2:30

and the dare for this day:

Love is a choice, not a feeling. It is an initiated action, not a knee-jerk reaction. Choose today to be committed to love even if your children seemed to have lost interest in receiving it. Say to them today in words similar to these,

"I LOVE YOU. PERIOD. I CHOOSE TO LOVE YOU EVEN IF YOU DON'T LOVE ME IN RETURN."

Chapter 22 in the "Love Dare" book refers to the story of Hosea. Hosea was instructed by God to marry, Gomer, a prostitute. What was God's reasoning in this, we may wonder?

He wanted to show what HIS unconditional love really looks like.

Hosea did marry Gomer and they had 3 children. Did Gomer love Hosea in return for his love and faithfulness to her? Sadly, she did not. She returned to her life of immorality, showing her discontentment in being faithful to one man.

God then instructed Hosea to go and reaffirm his love for Gomer--a woman who had been repeatedly unfaithful to him. He actually had to go to the slave block, buy her and bring her home.

She had treated him poorly--with contempt and traitorous actions--but Hosea welcomed her back with unconditional love.

God is always faithful to us, even when we turn our faces from Him. He gave us the greatest gift of all, His only Son so we may eternal salvation, and yet we still reject Him sometimes.

And so I as I reflect on this story of Hosea, God's faithfulness to me, and also Jesus' great commandments:

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, your strength, your mind, and your neighbor as yourself"......Luke 10:27

and then add in the dare of love being a choice, I realize that I have not always made that choice--not in my own everyday life in response to others, not always in response to my children, and not always in my response to God.

Yes, I have made wrong choices. We all have. I have faced the rejection of my love to others in my family, my former marriage, and even my children.

I still love them--I always will. But, there are times when hurtful words are said in anger, by all parties concerned. There are times when I don't feel the returned love of my children, sometimes feel taken advantage of by them.

Here is the catch 22 in this--they feel the same way.

With the love of Christ in my heart, my mind, my soul, my strength--I make the choice to love my children, even when they are being hurtful, demanding or just otherwise unloving towards me.

I am going to continue to show them the love of Jesus through my words and actions towards them. This is a choice that I have made.

In the past, when things have not gone well between any of my children and myself, I have had a tendency to withdraw from them--to shut them out.

Today, I choose to stop that harmful behavior and focus on Jesus--always on Jesus. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. I know that by following the example that He has set for me--His own faithful and unconditional love for me--to the point of death, that I cannot go wrong in this.

I will not shut myself away from children any longer. I choose to love them every moment of every day--even if it seems they are not returning that love to me.

DAY 23

Love Always Protects.....1 Corinthians 13:7

and the dare for this day:

Remove anything that is hindering your relationship, any addiction or influence that is stealing your affections and turning your heart from your children.

Please stop by and visit Chelle' for comments from all the participants in this "Love Dare".

Beth

The Twenty-Third Psalm--Super Simple Sunday

I received this in an e-mail this week, and I thought I would share it with you. Be sure and visit Peggy for more Super Simple Sunday's!!

The Lord is My Shepherd = That's Relationship!

I shall not want = That's Supply!


He maketh me to lie down in green pastures = That's Rest!

He leadeth me beside the still waters = That's Refreshment!


He restoreth my soul = That's Healing!


He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness = That's Guidance!


For His Name's sake = That's Purpose!


Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death = That's testing!


I will fear no evil = That's Protection!


For Thou art with me = That's faithfulness!


Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me = That's Discipline!

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies

= That's Forgiveness!

Thou anointest my head with oil = That's consecration!


My cup runneth over = That's abundance!


Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life =
That's Blessing!


And I will dwell in the house of the Lord = That's Security!


Forever = That's Eternity!

Mission--Then Sings My Soul Saturday

I have decided to do something a little different for this Saturday. I have had missions placed upon my heart so many times and yet have not pursued this.

Today, when I was looking for a video to post, I originally was looking for "This is Our God", and this is the first video that came up.

Surprisingly enough, this video is a missions trip that my church took to Lima, Peru in 2006.

I think that I'm being told something--again.

For more songs and participants in "Then Sings My Soul Saturday", please visit Amy at Signs, Miracles, and Wonders.

Beth

Love Dare Day 21--Love Is Satisfied In God

The Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire........Isaiah 58:11

and the dare for today:

Be intentional today about making a time to pray and read your Bible. Try reading a chapter out of Proverbs each day or reading a chapter in the Gospels. As you do, immerse yourself in the love and promises God has for you. This will add to your growth as you walk with Him.

I read this dare, and I almost decided not to post about it. I do this every day, my quiet time in the morning with God. I read my Bible every morning, pray, listen to worship music. and I journal--writing down what I have learned from my Bible reading that day, how God is speaking to me. And I also date and journal my prayers. When God answers my prayer, I go back and write His answer--with the date--in my journal next to the original prayer.

But, then I read the chapter in the book. As I read this, I realized how important it is for me to continue doing this--every day of my life.

I have read verses before during circumstances in my life, and God has spoken to me through them in a very special way. During a different situation, I could read these exact same verses, and God will speak to me through these verses in a different way.

The Bible is God's Word written down for us so that we can draw closer to God, learn more about Him, realize that He is ever faithful, ever trustworthy, always dependable, always loving, and only He can bring the inner peace and true joy that so many are seeking in other ways.

We, as human beings, cannot meet all of these requirements for one another. God, however, can. As we draw closer to closer to Him and more dependent upon Him for our needs in our life, we can see just how dependable, faithful, trustworthy, and loving He is and will always be.

He is the only one in my life who will never change.

I am currently doing a study on the book of Ephesians through my church. This is broken down into reading several verses every day, then studying upon them and asking yourself questions about the verses that you have read.

These are the questions that I am asking myself each day as I read just a small portion of God's Word:

Is there a..............

• Truth to believe?
• Promise to claim?
• Perspective to embrace?
• Attitude to adjust?
• Priority to change?
• Lesson to learn?
• Command to obey?
• Offense to forgive?
• Sin to confess?
• Action to take?

And what is the key thought in these verses? Now I can't even begin to claim that I thought this up by myself! This is what my entire church is studying at this time. You can stop by and visit there if you'd like. The name of my church is Daybreak--coming from "Everyday is a fresh start with God".

I'll share with you a few of my key thoughts from my journal on this study of Ephesians:

I have been chosen by God, and I am His daughter--a daughter of The King.

I am redeemed through Jesus Christ.

I am God's adopted daughter through the Holy Spirit.

I am a workmanship of God and God alone.

I am rescued.

God trusts me to do His Will.

These are just a few of my key thoughts from studying just a few verses every day. Yes, I get up earlier than necessary in order to do this, but it is well worth it. I carry God's Word and my key thought for the day with me--all through my day at work, recalling it as often as I can throughout my day.

Now, back to how this day can impact my children--my 3 children for whom I am doing this "Love Dare".

My quiet time is very early in the morning--before anyone else is up. They all are adults and two of them are living on their own.

My children know that I attend church regularly, they know that I worship God, they know my beliefs, they know that I pray. In fact, daughter #1 has asked me to pray about certain situations in several of her friends' lives even though she professes to be a nonbeliever.

And they have to hear the worship music I listen to!! You can probably hear it at your house!!

But, and this is a big but--they don't even know that I have a quiet time. They have never seen me read and study the Bible, write down what God is telling me through His Word, through song.

I value my early morning quiet time, and I will not give that up. But, I think I need to add an evening time also. This way they will be able to see that God's Word is real to me, the living truth, what I do and will always live by.

And now on to Day 22:

LOVE IS FAITHFUL


I wil betroth you to Me in faithfulness, then you will know the Lord...Hosea 2:20


and the dare for this day:


Love is a choice, not a feeling. It is an initiated action, not a knee-jerk reaction. Choose today to be committed to love even if your children seem to have lost their interest in receiving it. Say to them today in words similar to these:


"I love you. Period. I choose to love you even if you don't love me in return."

Make sure you stop by Chelle's to read about all the participants in this dare.

Beth