Another letter to God...

"In the quiet, in the stillness of your presence, I am restored...There is none but Jesus." - Hillsong, None But Jesus

It had been a while since my last devotion. So I really wanted to spend time with the Lord. I ended up writing a letter in my journal to Him. Here's the end result:

Jesus, you are my sole focus, my one desire. There is no one else for me. I want to know you deeply. Let my life be a song of praise to you. I want to do your will more than anything. You give me so much hope, Lord. You show me what it means to have joy. You show me your compassion, your grace, and your unending love. Let my life be a reflection of you.
I love you so much. Thank you for showing me what it means to be your child. I feel like a little child, dancing and jumping about. Peering over the edge with you is where I want to be (Amanda Falk, Symphony). Lord, you are so faithful. You've provided me with friends this past year. You gave me wonderful opportunities to be a friend to others. And you are continually giving me opportunities that challenge, cause me to face my fear, and step out in faith.
Life with you is never boring. In spite of my fears, worries, and insecurities, you are constantly giving me reason to hope and be optimistic for the future. Never mind the times when I've felt let down or alone, you are always there. Your goodness overwhelms me. It captivates me. I may not know where I'm going but you do! I know that if I trust in You, You will never let me down!

Wordle.

I was just playing around on wordle.net and came up with this. It's based on how the Lord sees us.

Letter to God

Today I thought I'd write a letter to God. Here it is:

Hello Lord! I just wanted to tell you that You are so awesome! I love you so much! You truly work all things together according to your good purpose! You fill my heart with joy, and I'm so thankful that you love me. Thank you for always being there for me and for never leaving me. Every good and perfect gift is from you.

Give me strength to walk in Your presence every single day, Father. I want to continue to nourish closeness with you. Help me not forget your abiding love and grace. When I'm tired and irritable, let my thoughts draw close to You. Help me treat others the same way you treat me. You are my refuge and strength, Lord. I trust in you whole-heartedly

A page from my journal.

Here's what I wrote in my journal. I thought I'd share it all with you.

"Sometimes there are moments when I doubt myself. I'm unsure of who I am, and I think the worst about myself. But I need to ask myself, "Do you doubt your Creator?" When I question my worth, I question my Creator. In the Psalms, it says, "You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made." This verse speaks to the value we have as human beings. It shows us we are so precious in our Father's sight. No matter what we're feeling, God still adores us and think highly of us.

It's hard sometimes to believe that. I often struggle making the connection between how God sees me and how I see myself. But deep down inside, if I dig deep enough, I eventually come to the realization of my worth in Christ. After all, He sees me as a treasure and a jewel. So why shouldn't I see myself that way?

From now on, I'm not going to be looking back at my life with despair and guilt. I'm going to be looking at myself, claiming that I am a beloved, treasured, valued daughter of God."

Impure thoughts...

So I was contemplating this week about the purity of my thoughts. It's not something I think about much, but I think it is an important topic to discuss. So many times, I've started thinking one thing, and then before I know it, my thoughts drift toward fleshly desires, or sins such as greed, envy, or selfishness. I'm reminded of the passage in the Bible to "take every thought captive" and subdue it to Christ. It is something I need to be on careful guard against. As well, I know that what I watch or listen to affects my thoughts positively or negatively. If I watch a tv show based around materialism, selfishness, or sexual immorality, then that is what I will think about. However, if I am constantly listening to worship music or watching uplifting movies or tv shows, I tend to think impure thoughts less. It's not necessarily the initial thought that's wrong, but the obsession it can lead to if it gets too out of hand.

I wanted to write this today to encourage you to take a stand against a lustful or selfish thoughts and bring them before the Lord! He is able to cleanse and renew us day by day.

Cleansing from dishonor

2 Timothy 2:21-22 states, "Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the dishonor, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart."

I was thinking about how amazing God is, and how He is constantly cleansing us from sin if we turn to Him. This past Sunday, my pastor talked about how the Lord will refresh and renew our Spirits and freely give us courage. That is an amazing thought, that we don't need to be afraid in this life because we have the Lord with us. I know I was afraid this past week, afraid of completing all my homework, and afraid of a job interview I had scheduled over the weekend. But God was faithful, and He did give me courage to go in confidently at that interview. And I actually got the job! Now I'm full of thanks to God for his faithfulness and loving care.

Remain in God's Love

"As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Now remain in my love."

John 15:9-14 describes the depths of Jesus' love and His desire for us to love others in the same way. But it can be hard to love others like that. When people treat us unfairly or cut us off, we want to retaliate in anger. We need to remember to ask the Lord to give us the strength to show love and grace to others even when we don't want to. A little bit of love goes a long way!

I find that if I haven't spent that time in communion with God and in the Word, I find it difficult to show love to others, especially when I'm feeling moody or irritable. But I always to to stop every now and then throughout the day to reflect on God's love for me. Try it out for yourself. Often a verse will pop into my head that really encourages me. One that I found quite helpful recently was John 14:27, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

Since I'm memorizing the book of John for the Bible quizzing program at my church, I've just been soaking up all these amazing verses in John. I'll probably do several posts throughout the year on different passages in John, so stay tuned!