Spirit Song - Though He Slay Me

Though He slay me, 
Yet will I trust Him
All my hope is in His Name.

Though He choose to take
This life away from me
Yet will I bless His Name.

There is no other god
Who would die for me
There is no where else to turn
There is no other god
Who could love me so
I will trust in Him 
To do what's best for me.

Through it all 
I will stay near Him
Though the waters rise
And the fires burn.
Through it all
I will walk with Him
I won't be overwhelmed
Nor overcome!

Though He slay me
I will not turn away
I will worship Him
The God who loves me so,
Even now I will follow Him.

The Covenant of Circumcision

     Today's Love Note is Circumcised Heart:

which is found in Deuteronomy 30:6

The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and all your soul, that you may live. 

Circumcision is painful. The first circumcision noted in the Bible was not done by a doctor or healer but by Abraham. Nor was it done just to babies, but  to grown men. Men who wanted to follow Abraham and Abraham's God. (Genesis 17).

    Then, as now, God calls us first to righteousness, then a name change, then the circumcision. Then, it was a physical circumcision: it was painful and bloody. Now, it is a spiritual circumcision: it is painful and it is bloody. 

    God says, "I choose you. Choose Me in return and I will bless you greatly. If anyone wants to be in My covenant, this circumcision must be done. By choosing not to do this, My covenant will be broken with that one who refuses." 

     The heart that refuses to follow God will remain bloodless: If the blood of Christ has not been applied to the heart, then that heart is uncovenanted: there is no fellowship with God, no joy, no peace.

No promise of God which requires obedience to Him before it can be fulfilled will fall on the disobedient. 

     The pain and bloodiness of a circumcised heart is known by the believer. It is Christ who suffered and died. It is Christ who was made a bloody mess for us. It is in Christ we suffer and die. It is through Christ's atonement on the Cross that our hearts are able to receive the promise of salvation from the hand of God. 

     Before our hearts can be circumcised by The Holy Spirit, we must believe that Jesus Christ Is and that He Is our Redeemer sent from God. Romans 4:10-12 "In what context was it credited? Was it after his circumcision, or before? It was not after, but before. And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised."

Love Note-April 26 thru May 2

Monday 

April 27

Focused

Tuesday

April 28

Circumcised Hearts

Wednesday

April 29

A Heart to Know Him

Thursday

April 30

Written On My Heart

Friday

May 1

I Am His Own Possession

Saturday

May 2

I Am Created In Christ for God's Purpose

If You Leave This World

IF YOU LEAVE THIS WORLD

If you leave this world before I do,

Don't leave me things I cannot use.

Leave me memories of loving you.

Leave me hope we'll meet again

Leave me peace that comes from heav'n

Don't leave me things I cannot use,

Leave me memories of loving you.

Leave me dreams, pure and sweet,

Of your mansion in glory

Where you sit at Jesus' feet.

Don't leave me things I cannot use,

Leave me memories of loving you.

Leave me behind ere you go

'Til we meet again at heav'n's door;

Don't look back but onward go

Into Jesus' arms in heav'n's glow.

If you leave this world before I do,

Don't leave me things I cannot use.

Leave me memories of loving you.

JOEL

JOEL 1:1 

The Word of The Lord that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.

• Mark 12:29 Hear O Israel, The Lord our God, The Lord Is One
• Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear O Israel, The Lord our God, The Lord Is One
• Deuteronomy 10:12 What The Lord God Requires
• James 2:19 There is One God

 

JEHOVAH-CHEREV

 DEUTERONOMY 33:29

THE LORD IS SWORD OF MY EXCELLENCE

"Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD? He is the Shield that protects you, the Sword in which you boast. Your enemies will cower before you, and you shall trample their high places.”

Loving God_April 20 thru April 25

Monday

April 20

Captivated Audience

Tuesday

April 21

Serve & Submit to Be Equipped

Wednesday 

April 22

Sheltered By His Name

Thursday

April 23

Loving Devotion Surrounds Me

Friday

April 24
Praise Him with Harp & Lyre

Saturday 

April 25
Redeemed, How I Love To Proclaim It

JEHOVAH-KABOWD

For Sunday April 19

The Maker-April 13-April 18

Monday

April 13

Forgetting The Maker Has Consequences

Tuesday 

April 14

Looking To The Maker

Wednesday

April 15

The Maker Is Holy

Thursday 

April 16

The Maker Makes Overcomers Pillars

Friday

April 17

The Maker Is Architect of The New Jerusalem

Saturday

April 18

Maker of The Everlasting Covenant

The Prepositional Factors of The Cross

    In church we sing a hymn titled, Room At The Cross, which is an altar call song, calling those who hunger for more than what this life has to offer and come to what God has to offer through Jesus Christ. 

    It is not enough, however, to come to the cross and stop there, we must go through the Cross, under the blood, down into the tomb and out in the garden. 

     Many claim to be Christians, but they have stopped at the Cross. Our lives as Christians should lead others to Christ on the Cross, that they may walk through the Door of Salvation and into the Newness of Life, which the message of the gospel proclaims. And, yet, it is our very lifestyles that convict us, for many who say they are Christ's are not. 

     

Ephesians 2:16 "...and He might reconcile both to God in one body through the cross, by it having slain the hostility."

Colossians 1:22-23 "But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence---IF indeed you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope of the gospel you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant."

     It is impossible to 'continue in' if we have not first gone 'through'. You and I must believe that Jesus Christ is indeed the only begotten Son of God who died on the cross bearing the weight of our sin, was buried in a tomb, conquered death, hell and the grave, rose from the dead and walked out of the tomb into the garden where He not only was seen but heard. 

      How far have you gone in this your faith? Are you near the Cross, at the Cross, through the Cross? Only you and I can answer this honestly. The Holy Spirit is calling you even now to pass through the Door of Salvation, where the blood of Redemption will cover you as you walk across the threshold of Atonement, through the empty grave and into the Newness of Life in Christ. 

     Now is the time to answer that call. Be reborn in Jesus Christ and become the new man or new woman the Spirit is calling you to be. 

Jesus Christ is my Victory!-Spirit Song

I've come too far to turn back now
I've changed my ways, I guard my heart
Those days in chains have no hold on me
Jesus Christ is my Victory! 

I've come too far to look back on
Days of sorrow and shame are gone
The mire and muck I once called home
Jesus Christ is my Victory! 

Shine on Jesus
In my heart!
Wash away 
All the darkened parts.
Break me down 
To lift me up
I've come too far to turn back now
You reign in me! 

I am clothed in Your Righteousness
I am clothed in Your Holiness
I am clothed in You, my King,
Jesus Christ is my Victory! 
You reign in me
You reign in me, O Lord,
You reign in me, Jesus! 
Jesus Christ is my Victory!

Shine on Jesus
In my heart!
Wash away 
All the darkened parts.
Break me down 
To lift me up
I've come too far to turn back now
You reign in me! 

I am clothed in Your righteousness
I am clothed in Your holiness
I am clothed in You, my King,
Jesus Christ is my Victory! 
You reign in me
You reign in me, O Lord,
You reign in me, Jesus! 
Jesus Christ is my Victory!

Unacceptable Worship

Some studies are harder to teach than others, but I believe those are the ones that need to be reinforced the most. Such is this. 
Hosea 8:13-14

Tho they offer sacrifices given to Me, and eat the meat, the LORD does not accept them. Now, He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins: they will return to Egypt.

Israel has forgotten his Maker, and built palaces; 

Judah has multiplied its fortified cities.

But I will send fire upon their cities,

and consume their citadels.

     Hosea is the story of God wooing Israel back to Him, but they refused time and again to return and be faithful. And the consequences of not choosing God over their idols and idol worship. Though the telling of this seems to be in the past, the Word of God is alive and speaks to us even now, if we will only listen. 

     We must turn from the wickedness of following after things that are not of God and turn back to God and follow Him. He leads us through His precious Holy Word when we faithfully seek Him out and ask Him to reveal Himself in His Word: Daily. 

     Choosing to follow God the Way He wants us to follow Him is an act of Love for Him and Service to Him. It is a choice each of us must make on an individual basis, though the promise is for all who turn away from idolatry and wickedness, it is also for the individual who makes a life-changing choice to be obedient to God, regardless of the cost to himself or herself. 

     Verse 13 reinforces this when God says, I will not accept your worship. You only think you are worshiping Me, but I see your heart, I know the intent thereof, and you worship what you see and hear, but you do not worship Me. Therefore, the worship you think you are giving Me is unacceptable to Me. 

      Verse 14 reminds us that when we build to strengthen ourselves militarily, we are not putting our trust in God to defend us. Everything we do to protect, defend, resist our enemies will come to nothing. It is God who is Defender. It is God who is Protector. It is God who will fight our battles when we place our trust in Him. 

    But when our trust is in our own strength, we will fail. When we refuse to place our trust in Him time after time, it is God who will judge us with fire and nothing shall remain. 

    Now is not the time to be self-centered and pigheaded. Now is the time to surrender our hearts to God and submit to His will on our lives. Now is the time to repent of our sins, and seek His face and His forgiveness for the things we have done against His Word. 

    Now is the time. Not later. Later is not promised. To morrow is not promised. Now is not promised. 

NOTHING ELSE (song)

JEHOVAH-YASHA

JEHOVAH-YASHA

THE LORD MY SAVIOR

2 Samuel 22:3

The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, My stronghold and my refuge; My Savior, You save me from violence.

In David's song of deliverance, he acknowledges that it is the Lord who saves, not just in that moment when The Lord rescued David from Saul, but for always. Anyone can save anyone from anything at any given moment, but it is The Lord who is Savior!

Here Before Your Throne

In a dark room

In a safe place

I bare my soul

I hide my face.

You search my heart

Make known to me

The weeds and tares

Which You can see

in me.

Cultivate my heart

Make it Your own

Sanctify it now

Here before Your throne.

The Maker-April 6 thru April 11

Monday
April 6

The Maker of Shadows

Tuesday

April 7

God Makes Homes For the Lonely

Wednesday 

April 8

The Maker Divides the Firmaments

Thursday

April 9

The Maker Gives Songs to the Repentant Heart

Friday

April 10

The Maker of The Covenant With Us

Saturday

April 11

The Maker Is Redeemer