John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?”
Jesus told them, “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen— the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.”
Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.
– Psalm 42:7 (NIV)
There is a way of ordering our mental life on more than one level at once. On one level we can be thinking, discussing, seeing, calculating, meeting all the demands of external affairs. But deep within, behind the scenes at a profounder level we may also be in prayer and adoration, song and worship and a gentle receptiveness to divine breathings.
– Thomas Kelly
I will be in my kitchen cooking for missionaries or writing at my desk, my mind on “outward” things, but when I turn inward, where my Lord resides, it is as if I’ve never left. I am aware that worship has been going on from my spirit to Him who is Spirit while I was cooking and writing! Oh, it is so beautiful to be aware of the continuous connection, spirit-to-Spirit.
– Linda Dillow
Blessed are the people who know how to praise you. They walk in the light of your presence, O Lord.
– Psalm 89:15 (GW)
This is how we know we’re living steadily and deeply in Him, and He in us: He’s given us life from His life, from His very own Spirit. Also, we’ve seen for ourselves and continue to state openly that the Father sent His Son as Savior of the world. Everyone who confesses that Jesus is God’s Son participates continuously in an intimate relationship with God. We know it so well, we’ve embraced it heart and soul, this love that comes from God.
– 1 John 4:15-17 (MSG)
It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before Him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship Him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.
The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
– 1 Samuel 16:7 (NLT)
Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.
– Proverbs 31:30 (NLT)
…but let it be [the inner beauty of] the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality and unfading charm of a gentle and peaceful spirit, [one that is calm and self-controlled, not overanxious, but serene and spiritually mature] which is very precious in the sight of God.
The God who made the world and everything in it, this Master of sky and land, doesn’t live in custom-made shrines or need the human race to run errands for Him, as if He couldn’t take care of Himself. He makes the creatures; the creatures don’t make Him. Starting from scratch, He made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find Him. He doesn’t play hide-and-seek with us. He’s not remote; He’s near. We live and move in Him, can’t get away from Him! One of your poets said it well: ‘We’re the God-created.’ Well, if we are the God-created, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to think we could hire a sculptor to chisel a god out of stone for us, does it?
– Acts 17:26-29 (MSG)
Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.
– Galatians 5:25 (NLT)
And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.
Good friend, take to heart what I’m telling you; collect my counsels and guard them with your life. Tune your ears to the world of Wisdom; set your heart on a life of Understanding. That’s right—if you make Insight your priority, and won’t take no for an answer, Searching for it like a prospector panning for gold, like an adventurer on a treasure hunt, Believe me, before you know it Fear-of-God will be yours; you’ll have come upon the Knowledge of God.
– Proverbs 2:1-5 (MSG)
DEMONSTRATE Your ways, O Eternal One. Teach me to understand so I can follow. EASE me down the path of Your truth. FEED me Your word because You are the True God who has saved me. I wait all day long, hoping, trusting in You.
– Psalm 25:4-5 (VOICE)
But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep respond to His voice. He calls His sheep by name and leads them out of the pen. After He has brought out all his sheep, He walks ahead of them. The sheep follow Him because they recognize his voice.
And that’s why it’s called “asking Him into your heart”
We accept in our heart of hearts
that He is indeed the Savior
And we are the saved
His perfect sacrifice was the only thing
that could rescue us out of our mess
Thank you, my precious Lord,
Savior of the not good enough
Because You are
– Susie Stewart
Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn’t, and doesn’t, wait for us to get ready. He presented Himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn’t been so weak, we wouldn’t have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put His love on the line for us by offering His Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to Him.
Romans 5:7-9 (MSG)
We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.
– Isaiah 64:6 (NLT)
Don’t be mistaken; in and of ourselves we know we have little to offer, but any competence or value we have comes from God.
or you can wait with your hands outstretched in worship
Which do you think is the wise way
to wait on Almighty God?
Rest in His agenda
– Susie Stewart
At the end of the four hundred and thirty years, to that very day, all the hosts of the Lord [gathered into tribal armies] left the land of Egypt.
– Exodus 12:41 (AMP)
I would have despaired had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living. Wait for and confidently expect the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for and confidently expect the Lord.
– Psalm 27:13, 14 (AMP)
But as for me, I trust [confidently] in You and Your greatness, O Lord; I said, “You are my God.” My times are in Your hands…
– Psalm 31:14, 15 (AMP)
One caution: When we bring our questions to God, we need to wait for His answer. We must not throw our questions at Him and then go to a friend and complain, “I can’t understand what God is doing to me.” Such actions constitute unbelief. So after you bring God your questions, hold your ground, even if you are still in the dark about why you are waiting or about how long you will wait.
“He reacted like it was the best news he’d ever heard!”
I listened as my friend Carol
recounted one of her interactions in Uganda…
As she taught village children about God’s Word
and encouraged them to memorize the precious words,
She led some in a prayer of surrender
to Truth
And told a young one,
“You are now a child of God!”
The boy reacted with sheer
uninhibited excitement
With elation
inside and out
It was the best news
he had
ever
heard
No one could curb his enthusiasm
over the unbelievable message
And a life was changed that day
Because a young one
embraced His Father
And God’s grace
and love
and forgiveness
enveloped the child
He was grafted into the family
he longed for
An orphan’s hope,
to be adopted by God
– Susie Stewart
But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God.
– John 1:2 (NLT)
Jesus called a little child to Him and put the child among them. Then He said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
– Matthew 18:2-4 (NLT)
One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so He could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering Him.
When Jesus saw what was happening, He was angry with His disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to Me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” Then He took the children in His arms and placed His hands on their heads and blessed them.
– Mark 10:13-16 (NLT)
You are all God’s children by believing in Christ Jesus.
– Galatians 3:26 (NLT)
“I will not leave you orphaned. I’m coming back. In just a little while the world will no longer see me, but you’re going to see me because I am alive and you’re about to come alive. At that moment you will know absolutely that I’m in my Father, and you’re in me, and I’m in you.
Susie Stewart 