Word of God Speak

How else would we expect to hear the voice of God but through His Word? His Word is the absolute truth and there is no other book on earth that proclaims itself as such. Having walked by faith for a large chunk of my life I have found that there is no reason for me to doubt that God's Word is exactly that and that in and through it He calls us to know who He is. How incredible is that?! That we can understand some of who God is! Of course we will never fully understand God, but that is why He is God, and I'll spend the rest of my life discovering as much about Him as I can for He has proved Himself faithful through and to His Word over and over again to me. After all, who am I to challenge what God has proclaimed? I am only human.

Even Jesus proclaimed that we need the Word of God when He said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" - Matthew 4:4

Jesus is also known as the Word as stated in John 1.

He also says this regarding the Word of God, "Whoever is of God hears the words of God." - John 8:47

Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:16 that, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."

Also, in Titus 1:9 regarding overseers in the church it is said, "He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it."

Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

Also, at the end of Scripture it is said, "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. He who testifies to these things says, 'Surely I am coming soon,' Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!" - Revelation 22:18-20

 There's no turning back and so I'll sing...

Word of God Speak by MercyMe

I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay
The last thing I need is to be heard
But to hear what You would say

Word of God speak
Would You pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see
Your majesty
To be still and know
That You're in this place
Please let me stay and rest
In Your holiness
Word of God speak

I'm finding myself in the midst of You
Beyond the music, beyond the noise
All that I need is to be with You
And in the quiet hear Your voice

Word of God speak
Would You pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see
Your majesty
To be still and know
That You're in this place
Please let me stay and rest
In Your holiness
Word of God speak

Regarding the Heart

I found myself thinking about my heart today and how Scripture seems to talk about it a lot, perhaps it is because it is our center of hidden emotional-intellectual-moral activity within. So how important is what is going on in our hearts and what does God have to say about it?

Psalm 24:4-5 "He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation."

Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart."

Psalm 37:30-31 "The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip."

Psalm 44:20-21 "If we has forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart."

Psalm 51:10 "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."

Psalm 66:18 "If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened."

Psalm 81:11-12 "But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels."

Psalm 101:2-5 "I will ponder the way that is blameless. Oh when will you come to me? I will walk with integrity of heart within my house; I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me. A perverse heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil. Whoever slanders his neighbour secretly I will destroy. Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart I will not endure."

Psalm 119:11 "I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you."

Psalm 119:36 "Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!"

Psalm 119:80 "May my heart be blameless in your statutes, that I may not be put to shame!"

Psalm 139:23 "Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!"

Psalm 141:4 "Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies!"

Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding."

Proverbs 4:23 "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flows the springs of life."

Proverbs 11:20 "Those of crooked heart are an abomination to the LORD, but those of blameless ways are his delight."

Proverbs 12:20 "Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but those who plan peace have joy."

Proverbs 12:25 "Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad."

Proverbs 13:12 "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life."

Proverbs 14:10 "The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy."

Proverbs 15:28 "The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things."

Proverbs 16:9 "The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps."

Proverbs 17:3 "The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the LORD tests hearts."

Proverbs 19:3 "When a man's folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the LORD."

Proverbs 20:9 "Who can say, 'I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin'?"

Proverbs 21:2 "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart."

Proverbs 27:19 "As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man."

I have limited the content of this post to focus on Psalms and Proverbs though matters regarding the heart are found throughout the whole of God's Word. A lot of these verses are simply truth statements while others are prayers. It is a lot to take in and consider, especially because we are commanded first and foremost to "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37). God knows what is going on in our hearts and He will disclose the purpose of the heart when He comes (1 Corinthians 4:5) so let us be eager to align our hearts with His and cry out to Him in prayer to help us to do so as it is both for His glory and our good. :)

Choose by Christy Nockels

As I sit here, the weight of my sin upon my heart, this song is lifted up as a prayer...


Let me be in love with what You love
Let me be most satisfied in You
Forsaking what this world has offered me
I choose to be in love with You
I will choose to be in love with You

Let me know the peace that's mine in You
Let me know the joy my heart can sing
For I have nothing Lord apart from You
I choose to call on Christ in me
I will choose to call on Christ in me

For in the fullness of who You are
I can rest in this place
And giving over this, my journey Lord
I see nothing but Your face

Let me know that You have loved me first
Let me know the weight of my response
For You have long pursued my wandering heart
I choose to glory in Your cross
I will choose to glory in Your cross

And I bow down, my beloved here I am
Humbly, I bow down, my beloved here I am
Humbly, I bow down, my beloved here I am
I bow down


Thank You Lord Jesus, I'm Yours

Sin Hurts

It hurts everyone.

Our biggest concern should be that it hurts the One.

Anyone who has genuinely asked God to show them how He sees their sin knows that it cuts deep.

Sure other people are hurt when we lie to them or curse them or have a bad attitude towards them but God is touched by all of it, even if it isn't consciously directed toward Him.

How does that make you feel inside, fellow brothers and sisters in Christ?

I know that when I am sinned against I feel offended and hurt and sometimes reluctant to forgive right away. To ponder how much the heart of God must ache because of our sin is overwhelming.

It is when I feel this way that I need to remember that Jesus Christ has forgiven me for all of my sin and has promised to continue to forgive so long as I confess my sin and forgive others.

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." - 1 John 1:9

"For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." - Matthew 6:14-15

Look at the prayer of David after he sinned:

"Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.
Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; 
you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem;
then you will delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; 
then bulls will be offered on your altar." - Psalm 51

It is clear in these words that David is repentant and knows personally the God to whom he is praying. We have much to learn from Scripture regarding sin.

If you have not asked God to help you see your sin as He does, I challenge you to pray and then prepare to be broken and ever more thankful for His mercy and grace. :)

Brain Freeze

I would describe it as an uncomfortable throbbing sensation that makes me feel as though my brain were trying to squeeze itself as far away from the frost that is obviously growing into the bottom of my cranium as I chug back my frappuccino.

I do, however, have one friend who will exclaim, "IT HURTS SO GOOD!" when he gets a brain freeze. He also told me that if he could have a brain freeze last 5 minutes or more he would probably be on the ground in the fetal position in sheer pleasure. I don't understand him.

Whenever I get a brain freeze, I am among friends. Some friends just laugh at me while others whisper remedy tips. And then there's the friend I mentioned earlier who gets jealous.

I appreciate the remedy tips because I have developed a strategy for getting rid of brain freeze...

If I have a hot food or beverage nearby, instant relief is possible.

If I use my thumb to press on the roof of my mouth, relief comes in 3 seconds.

If I put my tongue on the roof of my mouth, relief is a 10 second process.

Ideally, I could just avoid getting a brain freeze altogether by not chugging frozen beverages.