O come and see the heart of God!

Romans 5:6 - "For when we were without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly."

God, Who is never in need of any thing... Who is self-sustained, self-sustaining, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-mighty, ever-present, never ending and never began... Who always is, always was, and always will be... Who made everything in this world and out of this world, all that is seen and unseen with just the breath of His mouth... Who sees, understands, and discerns all the thoughts and intents of all the hearts of every man, woman, and child that exists, used to exist, and will exist, even to the innermost, secret things of the heart... Who's understanding and perspective encompasses all time -- past, present, and future, for He is the Creator of time... Who is wise beyond what all mankind could ever understand combined... Who's creativity and power is clearly on display each and every day in the skies, the seas, the surface of the earth, under the earth, the solar system, the stars, the galaxies... Who is perfect, holy, without fault, blameless, never does anything wrong, always does everything right, the perfect standard of truth and righteousness in all ways...

This is the same God that looked down from His throne in heaven and desired to walk with, talk with, and have an intimate relationship with us - mankind. Even when mankind fell in sin and became marred by that which is totally opposite to the nature of the Holy One, He still had compassion upon us, love toward us, and cared about us. The Lord cared SO much for us that He decided love us despite our unloveliness, to be our strength when we would realize we had no strength, to reach down to us when we would realize that we cannot reach that far to Him, to pay our penalty in the eyes of God when it would have cost us an eternity separated from God in Hell and the Lake of Fire, to do the impossible so that the lost could return and be restored. The Lord Jesus Christ is our only hope. Would you come and see the heart of God? Would you come and ponder His great love toward you? Would you come and know Him for who He really is rather than making personal excuses and listening to the world around you? Would you believe Him, repent, and trust in Him alone for true salvation? He's waiting for you...

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: (Rom 3:10)

Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. (Rom 3:19)

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Rom 3:23)

And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by [that] man whom he hath ordained; [whereof] he hath given assurance unto all [men], in that he hath raised him from the dead. (Acts 17:30-31)

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2Pt 3:9)

He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. (Jn 3:36)

Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins. (1Jn 4:10 )

And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for [the sins of] the whole world. (1Jn 2:2)

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us. (1Jn 4:18-19)

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (Jn 1:12-13)

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Rom 10:9-13)

Quick Video of Lilyann... :)

Our grunting little girl...

Isaiah 64

1	Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence,
2	As [when] the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, [that] the nations may tremble at thy presence!
3	When thou didst terrible things [which] we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence.
4	For since the beginning of the world [men] have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, [what] he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.
5	Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, [those that] remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.
6	But we are all as an unclean [thing], and all our righteousnesses [are] as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
7	And [there is] none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.
8	But now, O LORD, thou [art] our father; we [are] the clay, and thou our potter; and we all [are] the work of thy hand.

A Heart Removed from the Lord

Isaiah 29:13 - "Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:"

Isaiah 30:1-2 - "Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin. That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!"

Isaiah 31:1 - "Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek they Lord!"

Isaiah 34:16 - "Seek ye out the book of the Lord, and read..."

It is my prayer that I would never remove my heart from the Lord... This struggle is a battle worth fighting for, and with the Lord's help through the Spirit He has given us (Eph 1:13-14), we can succeed.

It is very clear from the Word of God that God does not want us to have lips that speak of Him and about Him and then find our heart far from Him, but this is also something that is very easy to do when we make a habit out of retaining the knowledge of God and His Word in our minds without letting it sink down into our hearts through belief. The Scriptures are clear: if we let His Words sink down into our hearts through belief, then it will work mightily in our daily lives... 1Thessalonians 2:13 - "For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received [it] not [as] the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe." If we receive this verse to be true, and we ought to if we are bible-believers, then we must conclude that if God's Word is not "effectually" working in our lives, then we are either not in God's Word or we are not letting the precious seed of God's Word make its way to the good soil of our heart.

Where do you stand in light of God's eternal Truth?

A few GREAT quotes by Leonard Ravenhill

"Is the world crucified to you tonight? Or does it fascinate you?"

"There’s only one proof of the Holy Ghost in your life and that’s a holy life"

"God doesn't answer prayer. He answers desperate prayer! Your prayer life denotes how much you depend on your own ability, and how much you really believe God. The more self-confidence you have, the less you pray. The less self-confidence you have, the more you have to pray."

"Many pastors criticize me for taking the Gospel so seriously. But do they really think that on Judgment Day, Christ will chastise me, saying, ‘Leonard, you took Me too seriously’?”

"My main ambition in life is to be on the Devil’s most wanted list."

"There’s a difference between changing your opinion, and changing your lifestyle."

"A true shepherd leads the way. He does not merely point the way."

"If a Christian is not having tribulation in the world, there’s something wrong!"

Psalm 119:59-60

"I thought on my ways,

and turned my feet unto thy testimonies."

"I made haste,

and delayed not to keep thy commandments."

Lately I have really been meditating on a few things God has really been laying on my heart and mind within the context of the life events that have been shaping, and will continue to shape, my life and my perception of life: getting married in September of 2008, buying a house in March of 2009, Meghann and I finding out she’s pregnant in May of 2009, and a baby on the way in February 2010 – and those are just the major events! I have been finding it so easy to allow myself to just “go with the flow” of things as they come, and at the same time I have been finding myself questioning this “flow” and whether I need to do a better job as a husband and a leader to direct my life and my new family against this “flow”. I don’t want to allow myself and my family to go down a path and then after we’ve traveled the path for a while realize that the way we took was not the way God desired for us to go. It would be much wiser to take the time now to carefully observe our course and make necessary changes that will honour the Lord, and this is the what I know I need to do (Lord, I need your wisdom! I cannot do it on my own!).

I was deeply encouraged today by Psalm 119:59-60. I want my life and my heart to always follow after verses such as these! I want to remain humble enough to take an objective, biblical look at my course of life, make godly determinations, and make haste to turn my feet unto God’s ways without delay… O how often do we delay when it comes to the things that God desires for us to repent of and change!! How is God glorified by such a selfish heart attitude? He is not… and I find myself guilty. I ought not to delay! I don’t want to delay! Praise be to God for His goodness to us, His patience with our weaknesses, and how He tenderly guides us with His loving staff.

1Corinthians 16:13

“Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.”