LJo’s posterous

Blogs that is. Time to say goodbye to bamboosong...

Hebrews 11:33, 34

. . . Who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong

Is faith a risk? Of course. But failing to step out in faith is to risk missing real life. I have been challenged by the following thought from an unknown author.

Risk

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.

To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.

To reach out for another is to risk involvement.

To place our ideas, our dreams, before a crowd is to risk their loss.

To love is to risk not being loved in return.

To live is to risk dying.

To hope is to risk despair.

To try is to risk failure.

Risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, is nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love . . . live. Chained by his certitudes, he is a slave; he has forfeited freedom.

What a privilege for us to be able to walk by faith in God Himself, armed with all the promises of His Word. I suppose we all desire the security of the solid tree trunk, but the fruit is out on the limb. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. The timid soul asks, "What do I stand to lose if I do it?" The fruit-bearing Christians asks, "What do I stand to lose if I don't do it?" Real life is lived on the cutting edge.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, help me stand up for what is right, to reach out and love others, and to dare to believe.

Great quotes of the day:

From Erwin Lutzer's How to Have a Whole Heart in a Broken World:

Lutzer, Quoting C.S. Lewis: "The ultimate purpose of God in all His work is to increase joy." C.S. Lewis

"Joy is the ointment that can heal a fractured heart. Christ gives it to those who draw their spiritual strength from Him."

"But the better we are friends with Christ, the easier it will be to love God's difficult children."

"If our Lord seems distant, it's not because He is trying to play hide-and-seek. He's waiting for us to make some hard choices that will make friendship with Him a priority."

"We will never spend quality time with Christ unless we resist the other voices that call to us, begging for attention and involvement."

Lutzer, after a lengthy quote from Hudson Taylor: "Rest in the sufficient Saviour" Instead of trying so hard, just rest in him.

To abide = To dwell in Christ

"In the manner that Christ did nothing apart from the strength of His Father, so we can do NOTHING apart from Him. The same dependece, faith and humility that characterized Christ must be ours as well."

...That your joy may be full...John 15:11

You make known to me the path of life;in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11

ESV Study Bible says:
Ps. 16:11 path of life. A master metaphor of the Bible: the covenant provides a “path” by which one walks to life in all its fullness (Prov. 5:6; 6:23; 10:17; 12:28; 15:24; Matt. 7:14); this is what the Lord makes known to his followers. To enjoy God's presence, or his face, is the fruition of the covenant (cf. Ex. 33:14–15; Num. 6:24–26). The word pleasures is related to “pleasant places” (Ps. 16:6); the pleasure that he has begun in this life will continue into its fullness in the world to come

Verse 1:

There is nothing like Your love

No exchange for all You gave

To be welcomed into life

So I can know the love it takes

Verse 2:

Now forever to be loved

To walk with You for all my days

There’s no greater love than this

You are the Author and the Way

Pre-Chorus:

This is the sound of the redeemed

Rising up to praise the King

Our hope is in You

This is the sound of the redeemed

Rising up to praise the King

Chorus:

Singing glorious, glorious One You have saved us

Honor and Power and Praise to the Savior.

You are the Answer, You are the Answer

Verse 3:

You come with power come with fire

As we lift Your name on high

And join with all the saints to sing

In bringing Honor to the King.

Bridge:

We the redeemed

Hear us singing

You are Holy

You are Holy

last night in between the corporate worship sets, we met in our small groups and then come back to worship corporately before we leave. I usually have a pretty good idea of the flow and transitions of the songs etc. like this:

my heart beats faster
my speech gets faster
my heart is full
overwhelmed
with the beauty
the complex simplicity of
the subject of the worship of our God

worshiping in spirit and in truth
holy, holy, holy is the lamb, who sits on the throne
trust and obedience
love and obedience
[love with all our hearts, souls and minds and strength]
praise
delight
surrender
sacrifice
deny self
new life
hope

worship is more than music
music is just ONE way that we come to worship. praise softens our hearts, making us open
I believe God speaks through music but is not the only way.
{I kinda have a crush on music...but it's not the end all}
worship in community, with fellow believers is powerful
worship in solitude, with our Creator, is powerful
worship is: 'where your treasure is, there your heart will be also'

to be continued... <3
Sandals Church audio right here:

Check out the Sandals Vimeo to see the video's from Sunday: http://vimeo.com/sandalschurch (the last 4 are are from this past Sunday)

Worship is powerful because God's presence comes to dwell in our midst when we praise Him, and in His presence we find healing, transformation, and direction for our lives.  In fact, the more time we spend praising the Lord, the more we will see ourselves and our circumstances grow in wholeness and completeness.  That's because praise softens our hearts and makes them pliable.  It also covers us protectively.  The more pliability and covering are maintained, the more quickly our hearts can be molded and healed. - Stormie Omartian, from Praying God's Will for Your Life 

this is just for felicity!

school days in Australia...