"How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!" -Psalm 119:103
For the past few days, God has shown me the importance of abiding in Him. He says to "Remain in me, and I will remain in you". We often get so distracted by the world, that we take our eyes off of Christ. We often just forget about God's love for us. I am constantly being reminded to stay in communion with Him. The world is constantly draining us, but God is constantly replenishing us through His living Spirit. When we're dry and lost in the desert, we really arn't growing. But when we're planted near the streams of living water, we become very fruitful and strong towards worship.
We need to spend more time absorbing God's love, because God never stops pouring out His infinite love on us,. He tells us to just sit at His feet, and surrender the pains of our heart. He offers us a calm rest in His love. When we wait upon the Lord, we renew our strength, and become available to the Lord. He says to stay close in worship, prayer and in His Word so that we'll be far from sin, and live a joyful and abundant life.
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." -Romans 15:13
Today i had a very joyful day. I was in awe, adoration, astonishment, amazement, and very appreciative for His never ending love for us. I was reminded to never stop counting our blessings. I am so grateful to have such a glorious God. Sometimes i forget how blessed i truly am. Today i reflected on how blessed it is to have legs to walk, eyes to see, friends/ family to share love with, to have an education, to have a heart connected to God, and a mind to ponder His truths. All my problems started to look small, and I began to have more fruitful interactions and love for my relationships with others. Take time to remember the cross. Take time to embrace God's love for us. No one can ever separate you from His love. And nothing else matters when you know that your God loves you.
My soul faints with longing for your salvation,
but I have put my hope in your word." -Ps 119:81
I was also reminded of His gift of salvation. We are nothing but sinners without His grace. We are useless without His strength. We are completely empty without His love. We are all like lost sheep, but God came to redeem us! God is mighty to save. His love is better than life. He maintains the universe with ease. He is a super charged intimate God with an extreme love for His children. He delights in all His creation to an end. He loves to see us laugh and be full of joy. He washes all our sins, sets us free from slavery, and tells us to live as children of light. We are created to imitate Jesus, and reflect His glory. He tells us to have a heart after His and conform our desires to His. He is our constant source of strength, and our greatest treasure in life. He never stops chasing us with His love.
Today I got to witness to someone in the UH gym. I saw an old classmate, and we just started to have a normal conversation. Eventually he asked what I was planning on doing after i graduate. He seemed pretty interested in what I had to say about who God was. He told me that he wasn't much of a church person, and is very skeptical because of the amount of deception now days. I agreed with him that there is a bunch of bogus teaching out there, but that it shouldnt prevent us from seeking truth and coming to know Christ. Then some other guy nearby must of overheard us, and just stood next to us listening to our conversation about God. I mainly got to tell them that the gospel is through grace by faith in Jesus Christ, and that it's not a religion, but an intimate relationship. I could tell that they were very curious about Jesus, prayer, sin, the Bible, religion, churches, discernment of truth, the Holy Spirit, and the transformation in my life. It was pretty crazy, because they just kept starring at me wanting to know more. Even when people dont make an instant decision to surrender to God right there, I have a feeling that it makes a huge impact on what their hearts and minds begin to ponder about.
I want nothing but Jesus. I want the likeness of Jesus. I want to be engulfed in His love. I want Him as my deepest desire. I want to continue to grow, learn and love. I want to die to my sin, kill my evil ways and surrender it to Christ. I want to follow in a relentless pursuit for righteousness. I want to hunger and thirst holiness. I want to have a changed heart with nothing but passion and intimacy for the Lord. I want nothing else on my mind but the beautiful love of my Savior and King. I want to humble myself, so that I may be overwhelmed with a joyful obedience. I want to draw closer and closer to the Lord. I want to become stronger in faith, and lead by the Spirit. I desire to glorify my God forever and worship Him as my eternal treasure. Lord help me to stay true to your desires.
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.
"The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young.
Let him sit alone in silence,
for the LORD has laid it on him. Lam 3:22-28
