God be in my head

"God be in my head and in my understanding,
God be in my eyes, God be in my looking.
God be in my mouth, God be in my speaking,
God be in my heart, God be in my thinking...
God be in my hands, God be in my reaching,
God be in my soul, God be in my seeking.
God be in my days, God be in my wanderings,
God be in my mind, God be all consuming."

I keep thinking of these words from Jared Anderson's "God be in my head."

It's a new time in my life, a time for growth and healing. I want God to fill me up.

God be in my heartache :)

The following is by Charles Spurgeon:

"God is gracious…
Because God is gracious, sinful people are forgiven, converted, purified, and saved. It’s not because of anything in them, or anything that ever can be in them, that they are saved; it’s because of the boundless love, goodness, pity, compassion, mercy, and grace of God.
It’s because “his love endures forever” (1 Chronicles 16:41) that we are not destroyed. It’s because “his compassions never fail” (Lamentations 3:22) that sinners are brought to Him and forgiven.
Remember these things or you may fall into error by focusing so much on your faith that you forget that grace is the source of faith itself.

Faith is the work of God's grace in us...
Faith is the work of God’s grace in us. No one can say that Jesus is the Christ except by the Holy Ghost. Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44).
So faith is the result of divine drawing. Grace is the first and last cause of salvation while faith acts as an important part of the machinery which grace employs.
It’s important to remember that we’re saved “through faith,” but salvation is “by grace.” Faith occupies the position of a channel. Grace is the fountain and the stream; faith is the along which the flood of grace flows down to refresh the thirsty.
But faith is only the channel and not the fountainhead, and we must not place it above the grace of God. Our life is found in “fixing our eyes on Jesus,” (Hebrews 12:2) not in fixing our eyes on our own faith. By faith all things become possible to us; yet the power is not in the faith, but in the God upon whom faith relies.

Encouragment for those whose faith is weak…
So you see, the weakness of your faith will not destroy you. A trembling hand may receive a golden gift. The Lord’s salvation can come to us though we have only faith as a grain of mustard seed because the power lies in the grace of God, and not in our faith.
Great messages can be sent along slender wires, and the peace-giving witness of the Holy Spirit can reach the heart by means of a thread-like faith which seems almost unable to sustain its own weight.
Think more of Him to whom you look than of the look itself. You must look away even from your own looking, and see nothing but Jesus, and the grace of God revealed in Him."
- Charles Spurgeon

In the world...

Jesus said, "In the world you will have trouble. But take heart; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33). I usually take this to mean that we will face trials that come from living in this world, external diffculties and struggles.

But I think that Jesus also would include in this statement troubles that come from within. Often I think that if I can just get things straightened out on the inside, things will be smooth sailing. Or another way of saying it is: I have to get my sinfulness and personal struggles straightened out before I can depend on God.

I have recently been encouraged by Jesus' reminder: In this world you will also face trouble from within. Your insides will often work to betray you. You will often face personal failure. But take heart--I have overcome the world, and I am with you always.

:)

A reminder to myself

I always need to hear things like this:

"One day as I was passing into the field . . . this sentence fell upon my soul. Thy righteousness is in heaven. And methought, withal, I saw with the eyes of my soul Jesus Christ at God's right hand; there, I say, was my righteousness; so that wherever I was, or whatever I was doing, God could not say of me, he wants [=lacks] my righteousness, for that was just before him. I also saw, moreover, that it was not my good frame of heart that made my righteousness better, nor yet my bad frame that made my righteousness worse, for my righteousness was Jesus Christ himself, 'The same yesterday, today, and forever.' " --John Bunyan

Taken from John Piper's biography on John Bunyan, http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Biographies/1480_To_Live_Upon_God_that_Is_Invisible

remember your God

"Remember your God." Remember your God! Your God is with you.

"1God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
2Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
3though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling." Ps. 46:1-3

He is enough.

well, in today's economy...

I like the way certain phrases are used in conversation.

The phrase, "Well, in today's economy..." can now be inserted anywhere in a conversation.

"I thought about changing career fields...but, in today's economy..." And then the sentence is ended. It can perhaps be followed up by a sarcastic laugh, or a mutual "Ha ha, yeah!" The rest is understood--no need to explain oneself, of course. The phrase is a catch-all.

A man has a conversation with the grocery store cashier:
"Hello!"
"Hello, sir, how are you today?"
"I'm fine. Could be better. I thought about changing my underwear today..."
--a slight, akward pause--
But then, a smirk of confidence from unspoken agreement crosses the man's face.
"BUT, in today's economy..."
and then--a mutually understood wink, followed by laughter and friendship.

This (and other phrases, they change over time) are codes for our society: if you want in, you use the current phrase.

A few months ago, when gas prices were really high, the general consensus was that the established code-phrase was "Yeah, but with today's gas prices!"

I thought about using it to my advantage.
Imagine the folowing scenario.

I walk into a bar and approach an attractive girl, who is obviously too good for me, and say:
"Hey!"
"Hi."
And then, I abruptly and loudly blurt out"But with today's gas prices, you just about have to go out with me!"(overly-extended, playful wink)"right?"
"Ha ha. You're kind of cute."

Of course, ethically speaking, this would never work. It is morally wrong to use the powerful phrase to influence ladies into datation of me.

Nevertheless, in conclusion to this tract, society's phrase is a powerful ally. Wield it well, young padawan.

"A Little Faith"

I'm sorry to keep posting things that other people wrote in stead of something that I wrote. I mainly post these things for myself. But enjoy!

"It is not the quantity of your faith that shall save you. A drop of water is as much water as the whole ocean. In the same way a little faith is as much faith as the greatest. A child eight days old is as much man as one of sixty years. A spark of fire is as much fire as a great flame. A sickly man is as much living as a healthy man.
So it is not the measure of your faith that saves you — it is the blood that it grips to that saves you. The weak hand of a child that puts a spoon to his mouth will feed himself just as well as the strong arm of a man, because it is not the hand that nourishes them, it is the meat that nourishes him.
So if you can grip Christ ever so weakly, he will not let you perish. The weakest hands take a gift as well as the strongest. Now, Christ is this gift, and weak faith may grip him as well as strong faith, and Christ is as truly yours when you have weak faith, as when you have come to those triumphant joys through the strength of faith." --Welsh

From http://biblestudyplanet.com/livingwaters/?p=809

J. Temp. quote

"A problem that occurs in your life may simply be a question that life asks you. However, anxiety can make solutions seem elusive, and pessimism can be a block to embracing the part of ourselves that already knows the answers. Your positive outlook can open doors to opportunity that fear might otherwise tightly lock." --Sir John Templeton

I think God wants us to be optismistic, to see the good in things.

I don't even know who this J. Temp. guy is, but he sounds right in what he says here.

"Nevertheless, I am still with you;
you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
Ps. 73:23-26

Crackers?

Well, I've recently found that Ritz crackers are very delicious and even addicting. I found this article online and thought it was interesting. Check it out.

Who Stole the Cracker from the Cracker Jar?
By Andy Dale
If you’re like most Americans, you probably find Ritz® brand crackers to be delicious--maybe even a little addictive. In fact, according to a recent survey, three out of four Americans find they can’t stop eating them. “It’s like I’m eating cookies. I find myself eating a whole bag at a time, and I can’t stop,” said Eddie Young, one participant.
But new research is showing that eating snack foods in excess can have adverse effects. A study by the University of Chamberlain in Holstead, New Mexico shows that eating too many high-fat foods can cause health problems, and can even cause weight gain.
“We’re finding that there is a directly proportional relationship between the amount of food that [a person] eats and the amount of weight that is gained by that person,” says Cindi McKabers, department chair of the university’s College of Health Sciences. In the study, half of the participants were asked to eat lot of food, while the other half didn’t eat as much. After only one month, according to McKabers, the former group had gained (on average) more weight than the latter group. “We’re not exactly sure of the cause of this relationship, but one theory is that Ritz crackers are addictive.”
But apparently, this isn’t news to everyone. “We’ve known this for a long time,” says Randy Bravis, lead Nutritional Physicist for the US Department of Health. Bravis comments on the issue, “No, we’ve all found Ritz crackers to be addictive and delicious, and that eating too many of them can cause weight gain. We don’t see a change in this trend anywhere in the foreseeable future, either.” <