This morning as I was doing my early morning Bible study, I read this verse in James 1:5:
"If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask Him, and He will gladly tell you, for He is always ready to give a bountiful supply of wisdom to all who ask Him; He will not resent it."I began thinking about this blog and how I feel the Lord has given me the opportunity to share with women (and possibly a few men) that He delights in beauty, both within and without. That true beauty without can only come from a God-given beauty within - a beauty that comes from a heart completely surrendered to a Holy God.
The Lord has shown me this morning that I have concentrated on the beauty without and have neglected the within part. Therefore, I have left you poorly clothed.
I am reading a book by David Platt entitled "Radical". In this book Dr. Platt is challenging the Church to see our superficial religion and consider what a Radical Christianity is all about. The first step is to search your heart and ask if you have been saved from your sins by the free gift of grace that only God can give. Let me quote for you a statement from this book:
"...that gift of grace involves the gift of a new heart. New desires. New longings. For the first time, we want God. We see our need for him, and we love him. We seek after him, and we find him, and we discover that he is indeed the great reward of our salvation. We realize that we are saved not just to be forgiven of our sins or to be assured of our eternity in heaven, but we are saved to know God. So we yearn for him. We want him so much that we abandon everything else to experience him. This is the only proper response to the revelation of God in the gospel."So, my question for you today is, do you know the God of the gospels? Have you received Him? If not, I invite you to trust in the Christ of the gospel and receive a new heart, a heart that is not only cleansed of sin but that now belongs to Him and longs for Him. The new heart that shines HIS light and radiance through your life.
"For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16Maybe you just need to simply recover a passion for God's Word, as I do - and discover once again the reward that is found in simply knowing and experiencing HIM.
Psalm 139 - "O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me...I can never be lost to your Spirit! I can never get away from my God!..You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body, and knit them together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about....How precious it is, Lord to realize that you are thinking about me constantly!...Search me, O God, and know my heart; test my thoughts. Point out anything you find in me that makes you sad, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." Living BibleMay God bless you today as you seek His face and what it truly means to be God's Special Lady.
(Picture by Randy LeBlanc - FBC Shreveport steeple)
From an email:
ReplyDeleteHello Libby,
I think the topic of your blog page is very interesting. You are definitely right in that inward virtues are not stressed in our society as compared to the outward, material things.
I haven't been at Zumba lately. I had a painful sore on my leg that had to be removed and so I had to sit out some classes.
God Bless You!
Theresa Gil
A friends posting on Facebook:
ReplyDeleteThe Biblical method is for the older to teach the younger. I wonder if the Scripture writers could have foreseen this taking place through blogs, Twitter, etc.?
Ms. Libby, who writes this blog, is a great person for the young women in my life to listen to ... I have known her my whole life.
Thank you, Ms. Libby, for being the woman of faith that you have been ... a light for future generations! :)
David Lawrence