Pour Out Your Heart

Psalm 62: 8 (Holman Christian Standard Bible) Trust in Him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge.

Reading Psalm 62 this morning I was reflecting on the difference between pouring and overflow. To pour is an action. A vessel needs to be tipped over so that when it is far enough tipped what is inside will come out. Pouring is not the same as overflow. Overflow is the result. It is a reaction.

There is some trust required to pour or tip over the vessel of our heart. If our trust is lacking we hold our heart back. When we become overly cautious we want understanding before we do any tipping. Sometimes it is necessary to avoid getting wounded and we avoid emptying our heart at all cost.

Sometimes we say “Boy, you are really trusting…” There are times when we trust because we believe we know the outcome. Some trust feels so secure we can even get a bit careless. God is really the only one we can trust at all times. The Bible describes Him as our safe refuge. There only a little refuge even in trusting ourselves. God is really our best safe place.

We can pour out to God all our anger and misunderstandings. He wants us to come to Him. In rinsing out a bucket we fill it with good water until the bad water flows out and the bucket is replaced with clean water. When we pour out our heart to God we are to empty ourselves before Him. He then fills us with all the forgiveness and grace we need, but could never find in ourselves.

We can pour out our heart to Him. He wants to take it, because He loves us and knows us better than we love and understand ourselves. He fills us with Himself and then it is His love and joy overflowing and touching others. Pouring we must do, but the overflow comes when we have poured out enough to empty of what should not be there. Someone said pouring out everything we are so we what is left is only what He gives. What is left is the reaction or reflection of Him. What a beautiful sight!

Why did Jesus come as a baby?

His helplessness as a baby speaks of God’s power to carry out His will.

A baby can do nothing for himself. Even as a baby Jesus was teaching us. As a baby and as an adult Jesus was totally dependent on God the Father to take Him through His earthly and into His heavenly destiny. Everything Jesus did had an earthly destiny and an eternal destiny. We have earthly destiny. We have a heavenly destiny.

Satan had a plot and used the very ones Jesus had come to redeem to destroy Jesus. The world inspired by Satan was out to destroy Jesus from the time he was born. They killed every baby under the age of two in order that this King of Kings would never reign. Even then, in Jesus helpless state, Satan could not succeed. God’s plan would not fail. Nothing was going to change the destiny of this baby. With our cooperation God will guide you through earth and into heaven.

Joseph, the man appointed to play the role of an earthly father, had a destiny. He was told in a dream to go to Egypt instead of to Nazareth. No enemy can thwart God’s will and purposes in our lives. Joseph could have given into fear, rebellion, or disobeyed the directions given him. If you run in the opposite direction you are running from your destiny. You can ruin God’s wonderful plan for your life. He knows you better than you know yourself. This is why His plan for you is the best plan. Joseph trusted and completely obeyed the purposes of God. We must learn to trust and obey God.

Jesus grew in body and spirit (Luke 2:40). We are to grow, not just in the flesh, but also in the things of the Spirit. We are to grow in wisdom and in grace.

We must not be discouraged at our progress of growth. We will not always recognize the ‘growing’ being accomplished. Little children want to grow faster – be bigger – do more. There is a process of maturing which will not be hurried.

Perhaps God doesn’t get in a hurry for us to grow-up any more than we want our little ones to grow up.

God watches constantly to see us grow and mature into our destiny.

EnHakkore When I Speak Your Name

Surely the Darkness Will Hide Me

Psalm 139:11-15 Children are often afraid of the dark. In this world evil things happen in the dark. We are insecure in our walking. Rocks, steps, and even walls can be dangerous to us when we can not see our way. A friend of ours walked into a glass door in the dark and broke his nose. Ouch! Sunsets are beautiful and remind me of the promise of the rainbow. It will only be a short time before it will be light again. For some though, sunsets trigger some pretty lonely worrisome thoughts when I believe God would have them realize they are symbols of a hope and a future and better things to come. Showing His splendor, His creativity, and His beauty He wants to inspire us to drink and partake of who He is. Changes in our lives can seem dark and even dangerous. Even in those times we can be reminded that wherever we go God encircles us and places His hand upon us. Darkness is not dark at all to Him. Children afraid of the dark can be reminded that nothing is hidden from God. Darkness or light makes no difference to God. He is able and willing to lead, guide and protect us because He is not limited by darkness. He actually fills the darkness with Himself. He wants to also fill troubled times with Himself, but He doesn't do so uninvited. We must live our lives in such a way that He knows we desire Him to be with us. I have four wonderful grandchildren and one on the way. Each of them developed in the darkness of the womb under the watchful eye of a loving heavenly Father. Someone once questioned why would God create man when he knew man would have a choice to reject Him. God wrote a whole book to tell us why. Because He wants us to fellowship with us. He wants to be with us - and He visits us in the dark times before we even know He is there to do so. The best way for me to come out of a dark time is to do what I am simply not motivated to do at those times. Radical worship because He is worthy. When I worship Him above my feelings and in spite of the circumstances it is an invitation. It is an invitation for Him to come down and scoop us up to a sheltered place to have a better perspective of the dark. Everything looks better in the morning.

PRAYERS FROM PSALM 139

The All Knowing – Ever-Present God _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Search me and know me Reveal any thoughts or ways that displease You. Have mercy on me. Show me what offends You. Now I repent of any of those things. With Your help I will stop doing them. Please surround me. Put your hand upon me. Anoint me with the knowledge of You. I ask for the awareness of Your Spirit. Remove any darkness in my life which maybe still hiding from the light of Your presence. I want to be aware of Your eyes upon me. Have mercy on me for the times I have refused You. Now I am searching for You. Give me another season to turn to You. Lead me into Your Kingdom purposes and Your ways for my life.

Wearing the Fringe

Numbers 15:38 Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: 39 And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: 40 That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God. The Children of Israel were instructed to wear fringe on the hem of their garments. The fringe was to be worn in plain sight and the fringe would be seen several times each day. They may have been identified as ‘the ones who wore the fringe, you know, the Children of Israel’. The fringe was not a fashion statement. In fact it was more like a yellow caution sign along a highway. The fringe was to be a warning for each person who wore it. It was to be a constant reminder to do God’s commandments. God knows us so well. He knows our weaknesses. The fringe was not for God’s benefit. He didn’t need to brand or label the people who were His. God didn’t need to see the colored fringe in order to easily locate them whenever He looked down from heaven. Realistically, God doesn’t even need us to wear clothes. He doesn’t get embarrassed at our nakedness. He has no need to cover our nakedness. It is about what our sin does to us. Adam and Eve were embarrassed because of their sin. They reacted to the guilt of their sin by making clothes to cover themselves and hide from God. God hates sin. He cannot tolerate sin. He hates sin because He is holy. He hates sin because sin separates us from Him. Every generation was told to continue wearing the fringe on the borders of their garments. Every generation was to remember to do all of God’s commandments. What God required of them on the outside, their clothes, was only to be a sign to keep themselves for Him on the inside. Wearing the fringe would help them remember they were His children so they would not be whoring after other gods. The clothes represented holiness to themselves and to others. God still requires holiness, inside and out, but He provided a better way. He sent Jesus to pay for our sins, once and for all – on the cross. Now we can live holy lives. God, Holy Spirit, will come to live inside of us and help us resist what is unholy. With His Presence actually dwelling in us we can choose what is holy. We must make a choice to invite Him to live inside us. We must make choices to resist what is unholy and to live a holy life. We choose to live holy because we want to reflect Him who is holy. We choose to live holy so others can see Him. Similar to the same reason the Children of Israel wore fringe their clothes our clothes are just as important to our testimony. They help us make a statement to everyone who sees us about how we live for and love a holy God. What we wear can help to remind us that we are not our own. Scripture names those who have invited His presence to dwell in them the Bride of Christ. A bride in a white wedding dress is special. The color of the dress represents a purity she has reserved for her bridegroom. Once Christ has made us holy we are not our own. Scripture says the Bride, the church, will be given to Jesus Christ to dwell with Him forever in heaven. In the same way the fringe marked the Children of Israel, the wedding dress is the sign she is the bride of the wedding, and what we look like on the outside is the first impression or reflection of what is on the inside.

Removing the Veils to His Presence

God is emotional. When we love Him He is touched deeply. When we refuse Him it breaks his heart. He said His heart was crushed by the adulterous heart of His people when they left Him for other gods. Ezekiel 6:9 (NAS95) says,” I have been hurt by their adulterous hearts which turned away from Me, and by their eyes which played the harlot after their idols; and they will loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed, for all their abominations.” God relates to broken hearts. He knows how it feels. So he came to earth to fix broken hearts. Isaiah 61:1 says He is sent to bind up the brokenhearted. Having experienced what it is to have a broken heart He is able to empathize with every hurt and broken heart. He then went beyond empathy to suffer here on earth so every broken heart could be made whole again. He also experiences deep love. Song of Solomon is a picture of love. The heavenly bridegroom’s heart is full of tenderness toward His bride. He reveals His emotions in this story. The bridegroom says, “O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.” When she looks at him, or He hears her voice He describes His emotions as a heart that beats faster and faster. Deeply in love, he is ravished over her. The bridegroom longs to be near to the bride wanting her to come to Him. When she comes, responding to his invitation He removes the veil that separated them. One of the greatest moments of any Wedding ceremony is when the groom lifts the veil off the face of his bride and kisses her. We can only kiss one person at a time. When we kiss we have to stop talking. There are times in worship when we need to stop talking, and commune with Him from the inner sanctuary of our hearts. A kiss is a face to face encounter. Worship is all the more delightful because it, too, involves a face to face encounter. Worshipping God should be a lot like that special moment in the wedding ceremony. Worship is both public and very private. It is right at that moment for everyone to see this outward, open display of love. As the bride there are moments we ‘kiss’ or worship God together. Our love is on display. Then there are moments of personal worship for His heart alone. Worship is perhaps the most significant thing we can do to remove the veil between us and God. Someone said it is the only earthly activity that will continue throughout eternity.

What Do I Have To Say?

Often I have received a prophecy stating the Lord is giving me a voice. Because I am already a vocalist I doubt it is about a singing voice. So I have wondered what is the voice the Lord would be giving to me? If He were to give me a voice what is it that He would want me to say?

Worship is a huge part of the voice I am to have. To sit at His feet and give Him my worship, the only worship I have, I can give. Inside of each of us is a cry to worship. God calls us to worship Him. He does not intrude upon our will and would never enslave us to worship Him. The desire, the need to worship is something He put within the heart of every man, woman, boy and girl when He created them. And until we worship the creator there will always be something missing inside. Because He made a place only He can fill. As creator God He made this place so He could come and abide right inside of us. There are those do not recognize, or choose not to acknowledge that cry deep inside of them to worship. I believe they will search trying to worship one thing after another until they worship Him, their Creator God. It is wonderful to know the Lord enjoys each and every voice of worship that is offered to Him. I will give my voice of worship to my Creator God.

At the age of 55, I suppose I qualify, or soon will qualify as an older woman chronologically. Scriptures say the older women should teach the younger. The experiences and tenure of the relationship I have with my Lord Jesus Christ have given me wonderful things to share about Him. My love and devotion to Him has not grow any weaker through the years. As a child I learned to trust that He will always love me. In Him I am complete and have found there is no need to search for a greater love than He gives. The more I seek to know Him the more complete I am in Him. So I will share with a voice of some wisdom and some experience out of the completeness I have found in Him.

So, my voice will speak of the joy and journeys of a life that has been changed and is ever-changing by the dwelling of His Spirit in me. I pray the presence of the Holy Spirit and the beauty of His holiness will be seen in me and experienced by all of us.