Nothing but the Cross....

I was playing my guitar the other morning and have had this one song in my spirit for some time now. The notes are easy for me to remember on the bass but learning the chords on an acoustic guitar is quite new to me. I can hardly wait for lessons to begin next week! :) For now, I pick a lot!

Savior, I come. Quiet my soul, remember.

Redemption Hill, where your blood was spilled for my ransom.

Everything I once held dear, I count it all as loss.

Lead me to the Cross, where your love poured out.

Bring me to my knees, Lord, I lay me down.

Rid me of myself, I belong to You.

Oh lead me, lead me to the Cross.

You were as I, tempted and tried. Human.

Word became flesh, bore my sin in death.

Now You're risen!

Everything I once held dear, I count it all as loss.

Lead me to the Cross, where Your love poured out.

Bring me to my knees, Lord I may me down.

Rid me of myself, I belong to You.

Oh lead me, lead me to the Cross.

Everything I once held dear...wow, that is kind of like a LOT of stuff and, when comparing it to the saving grace of Christ, it is nothing. When looking at things I think are important but putting through God's filter, The Bible, I find there is plenty of junk in my life - still some flesh hanging around, needing crucified. Oh Jesus, help me!

In Philippians 7-9 (Contemporary English Version), Paul writes "But Christ has shown me that what I once thought was valuable is worthless. Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ and to know that I belong to him. I could not make myself acceptable to God by obeying the Law of Moses. God accepted me simply because of my faith in Christ."

Oh how my heart desires to allow Him to examine me! My prayer today is Psalm 139:23-24 "Look deep into my heart, God, and find out everything I am thinking. Don't let me follow evil ways, but lead me in the way that time has proven true." (CEV). Yes, Lord, examine me and root out everything not of You. If You must remove my heart, so be it. Purify my motives, my thoughts, my actions and test them with Your refining fire. Burn away every impurity and let only the truth, Your truth, remain. May I keep watch over my mouth in my opinions but allow me to freely declare Your righteousness!

Only Jesus, Nothing but the Cross...Galations 6:14-16 has been on my heart. The Message reads, "For my part, I am going to boast about nothing but the Cross of our Master, Jesus Christ. Because of that Cross, I have been crucified in relation to the world, set free from the stifling atmosphere of pleasing others and fitting into the little patterns that they dictate. Can't you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do—submit to circumcision, reject circumcision. It is what God is doing, and he is creating something totally new, a free life! All who walk by this standard are the true Israel of God—his chosen people. Peace and mercy on them!" Freedom, Lord, let Your freedom reign!

Once again everything I once held dear, I count is all as loss...Philippians 3:7-9 "The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I'm tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn't want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God's righteousness." (The Message)

The chorus to an old hymn comes to mind as I close..."On Christ the Solid Rock, I stand. All other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand." Lord Jesus, I pray you give me the grace to stand on You, and nothing less. Nothing man-made, no substitutions - just You, Jesus. You alone are my sustenance, my every need, my only hope! Cleanse this heart, Oh God, and make me anew this day. I seek Your Will and Your ways, not my own. Help me to be sensitive to only You through Your precious Holy Spirit. Let me not boast in anything but the Cross! For there alone the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. Thank you for setting me free.

I love you, Jesus!

I see the truth...

Truth..something I believe we all are searching for. Deep within us, we desire to know what is real, what is truth - not man's made up agenda of what he/she thinks is best, but instead the real, honest, deep truth. Lately, life has been quite a blur of sorts and I have had great difficulty concentrating on 'that one thing'. This morning, I was listening to some Upton tunes and decided to change the visualizations feature in my media player. As I searched the many options, I discovered an intriguing one titled "I see the truth". Once I selected this, I was awed by the circles whirling in the same, then opposite directions, changing colors, spinning a different speeds. But that one thing that was central was the center circle - it never changed. All things moved around this mesmerizing circle.

And then God spoke His word...."AND WE KNOW THAT ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD TO THOSE WHO LOVE GOD, TO THOSE WHO ARE THE CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE." ROMAN 8:28. Now more than ever, this is reflected to me. Everything, if you can somehow fathom the depths of that, ALL THINGS are working together. Nothing is exempt and His truth will ring forth!
Jesus Christ is truth. The entire universe revolves around God the Father. It always has been that way and always will be. Even the software dudes at Microsoft stumbled across this when creating that visualization! Everything circles around Him, all things working towards His divine purpose and calling.

So, why do our hearts seem to think that isn't quite enough? Like it has to be more complicated than that? It truly is simple, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is simple truth. The world would have you believe it can't be that easy and still be real. So why do our hearts spout thoughts of confusion? The Bible clearly tells us something about the heart (our fleshly wisdom):

"The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out.

But, I God, search the heart and examine the mind.

I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things.

I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be."

Jeremiah 17:9-10 (The Message Remix)

As per a dear brother in Christ once said, "Feelings are fickle and untrustworthy." Thanks, Joe, for that mighty revelation! Feelings and circumstances can cause us to lose focus, to become overwhelmed by the things going on around us. Distractions will always be present. In these last days, I see there is one powerful yet subtle tool of the enemy being to simply distract Believer's from 'that one thing', which is pursuing intimacy Jesus Christ. If he can just get them caught up in the cares of this world, he will have them for quite some time. Hebrews tells us to "...lay aside every weight and sin which so easily ensnares us...". Paul was on to something when he penned the "easily" term used by the enemy to describe the tactics as they are.

Words in scripture that shout things like, "WAKE UP!" or "having eyes to see and ears to hear" are everywhere, yet many still sleep. Slumber..."to be dormant, inactive or negligent". Our hearts can grow cold towards the Lord if we aren't diligent to remain in His presence, learning His word and seeking His face, His will always. Not doing anything is a very powerful, negative state of existence. It makes you quite vulnerable to the plans of the enemy, who is always "roaming about like lion, seeking whom he might devour." Complacency breeds apathy (thanks Gary D.), again another dangerous place to remain.

Truth..."reality; actual existence". I see the truth, whirling about violently at times, yet all the while drawn and encircling that One True Center, which is God Himself. Are you focused on Him, really seeking His face? Are you trusting Him recklessly abandoning any ounce of self worth and self reliance. Independence is nothing more that the reliance on one's own ability or judgement. Sounds like "old man", doesn't it? We couldn't become righteous in our own ability by The Law so why should we keep resurrecting a life that has already been crucified? You are a NEW creation in Christ!

Trust Jesus, depend on Him, lean heavily on Him, endure in Him, remain in Him, abide (wait) in Him. And as you rest in Him, His truth is revealed.