Not guilty!

I stand accused
There’s a list a mile long
Of all my sins
Of everything that I’ve done wrong
I’m so ashamed
There’s nowhere left for me to hide
This is the day
I must answer for my life

My fate is in the Judge’s hands
But then He turns to me and says

I know you 
I love you
I gave My life to save you
Love paid the price for mercy
My verdict not guilty

How can it be?
I can’t begin to comprehend
What kind of grace
Would take the place of all my sin?

I stand in awe
Now that I have been set free
And the tears well up as I look at that cross
‘Cause it should have been me

My fate was in the nail scarred hands
He stretched them out for me and said

I’m falling on my knees to thank You
With everything I am I’ll praise You
So grateful for the words I heard You say



Today was the first day I heard this song. A lady at my church sang it as a special, and I just think it is amazing!!! It describes our sinful life so well. To think that before we come to Jesus and accept Him as our Savior and ask forgiveness for our sin, we were all guilty and deserved to die. It really should have been me on that cross, but instead Jesus loved us SO much that He took our place JUST so we can live with Him for eternity!! Even though Jesus wished he didn't have to go through with it (if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; Matthew 26:39), he still followed His Father's will (nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt). We owe Him our lives for taking our place on that cross and for making us "not guilty." I hope you enjoy this song as much as I did when you listen to it.

Symbols of Freedom

There are two symbols that display our freedom. The first one we all know very well. She stands in New York harbor. She represents liberty for all: she is called the Statue of Liberty. When we see her torch raised to the sky we feel a sense of pride to be privileged to live in such a great Nation! She is one of the things that make proud to be Americans!

The second symbol of our freedom makes us Christians especially proud! It stands in Calvary on a hill in Golgotha. For Christians it represents a freedom from sin. It gives us hope that one day we will get to end our days here on earth and go live for eternity with our heavenly Father! It gives us a reason to celebrate because we no longer have to live in control of sin. Sin has lost its grip on us, and all we have to do is humbly go before Jesus and repent of your sin and He will cast it away forever! And this is all possible because God sent His only Son to die on a cross for our sins (John 3:16). And now in order to receive freedom from our sin, all we have to do is come to the cross and let go of all the sin that has held us captive. Then once you do that you can proudly say, "I am proud to be called a Christian."

A song I really like to listen to, especially around the Fourth of July, is called Stature of Liberty by Larnelle Harris. The lyrics portray just what I was trying to communicate in this blog post. I hope you like them too:

In New York harbor stands a lady

With a torch raised to the sky

And all who see her know she stands for

Liberty for me and you

I'm so proud to be called an American

To be named with the brave and the free

I will honor our flag and our trust in God

And the Statue of Liberty

On lonely Golgotha stood a cross

With my Lord raised to the sky

And all who kneel there live forever

As all the saints can testify

I'm so glad to be called a Christian

To be named with the ransomed and whole

As the statue liberates the citizen

So the cross liberates the soul

The cross is my statue of liberty

For it was there that my soul was set free

Unashamed I'll proclaim that a rugged cross

Is my statue of liberty

Unashamed I'll proclaim that a rugged cross

Is my statue of liberty

Happy Fourth of July Everyone!!!!!! Enjoy some wonderful time with family and find some time to thank God for your freedom and if you see someone who has served in the military be sure to thank them too for serving our country. God bless America!!!!!

Please Pray!

Those of you who are from Michigan may have heard this on the news, on Wednesday June 29th  a four month old girl was abducted. The police suspected the mother's boyfriend, who is now in custody. But nobody knows where the little girl is. The family did receive a glimmer of hope on Friday when the boyfriend nodded to say that she was still alive, but other than that he is not saying anything else to help them find the girl. As of yesterday nobody still doesn't know where the little girl could be, police have been searching the area around the guy's house but they keep coming up empty handed by the end the day.

Even though I don't know this family at all, the Lord has laid upon my heart to pray for this family and the situation. But I also know that prayer is so much more powerful with more people: just like it says in Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. So I am asking, if any of you could find time throughout your days to just say a short prayer for this family and their situation that would be most helpful. Let us bring this baby girl back home through the power of prayer. Just pray that the police will have wisdom to know where to look and pray for safety for everyone who is out trying find the girl. Also, pray for the family. Pray that they will find comfort no matter what happens and that through this situation somehow they will hear the gospel. Also, pray that they will be able to forgive the boyfriend or whoever abducted the girl.

Thanks ahead of time to anyone who is willing to pray for this family. I will try to write everyday to update everyone about this situation.God will work through our prayers!

Surrender All

Take all I am, Lord, and all that I cling to
You are my Savior I owe everything to
Take all the treasures that lie in my storehouse
They cannot follow when I enter Your house

So I surrender all to You
I surrender all

Take all my cravings for vain recognition
Fleshly indulgence and worldly ambition
I want so much Lord to make You the focus
To serve You in secret and never be noticed

Take all my hunger for all that’s forbidden
Every desire and sin I keep hidden
Search me and know me I want to bring to You
A life that is holy and sanctified through You

The first time I sang this song I just fell in love with it! It is just such a powerful message!! It communicates perfectly how we are not our own person and that nothing we own belongs to us--everything belongs to Jesus!! As you listen to this song really focus on the lyrics and just pray it back to the Lord. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!!

Catching a Glimpse of Jesus

Catching a Glimpse of Jesus

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Purposes of Daily Devotions for Your Outer Life

Now that we know how daily devotions grow us in our inner life, let's take a look at how they affect our outer life. Once we allow God to change us on the inside, we will be more equipped to encourage others in their spiritual walk, and to live our days for God and for others. So, here are four other purposes for having daily devotions.

The first purpose for having daily devotions to prepare the outer life is submission: When we come to our special time with God, we must come with a submissive spirit. We must be willing to give God control of our life. If we try to run our lives on our own strength, we will be tired and frustrated by the end of the day. Now I know for me, the only reason I don't always submit to God's will is my pride and my independence. Ever since we were young, most of have learned that in order to survive in this world we need to be independent. But God is really teaching me to have a proper balance between independence and dependence on Him. We need to give the reigns to our spiritual life over to God. Then once we do that we will fell a huge burden lifted from our shoulders. and by being more dependent on God and less dependent on ourselves, we will find that we have more time to worship our Lord. We must be willing to let go of all our problems and completely surrender them to God. Submitting to God is realizing that it is not our will but God's will being done.

The second purpose for having daily devotions to prepare the outer life is direction: Whenever I need someone to talk to it is so refreshing to know that God is always there. I don't know about you, but whenever I have a bad day, I just grab my journal and just start writing and it really feels like I am talking to God and I feel SO much better! and the best thing about it is that He is NEVER too busy to listen! God is always there to take away my problems and to guide me through everyday and to help me set my priorities straight. But in order to experience all that to the fullest we need to spend uninterrupted time with God. We need to devote a special time every morning where we can spend cultivating our relationship with God. In order to be able to do God's work, we need to take the time to sit quietly long enough for God to tell me what He wants me to do. We should follow Jesus' example: get up early in the morning, go to a solitary place, and pray to our heavenly Father. Only then will we be able to do our Father's work properly.

The third purpose is for Intercession: A daily quiet time with God will better enable us to intercede on the behalf of our friends in need. Instead of taking matters into our own hands, we need to let God take control of the situation. He can do a much better job than we can. Instead of trying to change someone ourselves, let God change us first, then give that person over to God and let Him change them. All we have to do is pray for our friends and God will take care of the rest.

The last purpose for having daily devotions to prepare the outer life is transformation: The longer I spend with the Lord, the more I will be transformed into His likeness. Come into God's presence with an "unveiled" face. Take off the "good Christian" mask, and just be yourself when you come into His presence. Once you enter God's presence be ready and willing to be transformed into His likeness. This not a rushed process though. You are not transformed into God's likeness overnight. You have to take the necessary time to spend with your heavenly Father and overtime we will become more and more like Him. 

The result of applying these purposes to your daily devotions is someone who is ready to do the Father's work and to give Him the glory for everything.