I saw this poem in my church bulletin, and thought it was really good - I was challenged. Hope you enjoy!
Strongholds by Donald E. Parker
Every thought's a soldier
In the battle for the mind,
And we decide the victor
By the ones we give our time.
The warfare may be spiritual,
But it's as real as any war,
Though some may ask the question,
"Then what's the battle for?"
The battle is for strongholds
Whether right or wrong,
The more we run into them,
The more we make them strong.
If we yield our thoughts to Satan,
Then our minds he can control,
And the strongholds will be his,
Though he may not have our soul.
But if Jesus is commander
Of the thoughts that wage the war,
Then the strongholds will be righteous
And we'll be conquerors evermore.
Here is another one of my favorite songs - it's rather repetitive, but it's really good!
Give Me Jesus
In the mornin' when I rise,
In the mornin' when I rise,
In the mornin' when I rise,
Give me Jesus!
Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus,
You can have all this world,
But give me Jesus.
And when I am alone,
Oh, and when I am alone
And when I am alone,
Give me Jesus.
Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus,
You can have all this world,
But give me Jesus.
And when I come to die,
Oh, and when I come to die,
And when I come to die,
Give me Jesus.
Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus,
You can have all this world,
But give me Jesus.
Wow! Shouldn't that be our heart's desire?? You can have all this world - but give me Jesus!! Am I living like that?? Jesus should be our whole focus - it's all about Him!
Today I decided to post one of my favorite songs. It's really beautiful, and has a powerful message.
Before the Throne of God Above
Before the throne of God above,
I have a strong and perfect plea,
A great high priest whose name is love,
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on his hands,
My name is written on his heart,
I know that while in heav'n he stands,
No tongue can bid me thence depart,
No tongue can bid me thence depart.
When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see him there,
Who made an end to all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free,
For God the just is satisfied
To look on him and pardon me,
To look on him and pardon me.
Behold him there the risen lamb!
My perfect spotless righteousness!
The great unchangealble I AM,
The king of glory and of grace.
One with himself I cannot die,
My soul is purchased by his blood!
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my saviour and my God,
With Christ my saviour and my God!
This week I have been challenged in my spiritual life as far as giving God all the glory. So often we ask God to do something or help us in a certain area, but when he does, who gets the glory? How often do we even recognize that it was Him, and not us, that got that thing accomplished?
Last Sunday evening, Pastor Scott preached on prayer - particularly, Paul's prayer for the Thessalonians. The first thing he prayed for them about was that they would have credibility, or worthiness. He said that we often get the mindset that we are doing God a favor by serving him, when, in reality, it's a priviledge for us to serve God! He is so holy, and yet we want to get the honor for things done.
Here is a portion of Sunday evening's notes summing up several 'famous' prayers in the Bible:
Hight Priestly Prayer of Jesus: John 17
He prayed for:
- Fellowship
- Joy
- Protection from evil
- Sanctification
- Experience the fullness of salvation
Ephesians 1:15-19
- Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him
- Enlightenment
Ephesians 3:14-19
- Strong inner man
- Conviction from the heart
- Strong roots
- Full comprehension of love's magnitude
- Filled with all the fulness of God
Colossians 1:9-11
- Know God's will
- Walk worthy of the Lord in every aspect of your life
- Grow in the knowledge of God
- Strengthened with all might - Full of God's mighty and glorious strength
Jabez in 1 Choronicles 4:9,10
- Bless me indeed
- Enlarge my coast
- Thine hand might be with me
- Keep me from evil
Those are some very good guidelines for praying for people, and I thought I would share them with ya'll.
I'm not sure how much I'll use this site, but I thought it would be a good idea, and I hope that some of you will receive a blessing! God Bless, Erica