Less of me, More of You

January 22, 2014

My devotion for today comes from Genesis 11. This chapter tells the story of 'The Tower of Babel'. I was unfamiliar with this Bible story. Here's an abbreviated version:

The whole world had one common speech in which they communicated. They pioneered new land and came up with the idea to build a huge tower that stretched to the heavens. It was their way of "making a name for themselves." They basically desired to build a personal monument showcasing their craftsmanship and intelligence. God came down and saw how this unified language had created a monster. They were no longer praising Him but moreso themselves. God scattered them all over the Earth and confused their language. They no longer understood one another.  Needless to say, construction on tower was ceased...

It's very easy to act like the people of Babel and get caught up in elevating our possessions or accomplishments. We often forget that "everything - including ourselves - has been created by GOD for God. That accomplishment you achieved was not your own doing. The song reference for today is Earnest Pugh's "I Need Your Glory." In the song he says:

"I need your glory
I want your glory
Less of me and more of You
Is what I need"

As Christians, we should humble ourselves before God. It needs to be less about our "towers" and more about Him. Fight against the desire to elevate your accomplishments and possessions. "Humble yourself before God, knowing that He will exalt you at the proper time."

Lord, teach me how to humble myself. I desire less of me and more of You each day.

Amen.

Here's a link to the song: "I Need Your Glory" by Earnest Pugh

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Today's devotion comes from Genesis 9:13-15. These verses are from the familiar story of Noah's Ark. After God sent floods to destroy the earth, He sent a rainbow as a covenant. It was a symbolic promise that God would never send floods to destroy life on earth again. However, "God doesn’t always seal His promises with a visual sign; sometimes we see God’s promises reflected in other ways."

Today's song reference is a traditional hymn that has spanned over many generations. The lyrics say:

"Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee,
Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not,
As Thou hast been,Thou forever wilt be.

Then the chorus proclaims:

"Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!"

This devotion challenges you to find what rainbows you see? Where do you witness God’s faithfulness to you? Maybe it was some last minute cash you needed, a ride to work when your car broke down, or a free meal. Look for "rainbows" in the small needs He meets at just the right time. Credit His goodness when good fortune comes your way...not luck.

God, I thank you...

Amen.

Here's a link to 'Great is Thy Faithfulness' performed by Israel Houghton

He Wants It All

Today's devotion comes from Genesis 4:4-5. The song reference for this devotion is Forever Jones' beautiful ballad "He Wants It All." The song says:

"There's a voice that cries out in the silence
Searching for a heart that will love Him
Longing for a child that will give Him their all
Give it all, He wants it all
And there's a God that walks over the earth
He's searching for a heart that is desperate
And longing for a child
That will give Him their all
Give it all, He wants it all

And He says love me, love me with your whole heart
He wants it all today
Serve me, serve me with your life now
He wants it all today
Bow down, let go of your idols
He wants it all today
He wants it all"

The song urges us to give God our all because that's exactly what He wants. This is evident in today's text. Genesis 4:4-5 is a snippet from the story of Cain and Abel. Two brothers, one a shepherd (Abel) and the other a farmer (Cain). While taking sacrifices to God, Cain took a couple things from his crops...you know, what ever was left. Abel took his fattest most succulent first born lamb. Needless to say, the Lord looked at Cain like "Really?!?" We are guilty of this in our everyday lives too. "I'm 
tired, I'll go to church next week" or "I want a new pair of shoes. I'll tithe next month."

Today's devotion reminds us that we should ALWAYS give God our best. As the song says, He wants it all; not a portion, not half, not what's left, but all. Today we don't sacrifice animals on the altar but we still have a duty to give to God. Romans 12:1 says, "Therefore I urge you brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God-this is your true and proper worship." We can give God our tithes, time, talents, service, or etc. "The offering God wants most is the offering of our hearts, dedicated and fully turned toward Him in a lifestyle of continual worship." God gives us His best 100% of the time... He deserves the same.

God, I give you my gifts, talents and abilities. Please help me to see the sacrifice you want from me.

Amen.

Here's a link to the song:
He Wants It All (Live) by Forever Jones

Somebody Bigger Than You and I

Today's devotion reminds me of Whitney Houston's hit featuring Faith Evans, Bobby Brown, Ralph Tresvant, Johnny Gill and Monica, "Somebody Bigger Than You and I". This song is featured on the motion picture soundtrack, "The Preacher's Wife." The songs asks:

"Who made the mountains
Who made the trees
Who made the rivers that flow out to the seas
And who hung the moon in the starry, starry, starry sky"

And answers:

"Somebody bigger
I know I know he's bigger than you and I
My God is bigger
Somebody bigger
He's bigger, he's bigger than you
He's bigger than you
My God is, my God is..."

The scripture for today's devotion comes from Genesis 1. This is a familiar text from the first page of the Bible that describes God's creation of Heaven and Earth. More specifically, verse 31 describes God's description of His magnificent work as "very good"." This devotion reminds me of all the beauty in nature and the world in general. It's a reminder of how amazing God is and how thankful we should be for His works. Last September, my husband and I traveled to Niagara Falls for the first time. We couldn't help but be in complete awe at God's creation. It was breathtaking. I am blessed to 
know I too am God's creation and although I am not perfect, it's comforting to know I was created in His image.

God, please give me a new perspective on your creation. Thank you for your awesome works. Each day is a reminder that He is "somebody bigger than you and I."

Amen.

Here's a link to the song:
Somebody Bigger Than You and I by Whitney Houston f. Various Artist

He Saw the Best In Me

Hello everyone! I have been gone too long. I am back! I miss this blog and promise to never stay gone this long. With that disclaimer, let's begin: 

The next song was actually submitted by a dear friend of mine. He's a wonderful gentlemen that I am blessed to have in my life. He has a HUGE heart but has encountered some serious obstacles in his life. The song he submitted is a perfect testimony of his experiences. It is "He Saw The Best in Me" by Marvin Sapp. Here is a link to hear it ----> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmWvE23y4ZY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Nay Sayers suck! Their sole purpose in life is hate on you every chance they get. They are the people that can manage to find bad in everything you attempt to do. This song says regardless of these people in your life, God always sees the best and wants the best in/for you. 

There was some debate over the meaning of this song during my research. Some don't like it because they feel it gives Christians an excuse to sin and simply validates it by saying "oh God knows my heart.  He sees the BEST in me no matter what." Kind of far fetched if you ask me... but valid, I suppose. However, that is not the context of this blog.

I found a quote that reminds me so much of this song. It puts it in prospective perfectly.  It says "I am not who others said I am; I am what God said I am." No one knows you better than God.  God knows you possess a power that He has given you to stop the devil and all the nay sayers dead in their tracks! There is no one, no obstacles, no difficulties,  and no power on Earth that can stop God's promises in your life. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "I know the thoughts that I have toward you, says the Lord, even in your bondage, even in your captivity; they are good thoughts, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and hope."

Keep His promises foremost in your mind and the haters will flee. Start counting your blessing and joy will flood your being. You will see the faithfulness of God as recounted in this song ("He's mine and I'm his"). James 4:8 says, "Draw nigh unto God and He will draw nigh to you." This song is a reminder of God's constant love for us.  No matter what we've done, no matter where we came from, no matter where we're going---God's love is constant and has always been and forever will be.

Thank God for seeing the best in me! Amen.

Walk In The Light

Welcome! Been gone a while...BUT I'm back...

This week's song is "Walk In The Light" performed by the Georgia Mass Choir. Here is a link to hear the song ---> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTIz-1QlN18

The inspiration for this song, came from my Pastor's message last week that was entitled "Watch Your Step". The message consisted of different ways to "watch your step". They were to 1) "walk in the Spirit", 2) "walk in Faith", 3) walk in Love and 4) "walk in the Light". The last reminded me of the song above that we also sung in my choir...what exactly did the song and my pastor mean by "walking in the Light?"

Soooo, I headed to the Bible. My first mission was to figure out what light I need to be walking in. Sunlight? Moonlight? The leader of the song (my mom; when we sing it in our choir) says in an ad lib "Jesus is the light..." but let's not take their word for it :-)

I found my answer in John 8:12 (NIV) that says "...I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." The Bible confirms that JESUS is the light. When people are walking in the Light they are essentially living within the guidelines Christ has provided for us.

Below are some examples of "walking in the light":
-ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR SIN  (I John 1:9)
-ACKNOWLEDGE CHRIST (I John 2:23)
-DO NOT BE DEVOTED TO THIS WORLD OR THE THINGS OF THIS WORLD
(1 John 2:15-17)
-OBEDIENCE TO GOD (1 John 2:5-6)
-LOVE YOUR NEIGHBORS (1 John 2:10)
-LIVE AS CHRIST (1 John 1:5-7)

But why walk in the Light?  The answer is very simple...walk in the Light so you don't stumble. That is true biblically and literally. You can't see in the dark which increases your chances of falling BUT if you walk in the light (in truth) you won't stumble. (John 11:9-10)

As the song says: "WALK in the Light, TRUST in the Light, there's JOY in the Light, JESUS is the Light....ain't it wonderful, ain't it glorious, ain't it marvelous, ain't it beautiful....HOW THE LIGHT SHINES!!!

Amen.

Blessed Assurance

Blessed Assurance (performed by The Isaacs *acapella*) ----> a link to the song...words originally by Fanny J. Crosby and music by Phoebe P. Knapp (1873)

Blessed Assurance....when I think of this song I picture my traditional baptist church and the senior choir singing. Most of my life I never knew what this song meant but I knew I liked it. My favorite part was the chorus when it gets particularly high and I belt aloud in my most proper soprano head voice..."THIS IS MY STOOOOOORY, THIS IS MY SONG, PRAISING MY SAAAVIOR ALL THE DAY LONG. THIS IS MY STOOOOORY THIS IS MY SONG, PRAISING MY SAVIOR, ALL THE DAY LONG." Funny as a child you learn a song in church and you sing it because you heard it in church but you never REALLY have a keen understanding of what's being said...well, actually, some adults do too ;-) It wasn't until my choir sung this song earlier this month that curiousity hit. What does this pretty song mean? That's when I began my research.....

My first question began with the title of the song. After several hours of internet research and a whole lotta Bible page turning, I had nothing but a comparison between INsurance and ASsurance which says the term insurance refers to providing cover for an event that might happen while assurance is the provision of cover for an event that is certain to happen. AFLAC (with the duck) offers assurance coverage.


That was a little help. Ok Jennifer, let's get a little more detailed...so I went to the lyrics:

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine,
O what a foretaste...FORETASTE?! What's a foretaste???? According to the dictionary, a foretaste is something like preview. A lil sample, ya know? Moving on...
Of glory divine,
Heir of salvation,
Purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit,
Washed in His blood

After examining the first verse, I still had nothing. It was late, so I went to sleep. I didn't come back to the research for a couple days but the chorus that I love so much rang out through my head all week. THEN it hit me...

This song is a personal testimony. The author says "Jesus is mine..." Blessed assurance is presented as the gift of the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ. The gift of assurance is a certainty that concerns your relationship with God. Hebrews 10:22 says "let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith..." In other words, there is blessed assurance in knowing that Jesus is ours and we are His. Now that's something AFLAC can't offer! :-) Amen.