A God Story Life ~ by Amy Vest

A God Story: Walking closely with Jesus and following Him in surrender as He unfolds His perfect will for your life. 

I stood in the sanctuary after church, talking with a friend who had gotten married since I’d last seen her.  “It’s a God story, Amy”, she told me with joy as she started to tell me her story.  My heart rejoiced – God stories are my favorite!  “I want mine to be one, too.” I earnestly replied. 

But, even more, I want my whole LIFE to be a God story – don’t you, friend?  A life that displays God’s power and goodness, a life that is only explainable by Jesus, a life that points to God – a life story that is clearly written by the hand of God.  Hebrews 12:2 tells us that Jesus is “the author and finisher of our faith” – and I am so glad!  Jesus is so wonderful and wise, His heart is love, and His plan is perfect.  I am so grateful that He is the Author of our story… I just want to let Him write His story freely in my life!  

After surrendering to Jesus at salvation, it is then a daily, moment-by-moment yielding to Jesus by the power of His life in us.  In the daily, moment-by-moment surrender, I need His help and strength so desperately.  Are you with me?

Our life and story is made up of moments.  It really takes place in the daily attitudes of our heart, Truth we know we should live out, promptings of the Holy Spirit to follow, choices to walk by the Spirit instead of the flesh, etc.  There are moments when we know we should: respond in love to someone who hurt us, slip off the computer and soak in time with Jesus, walk in Truth instead of how we feel, obey something that He is leading us to do, etc.  In these moments, we can yield to Him, say, ”Yes, Lord”, obey by His grace, and experience the joy of closer fellowship with Him as we walk into His best with Him, or, we can respond in selfishness and hinder our fellowship with Him and His very best in our lives.   

Maybe you have found this, too?  When I walk in yieldedness to Jesus, I see that He is all that I need and His plan is perfect.  I witness Him do wonders and my heart sings that nothing compares to His best.  Yet, the times I sin by trying to take control of the “pen” of my life and write what I think He has for me, or what I think is best, my peace fades and I make mistakes as I stumble away from His best.  Then Jesus so graciously brings repentance to my heart, forgiveness, redemption, and guides me back to surrender and the joy of experiencing Him.  I see afresh that I don’t want anything but Him, His glory, and His story for me.

That is really what a God story – and the purpose of our lives - is about: A close walk of dependent obedience to and relationship of love with Jesus, His work in us, and His guiding our steps and working through us for His glory! 

It is only in this place that truly we are satisfied, He is glorified, and others are blessed.  It is so essential to remember that the story of our life is a part of His Story of redemption – the beautiful love story of God drawing His people to Himself!  He has a special plan for your life story as a part of this biggest story.

It is so important not to compare the story that God is writing in our lives to the lives of others.  While the Lord and His Truth are always the same, every story is different because we are all individuals and the Lord knows exactly what you need to fulfill the purpose that He has for your life.

Over the past months, the Lord has been highlighting for me in His Word the verses in the Gospels where Jesus says, “Follow Me.”  It is a call to surrender everything – our self, desires, agenda – and follow the One that created, saved, and is our King!  It is a call to follow Him – not knowing where He will lead, but knowing He is all we need.

When we follow Jesus in surrender, we find the answer to the longings of our hearts in Him and He leads us into His perfect plan for our lives.  We find true life.  Jesus says, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.   For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”  (Matt. 16:24-25)  This is how we FIND our life – the life in Jesus for which we were created – and where He writes His beautiful story!

It is following Him and trusting Him for our:
~ Salvation, growth, and satisfaction
~ Daily needs, questions, struggles
~ Strength and grace
~ Guidance and future
~ and everything else!

There is no peace like the peace of following Jesus in surrender, resting in His hands, listening for His call to obey, walking in the grace that He always provides to do what He calls us to do, and letting Him do His amazing work in and through us!

The story of a person’s life is really as beautiful as the one whose hand it is in.

This story is a journey of faith – a beautiful, sometimes rugged, always-worth-it journey – of believing that God knows far better than we do. 

This past season for me has been a chapter that I didn’t expect as part of God’s story for my life.  Yet, I am seeing more and more beautiful glimpses of His purposes - that the times of pain, questions, and weakness were exactly what the Lord knew I needed to give me more of Himself, do a deep work in my heart, direct my steps in His plan, prepare me for what He has ahead, and so much more!  The longer I walk with Jesus, the more He shows me - I do not need to know the whole story of my life, because I know the Author.  “Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…” (Heb. 12:2) 

The One Who gave His life for us can so be trusted with every detail of the story of our life from beginning to end!

You can trust the Author, because you know:
~ His heart – He is loving, wise, perfect, and so much more!
~ His promises – He will never leave us (Heb. 13:5), He knows the plans He has for us (Jer. 29:11), all things work together for good for those who love Him (Rom. 8:28), etc.
~ The ending of the Story  – You will spend eternity with Him forever!

I am so excited about the story God is writing in your life, friend!  I am praying for you and cheering as He writes His perfect story in you.  He has amazing things in store!

I know that when we reach the end of our lives and look back over the story God has written in our lives, we will say with Psalm 18:30, “This God—his way is perfect.”

May our hearts echo this prayer:
“I trust You and Your love, Lord.
Please have Your way in me.
I want You to write Your story freely in my life.
Please be glorified.
In the Name of Jesus, Who makes it possible,
Amen.”

Yes, that is what we want - a God story life.

Question - We love hearing from you!

What is one way Jesus is calling you to follow Him right now?

Please share in the comments section below!

Worshipful Thanksgiving ~ by Amy Vest

I love Thanksgiving.
I love reflecting on the blessings I've been given.
Most of all, I love worshipping the Giver of the blessings.

"It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High." (Psalm 92:1)

This is amazing.
While the gifts are good, the point us to the Giver.
While the gifts can make us happy for a little while, the Giver gives us joy forever in Himself.
Gifts cannot truly satisfy, but the Giver satisfies the deepest needs of our hearts for eternity.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." (James 1:17)

This, my friend, is the secret to the best Thanksgiving ever - thanks for blessings that turns into worship of the Giver.

Whether you have a cozy time surrounded by people you love, or are facing deep pain, you see that the physical gifts can change, but the Giver is ever yours.

"...be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”' (Hebrews 13:5)

Yes, gifts may come and go, but the Giver - Jesus - is forever ours and forever by our side!

"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!" (Psalm 107:1)

This has been so sweet and powerful for me - and I pray it is for you, too.  

The simple act of counting blessings with Jesus can turn into a sweet worship of Him - the Giver.

Let your
thanksgiving for blessings
become gratitude to the Giver
and
turn into worship of the One Whose heart we see in His gifts.

This leads us to a life of worshipful thanksgiving.

So, for example:
1) "I'm thankful to be redeemed."
2) "Thank You, Jesus, for redeeming me from my sins and bringing me into a relationship with You!"
3) "I worship You, Jesus, that You are my loving, gracious Redeemer."

Do you see how beautiful this can be?

He is worthy of all our worship - and oh, in it, He is glorified and our hearts find deep joy!

We have so much to be thankful for in Jesus, friend!

Have a blessed Thanksgiving giving thanks and worshipping the Giver!

Question - We love hearing from you!

What is one aspect of your identity in Christ that means a lot to you? (For example: accepted, loved, etc.)

Please share in the comments section below!

Join us for a Videocast - Your Identity in Christ

Session 4 ~ "Your Identity in Christ" from Loving the Lord Ministries on Vimeo.

You are Forever Loved ~ by Amy Vest

Friend ~ Do you know how much you are forever loved?

Listen to these precious verses:

"For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Romans 8:38-39

Friend ~ Do you know how much you are forever loved?

Listen to these precious verses:


"For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Romans 8:38-39
NOTHING can separate you from God's love in Jesus.  Nothing.

As His own, you are loved with the everlasting love of the One Who IS love - God.

"I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you."  ~ Jeremiah 31:3"...God is love." ~ 1 John 4:8

God loves you infinitely more in a millisecond than any person could love you in a lifetime.

His love is the love you were created for, the only place you are truly satisfied, and the strength to love in return.  His is the love you seek, the love that fulfills the deepest longings of your heart, and the love that will never ever let you go.  His love is the love that redeems, transforms, sanctifies, and causes us to desire to live for Him with all that we are.  His is the love we need.

"Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days." ~ Psalm 90:14

Today may you find deep rest, satisfaction, and joy as you live in the reality that you are loved more than you could dream by Him.

Forever.

And may this result in a response of love to Jesus that spills out in every moment of your life.

"Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you." ~ Psalm 63:3

The Freedom of Neediness of Jesus ~ by Amy Vest

I have some very good news for you - You are needy.  "Is that good news?", you might ask.  Yes, very good news.You see, you and I were created by God as needy human beings.  Every single one of us.

We live in a culture that tells us we should not be needy, or we should pretend we have no needs.

We have a God that tells us we were created as needy humans, dependent on an all-sufficient Savior.  We were created for a relationship with Him that glorifies Him and satisfies us.

This beautiful need is meant to drive us to Jesus.  That is what makes it good news.

Our need + Jesus' sufficiency = all we could ever need.

"And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."  (Philippians 4:19)

Oh friend!  I have found such freedom and joy in realizing and embracing my neediness and Jesus' sufficiency.  {Deep breath}  I don't need to try to be something I can never be, or do something I can never do on my own strength.  No.  I can turn to Jesus in my need and find all I need - and all I could ever want!

I love praying, "Jesus, I need You!  I am so needy and You are so sufficient." and experiencing His sufficiency - His fullness to meet my every need - wash over me every time.  This only deepens my love and trust as I taste His goodness.  This is how we were created to live!

First, we must see that we are needy, before we can receive the solution to our need.Pretending we have no need is both prideful and a lie - and it will get us nowhere.  Acknowledging our need and embracing Jesus sufficiency floods us with joy - and through His life in us, the Spirit moves and bears fruit in and through our lives.

What are some of our needs?

We need:
- saving from our sins
- grace
- forgiveness
- love
- guidance
- breath
- hope
- help
- satisfaction
...and so much more!

In our neediness we can look to Jesus, or we can look other places.  Where we look determines what we will receive.  Jesus fulfills us, anything else will leave us needy and empty.  Jesus created the need and He alone can fill it.Jesus is the answer - and is the source of the answer - to our every need.
You see, seeing your need of Jesus is a beautiful thing.  The beautiful thing is, the more we see our need, the more we can turn to Jesus and can welcome His sufficiency in our lives.

Every need that drives you to Jesus is your friend.

First we see our neediness of Jesus at salvation, aware of our desperate neediness of and seeking for His forgiveness and redeeming life.  (See more on this HERE.)  Salvation begins a moment by moment relationship of dependence upon Jesus every day of our lives as He draws us closer, makes us more like Jesus, and enables us to live for Him by His life within us.  

I love how the Lord has given us the earthly evidence of our neediness of Him in our need to eat, drink, rest, etc. every day.  We need Him to provide these things for us - and these things are a picture of our deeper needs of our soul.  Our souls are hungry, thirsty, etc. and Jesus alone can fill these needs.  

This morning I was reading in John where Jesus says, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." (Matthew 6:35) and marveling once again that we can keep coming to Him over and over and He always has full supply - and there is always more of Him to know and be satisfied by.
Let our hearts prayer be, "Jesus, I cannot breathe, or obey You, or make any eternal difference without You.  I need You.  Jesus, You are, and I ask You to be to me the:
 breath in my lungs
salvation to my soul
love in my heart
truth to my mind
guide to my path
...and so much more!"

And when we call, He delights to come, live His life in and through us, and meet these needs.
When we depend on Jesus, His life, power, and Spirit, there is no end to what He can do!  

We as Christians were meant to live lives that are not explainable in human terms - only in terms of Jesus.  The only way this will happen is when we live lives dependant on Jesus.

How can we do this?  I am so glad you asked.

Here are a few ways to start:~ Prayer - When we pray, we acknowledge that God is the One we need and rely upon.  Living in a spirit of prayer each moment is such a sweet evidence of dependence.  "Jesus, I need You, depend on You, look to You for all I need."  "Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God... Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:14-16)  And we are always in need, so we can always draw near! 
~ The Bible - Going to God's Word proves we know we don't have answers and we know He does.  Turn to His Word for your answers.  Ask His Holy Spirit to open your eyes to His Truth.
~ Relying on His Spirit and life within us vs. depending on our own strength or instinct.  We can easily tend to try to do things on our own or depend on what we think is best.  When we are looking to and listening for Him, He can guide us in line with His Word.
~ Starting your day - I love talking to Jesus as I wake up and praying something like, "Good morning Jesus, I love You, You are all I need, I want You, Lord.  I surrender myself to You afresh.  Please give me more of You and live Your life in and through me today."

The Christian life is meant to be daily moment by moment dependence on Jesus.  As we live this way, we taste His sufficiency that both satisfies us and spills out in fruit in and through our lives.

This is the life you are created to live.

Embrace your neediness and let it drive you to embrace Jesus, friend.

In the sufficiency of Jesus you will find all that you need.

Jesus – The Love of My Life – by Amy Vest

I am in love.  There is a love that has captured my heart like nothing else can.  A love that has pursued me, rescued me, satisfied me… A love so rich, so pure, so strong, so lasting… A love that has met the deepest longings of my heart... and I could go on forever.  It is the love for which I was made.

Jesus - The Love of my life.

When I pause and think of Him, love overwhelms me. 
 
Jesus.  The One who: 
- made me
- came to earth for me
- lived a perfect life
- died a cruel death on the cross and descended into hell in my place
- rose back to life – victorious over sin and death
- drew my heart to see my need for Him, trust Him as my Savior, and surrender to Him as my Lord
- continues to pursue my heart and transform me into His likeness
- is preparing a place for me in Heaven and is coming to take me home
- walks with me every moment and will never leave me

All so I could know Him, taste His goodness, be satisfied in Him, worship Him, declare His goodness to the world, and live with Him forever! 
 
This is life.  This is love.  This is what my heart needs.  
This is Jesus – The Love of my Life. 
 
I am in love and I could talk for hours… but, you don’t need my words, you need to hear Him tell you from His Word – the Bible – about His love for YOU! 
Oh, look at His love for us – and inhale love and exhale joy: "...I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you." ~ Jeremiah 31:3 "The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing." ~ Zephaniah 3:17 "For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you." ~ Psalm 86:5 "But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness."  ~ Psalm 86:15 "'I have loved you,” says the Lord." ~ Malachi 1:2 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." ~ John 3:16 "In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." ~ 1 John 4:10 "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." ~ John 15:13 "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." ~ Gal. 2:20
…And the list could go on and on!

Soak in His love, friend – and join my heart in saying, “I love You, too, Lord!” 
 
I love the reality that we never say “I love you” to Jesus without Him first having loved us!  “We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)  
 
And, His love will never fail those who have trusted in Him as Lord and Savior!  (Romans 8:35-39)  Nothing – even death can separate us from Him and His love.  No matter what happens or has happened, what we do or don’t do, what we feel, what others think or say, or even our lack of love.  Nothing.  No – Jesus said it, and that settles it. 
 
Listen closely to Romans 8:35-39:  
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?  As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,  nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Oh, it makes me want to love Him and worship!  A verse the Lord blessed me through and I memorized recently is “…I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning…”  Psalm 59:16  {I just had to pause and sing!}  When we’ve known love like this, we just can’t be quiet.

The more we know this precious Savior who we were created to be satisfied in, the more we will proclaim “…your steadfast love is better than life…”! (Psalm 63:3) 
 
I remember the years of longing and feeling that nothing on this earth could satisfy… and the overwhelming fulfillment that washed over me when Jesus opened my eyes to see that HE ALONE is the One who “satisfies the longing soul”.  (Psalm 107:9)

Friend, He is seeking your heart – and He is seeking mine.  He wants us to know Him for the first time in salvation (seeing our sinfulness, trusting in Jesus and His work on the Cross to save us, surrendering our lives to follow Him, and receiving His forgiveness, life within us, and grace to walk with Him), and then bring us ever deeper in a relationship with Him for as long as we live!  This is what we were created for and the only place we will be satisfied. 
Jesus.  Jesus alone.

Let’s receive His grace to refuse to settle for things less than Jesus – things that will never truly satisfy the deepest longings and aches of our souls.  Not even good things out of place – holding the place that is rightfully Christ’s.  What can some of those be?  Friends, clothes, activities, music, books, food, success… you can add what it is in your life. 
 
A big one can be the desire for human love.  The desire for human love – and the desire for marriage and that one person to especially love – is natural.  If it is the will of God for me to marry and grow in loving, being sanctified by, and serving Jesus together with His man for me, I will treasure it as a beautiful gift from His hand that He has seen best for His glory and my good.  But, no mere person can ever satisfy the deepest needs of our heart – as expecting them to only sets us up for disappointment. 

Nothing and no one can ever satisfy the deepest needs of our heart.  Only Jesus can.  As we are satisfied in Him, the other things in life are optional, added blessings that He gives as gifts to help us love the Giver – Jesus - more!  These gifts can be given or taken and we still have all we need in Jesus.
  
And, oh!  The times that I become distracted, look to other things for love, and don’t love Him as I should, HE STILL LOVES ME AND PURSUES MY HEART!  In His deep love, He will not let me stay in a state that brings less joy to me and less glory to Him.  It is the same for you.  This is the truest love.
  
He is in His very nature and Name, Love.  “God is love.” (1 John 14:16) 
 
Just like any human relationship, the most important relationship with Jesus, takes cultivating.  The amazing thing is that He always keeps His side of the relationship!  There are special things He has given us that by the power of the Holy Spirit help us know, love, and grow in our walk with Him! 
 
Here are some things that have been helping me fall more in love with Jesus lately:
~  Time in His Word and conversational prayer
~  Worshipping Him for Who He is – and keeping a list of His qualities (i.e. loving, my Redeemer, patient, etc.)
~  Keeping Him first priority in my thoughts, heart, and time – and obeying His leading
~  Journaling and remembering His faithfulness to me over the years {Happy sigh}
~  Being with others who love Him
~  Seeing and soaking in His love in the little things
(You can find some more ideas by clicking HERE.) 
 
The most important thing is receiving God’s grace, and allowing Him to do a deep work, to cause you to want and seek Him above all else.  He always meets you here.   

And when He meets you, you will be satisfied. 
 
I want to live with a heart satisfied in Jesus, a life lived by His life within me, and a passion that overflows and sparkles out of my eyes when I talk about Him.  I want a journey of love with Jesus that only deepens every day of my life.  Don’t you? 
 
Remember He is always pursuing your heart – you must only receive His grace and respond. 
 
As you and I do, I know we will say,

“Jesus is the Love of my life.”

~~~~~~~~~~~ 
For more encouragement in this love relationship with Jesus:
 
Videos:
~ A Relationship of Love with Jesus - https://vimeo.com/19587008
~ Jesus is Your Best Friend - https://vimeo.com/59284885 

Article: ~ Ways to Grow in Loving Jesus –http://beautifultogod.blogspot.com/2014/11/practical-ways-to-grow-in-loving-lord.html

Amazing Love ~ by Amy Vest

I sat in church as communion was passed, holding my cracker, and pondering with awe what Jesus did on the Cross.

The words from the song echoed in my heart, "Amazing Love!  How can it be, that You my God would die for me?"

"Jesus, You died so I could be in a relationship with You." I prayed to Him. My eyes filled with tears of grateful wonder.

"I love You, Jesus." 

The pianist was playing a song that my heart responded in prayer with, "Lover of my soul, I want to live for You."
My heart knew that He was calling me to go live in the reality of His work on the Cross and deep love, and to live from that love.

The love of Jesus in the Cross changes everything.

The Cross is the turning point in history, your eternal destiny, and our moment by moment life.

If you have trusted in Jesus and His work on the Cross for you:
The blood of Jesus has washed away your sin.
The Father's wrath over sin has been completely satisfied by the death of Jesus on your behalf.
You have been brought to God as His beloved child in Jesus.
For now and eternity you can worship Him and live in fellowship with Him.
He will continue to pour out His love and grace to live for Him, walk with you, and will draw you near every day until you step into eternity with Him.

What amazing love!
"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."  (John 15:13)
"...Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him."  (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10)
"We love because he first loved us."  (1 John 4:19)
"Let all that you do be done in love."  (1 Corinthians 16:4)

Soak in His amazing love in the Cross today, friend - for the first time, or afresh.

Let this love inspire the deepest love for Jesus in response, and compel you to go and live for Him from all that He is for you in this amazing love!

How could such a love as this have anything less than all that we are?

"Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all!"

"For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised."  (2 Corinthians 5:14-15) 

Question - We love hearing from you!

What is one way you can live for eternity today?

Please share in the comments section below!

Join us for Videocast 9 - Living for Eternity (Part 2)

Loving the Lord Videocast #9 - Living for Eternity (part 2 of 2) from Loving the Lord Ministries on Vimeo.

A Life of Worship ~ by Amy Vest

You are a worshipper.  Did you know that?  We are all worshippers. 

We are worshipping beings.  We were created by God to worship God.  We have this worshipping vacuum in our hearts and are always worshipping something.

So, what really is worship?  Worship is declaring the worth of someone or something.  It is essentially "worth-ship".

Let's ask:
"Who - or what - is my life declaring the worth of?"

Worship is first - and always - a heart state.  Then what we do flows out from that - to live a life of worship.

A friend recently said something that the Lord keeps using to encourage me, "He wants my heart, so that all that flows out is worship to Him."  Amen.  That is exactly what I want in my life, don't you?

Proverbs 4:23 tells us, "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life."  
Worship in the heart flows out in a life of worship.

Living a life in God's presence of lifting Him high in your heart, acknowledging and adoring Him for Who He is, and then living your life in a spirit of response to this.

Romans 12:1, "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship."

We are called to worship Jesus not only with our hearts, or our lips, but with our very lives.

Worship begins with our hearts, flows into our lives, and propels our actions.

Worship is a way that glorifies Jesus by showing that He is valuable above all else.

I just love Psalm 27:4, "One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple." 

When you are beholding Who He is, worship comes naturally and flows out in how you live your life.

The Lord has used, and continually uses, worship of Him to change my life.

Worship makes me fall more in love with Jesus as I dwell on Who the One is Who is my God, Savior, Lord, dearest Friend, Love of my life, and greatest Treasure.  This echoes in my life.

As I gaze upon Who my God is, worship Him for it - it changes the atmosphere of my heart and then how I live in the reality of Who He is.How do we actually worship?  Here are a few thoughts:
~ Behold God for Who He Is in His Word - This is where we know Who our God truly is and can worship Him for Who He is.  As you see Him, you know and love Him.
~ Lift Him up and declare His worth in your heart - This is where true worship begins and continues. 
~ Allow that worship to spill out in every area of your life - your thoughts, words, attitudes, and actions.

Some practical ways to live worship out:
~ Read through His Word, stopping to worship Him when you see an attribute of Who He Is.  For example, I read a verse that says, "The Lord is faithful..." (2 Thess. 3:3) and I lift my heart in worship and say, "Oh Lord, You are faithful! I worship You for Your faithfulness. Thank You that You are forever faithful to me."
~ Prayer - Taking what you know of God and offering it to Him in prayerful worship. I love worshipping Him both in my devotional time and also through the day and praying, "Lord, You are holy, perfect, pure..." and whatever I know of Who He is.  I love writing out Who He is from His Word in a journal - and this can be a powerful tool to look at and use for worship.
~ Sometimes it is simply seeing a glimpse of Him as I walk through my day, raising my heart in adoration, and saying, "Jesus, You are amazing!"
~ Singing, or turning on worship music that lifts Jesus high (often singing along!) and allowing it to usher my heart into worship.  This is so powerful as I go through the day in helping to keep my mind, heart, and eyes fixed on Who Jesus is and in a state of worship.  This can be any time from in my personal devotional time with the Lord, to cooking (yes, you may catch me paused in front of the kitchen sink with my heart and hands raised in worship), to driving in the car - and everything in between.
~ Talking about His goodness, worshipping Him in prayer, and singing with others who love Him raises my heart to worship Him.
~ and more!

Worship is not just a single activity, worship is a lifestyle.

I want to live a life that oozes worship of Jesus.
I want every pore of my being to declare that Jesus is worthy of all praise.
I want to inhale Jesus and exhale worship.

In my happiest moments, worship lifts my heart to Him; in the mundane tasks, it keeps my eyes on the supernatural; and in my deepest trials, it transforms my perspective and brings peace in light of all He is.

In every situation, worship says, "You are God.  You are good.  You are wise.  All is for Your glory."  It lifts my eyes from my circumstances to Who He is changes my perspective and transforms the atmosphere of my heart.   I see all that He is, my heart is lifted above my situation to Jesus, and there is deep joy, peace, and security no matter the circumstance.

"Lord, Yes, this may be my circumstance _____________, but THIS IS WHO YOU ARE ____________.  You are infinitely greater, wiser, and stronger.  I fix my eyes on You, lift You high for Who You are, and ask for Your grace to live in reality of this in a way that declares Your worth with every breath I take."

Jesus is matchless.  He alone is worthy of our worship.

Let's be worshippers of Jesus, friend.

This is what we were created for.

With every breath we breathe, let's set our eyes on Jesus, lift Him high in our hearts, and live lives of worship of the One Whose worth cannot be measured - until we step into eternity to worship Jesus forever!

Now, and for eternity, may our hearts and lives declare ~
"Jesus, You are worthy of all praise.  We worship You."
~~~~

What is one quality of Who God is that you are worshipping Him for today?  Please tell us in the comment section below!

Obedience - A Pathway to Joy ~ by Amy Vest

I don't often do this.  I don't often sit down with nothing on my heart to write about.  Usually there is something the Lord puts on my heart and gives me to write about. He causes the words to flow into my heart and out my fingers into words - and I pray He anoints them and uses them by His Spirit in hearts.

Today is different.

I have nothing specific to write.  But I feel Him beckoning me to write a blog post.  And so I am.

As I type, I realize that this is exactly what I am supposed to write about.  Obedience.  As I type that word - that word that can hold so many reactions - I know, this is what I am supposed to write on.  This is something He has been teaching me in a real, practical, moment-by-moment way lately.

Obedience to Jesus is something we never move beyond, only deeper into.

Obedience to Jesus shows that I believe Him, that I trust Him, that I love Him - obedience is outwardly witnessing that He is my Lord.

When I don't obey, I am really saying that I believe that what I think is good for me is better than what Jesus thinks is good for me. {Ouch, that hurts - but, it is true!}

Disobedience to Jesus is sin, proof of pride, foolish, and leads us in the wrong direction.

When I obey - even when I don't understand - I am saying that I believe Jesus is wise, good, loving, that His plan, ways, and heart is perfect, and that He will always keep His promises. 

Obedience to Jesus brings joy to His heart - and mine, is evidence of freeing humility in my life, and leads us to His best for us.

Obedience is proof that I love Jesus - and that I believe He loves me.

Jesus says it: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments." John 14:15

"And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands." 2 John 1:6

When we obey Him - what He calls us to do in His Word, the Bible, and what He leads us to do in moment-by-moment life in line with His Word - it brings us closer to Him.  When I listen to His voice and follow in obedience, I know more of His heart and am led in His path for me.  I want that - don't you?  But, when I disobey, I harden my heart and it hinders my closeness with Jesus.  Oh friend, we don't want that!

It is a daily, moment-by-moment choice.   It takes place in a million different ways each day - in answering His call to meet with Him in His Word, to speaking with love, to being honest in your work, to _________ - you can fill in the blank.  Each choice leads us either deeper with Jesus and His path for us, or hinders our relationship with Him and His work through us.

Here's the thing.  We cannot obey in our own strength.  Everything the Lord calls us to, He gives us the grace to do, and everything He calls us to do is impossible apart from Him - beautifully designed to cause us to rely on and come to greater depths with Jesus Who walks with us every step of the way.  It is saying, "Jesus, please help me obey You." and stepping out in faith, believing He always will!

And for the times we disobey, Jesus stands ready with open arms for us to turn from going our own way and run into His arms to walk with and obey Him afresh.

The path of obedience to Jesus is a doorway to greater joy - because it is a doorway to more of Jesus and His best for you.

Let's answer Him with a joyful, "Yes, Lord!" from a heart overflowing with love!

Friend, I imagine your heart is echoing this prayer with mine:

"I want to obey You, Jesus.  I want to want to obey You, Jesus.  I want to sit at Your feet, know You more, soak in Your Word, and to beg for and allow You to change my heart so that out will spill love that will motivate obedience to You.  I want to obey even when my feelings are leading me to do something else - because I know that You love and know what is best for me far more than my feelings do! I am asking You afresh for grace in this moment to obey You!  In Your Name, Amen."

What is Jesus calling you to obey Him in today?

Right now He is calling me to obey and go help prepare dinner.  I'll see you later! :)

Question - We love hearing from you!

What is one area you see your need for Jesus right now?

Please share in the comments section below!

Join us for Videocast 8 - Living for Eternity (Part 1)

Loving the Lord Videocast #8 - Living for Eternity (part 1 of 2) from Loving the Lord Ministries on Vimeo.

The Freedom of Neediness of Jesus ~ by Amy Vest

I have some very good news for you - You are needy.  "Is that good news?", you might ask.  Yes, very good news.You see, you and I were created by God as needy human beings.  Every single one of us.

We live in a culture that tells us we should not be needy, or we should pretend we have no needs.

We have a God that tells us we were created as needy humans, dependent on an all-sufficient Savior.  We were created for a relationship with Him that glorifies Him and satisfies us.

This beautiful need is meant to drive us to Jesus.  That is what makes it good news.

Our need + Jesus' sufficiency = all we could ever need.

"And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."  (Philippians 4:19)

Oh friend!  I have found such freedom and joy in realizing and embracing my neediness and Jesus' sufficiency.  {Deep breath}  I don't need to try to be something I can never be, or do something I can never do on my own strength.  No.  I can turn to Jesus in my need and find all I need - and all I could ever want!

I love praying, "Jesus, I need You!  I am so needy and You are so sufficient." and experiencing His sufficiency - His fullness to meet my every need - wash over me every time.  This only deepens my love and trust as I taste His goodness.  This is how we were created to live!

First, we must see that we are needy, before we can receive the solution to our need.Pretending we have no need is both prideful and a lie - and it will get us nowhere.  Acknowledging our need and embracing Jesus sufficiency floods us with joy - and through His life in us, the Spirit moves and bears fruit in and through our lives.

What are some of our needs?

We need:
- saving from our sins
- grace
- forgiveness
- love
- guidance
- breath
- hope
- help
- satisfaction
...and so much more!

In our neediness we can look to Jesus, or we can look other places.  Where we look determines what we will receive.  Jesus fulfills us, anything else will leave us needy and empty.  Jesus created the need and He alone can fill it.Jesus is the answer - and is the source of the answer - to our every need.
You see, seeing your need of Jesus is a beautiful thing.  The beautiful thing is, the more we see our need, the more we can turn to Jesus and can welcome His sufficiency in our lives.

Every need that drives you to Jesus is your friend.

First we see our neediness of Jesus at salvation, aware of our desperate neediness of and seeking for His forgiveness and redeeming life.  (See more on this HERE.)  Salvation begins a moment by moment relationship of dependence upon Jesus every day of our lives as He draws us closer, makes us more like Jesus, and enables us to live for Him by His life within us.  

I love how the Lord has given us the earthly evidence of our neediness of Him in our need to eat, drink, rest, etc. every day.  We need Him to provide these things for us - and these things are a picture of our deeper needs of our soul.  Our souls are hungry, thirsty, etc. and Jesus alone can fill these needs.  

This morning I was reading in John where Jesus says, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." (Matthew 6:35) and marveling once again that we can keep coming to Him over and over and He always has full supply - and there is always more of Him to know and be satisfied by.
Let our hearts prayer be, "Jesus, I cannot breathe, or obey You, or make any eternal difference without You.  I need You.  Jesus, You are, and I ask You to be to me the:
 breath in my lungs
salvation to my soul
love in my heart
truth to my mind
guide to my path
...and so much more!"

And when we call, He delights to come, live His life in and through us, and meet these needs.
When we depend on Jesus, His life, power, and Spirit, there is no end to what He can do!  

We as Christians were meant to live lives that are not explainable in human terms - only in terms of Jesus.  The only way this will happen is when we live lives dependant on Jesus.

How can we do this?  I am so glad you asked.

Here are a few ways to start:~ Prayer - When we pray, we acknowledge that God is the One we need and rely upon.  Living in a spirit of prayer each moment is such a sweet evidence of dependence.  "Jesus, I need You, depend on You, look to You for all I need."  "Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God... Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:14-16)  And we are always in need, so we can always draw near! 
~ The Bible - Going to God's Word proves we know we don't have answers and we know He does.  Turn to His Word for your answers.  Ask His Holy Spirit to open your eyes to His Truth.
~ Relying on His Spirit and life within us vs. depending on our own strength or instinct.  We can easily tend to try to do things on our own or depend on what we think is best.  When we are looking to and listening for Him, He can guide us in line with His Word.
~ Starting your day - I love talking to Jesus as I wake up and praying something like, "Good morning Jesus, I love You, You are all I need, I want You, Lord.  I surrender myself to You afresh.  Please give me more of You and live Your life in and through me today."

The Christian life is meant to be daily moment by moment dependence on Jesus.  As we live this way, we taste His sufficiency that both satisfies us and spills out in fruit in and through our lives.

This is the life you are created to live.

Embrace your neediness and let it drive you to embrace Jesus, friend.

In the sufficiency of Jesus you will find all that you need.