So Loved

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If you need a little encouragement of who you are in Christ, and how loved you are by Him, here's a compilation of Bible verses, and lyrics from two songs that have recently blessed me... :)

Stop and listen to these first:

Oh - these two songs have been jumbled together in my head since yesterday...

The Truth of them made my heart joyful.

God loves me... He does.

When I'm in the desert -

Or when I'm full of wild delight in His presence -

Or when I fall for the thousandth time -

Or when He shows me again the Hope I have in Him -

He loves me.

He does.

All of the time.

And not only does he LOVE me,

He is my Victory,

My Strength,

And my Savior...

Isn't that amazing?

"What's that on the ground?

It's what's left of my heart
Somebody named Jesus broke it to pieces 
And planted the shards -
And they're coming up green,
And they're coming in bloom
I can hardly believe this is all coming true"

~Just As I Am - Andrew Peterson

 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 

John 12:24-25

To truly live, I must die... And in that death, God will create beauty.

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"And this is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me, Lord, through the flame"

~The Desert Song - Hillsong United

6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

1 Peter 1:6-9

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"This is my prayer in the desert
When all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in my hunger and need My God is the God who provides"

~The Desert Song - Hillsong United

10 I am the Lord your God,
    who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
    Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

Psalm 81:10

Open your hands, child... God will fill them... 

Don't be afraid to ask.

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

Matthew 6:25-26

He does provide.

27 These all look to you,
    to give them their food in due season.
28 When you give it to them, they gather it up;
    when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.

Psalm 104:27-26

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"And this is my prayer in the battle
When triumph is still on its way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ So firm on His promise I'll stand"

~The Desert Song - Hillsong United

15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Romans 8:15 -17

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"All of my life I've held on to this fear

These thistles and vines ensnare and entwine 
What flowers appeared
It's the fear that I'll fall one too many times

It's the fear that His love is no better than mine

(but He tells me that):

Just as I am, and just as I was

Just as I will be - He loves me, He does
He showed me the day that
He shed His own blood

He loves me, oh He loves me, He does

He loves me, oh, He loves me, He does"

~Just As I Am - Andrew Peterson

For the mountains may depart
    and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
    and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”
    says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

Isaiah 54:10

7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
    The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house,
    and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
    in your light do we see light.

Psalm 36:7-9

9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

1 John 4:9-10

His love is so much better than mine... So BIG... His love is immense. *Grins* His love is Awesome...

He gives that love to us.

"And I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare God is my victory and He is here"

~The Desert Song - Hillsong United

“Where, O death, is your victory?

    Where, O death, is your sting?”

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:55-58

"All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing I have a reason to worship"
~The Desert Song - Hillsong United


1 Oh sing to the Lord a new song;
    sing to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
    tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous works among all the peoples!

Psalm 96:1-3

33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
    I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
    for I rejoice in the Lord.

Psalm 104:33-34

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"Well it's time now to harvest 

what little that grew
This man they call Jesus, 
who planted the seeds

Has come for the fruit
And the best that I've got
isn't nearly enough -
He's glad for the crop,
but it's me that He loves"

~Just As I Am - Andrew Peterson

The best that I've got isn't all that He wants... He wants me.
He loves me, not for what I do - the "crops" of good that I bring - He loves me because He made me His.

"This is my prayer in the harvest
When favor and providence flow
I know I'm filled to be emptied again
The seed I've received I will sow"

~The Desert Song - Hillsong United

When I'm overflowing with joy and growth, He means me to pour it out again...

I know I'm filled to be emptied again... the seed I've received, I will sow.

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God bless, friends. :) Hold tight to God's promises.

~ZA


(Sorry for the formatting issues - blogger is hating me tonight. ;) )