"One who loves a pure heart and speaks with grace will have the king for a friend" Proverbs 22:11
This verse may be talking about a king, but I apply it to the King of kings :)
When I woke up my hearts desire & prayer was that God would purify my heart!! Then, I started reading in the proverbs and of course today the Holy Spirit used this verse to speak to me!!
My cry is for purity today. That God would highlight everything that has hindered me from walking in complete purity and remind me of the grace He has poured out so that I could over come it. My cry is for purity. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" I JUST WANT TO SEE GOD.
The whole morning was wonderful... when I read in Acts, I was so encouraged.
Read Acts 22:3-21
3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. 4 I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, 5 as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.
6 “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’
8 “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.
“ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. 9 My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.
10 “‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.
“ ‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’ 11 My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.
12 “A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. 13 He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.
14 “Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. 15 You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’
17 “When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw the Lord speaking to me. ‘Quick!’ he said. ‘Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me.’
19 “‘Lord,’ I replied, ‘these people know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you. 20 And when the blood of your martyr[a] Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’
21 “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”
* When the people in Jerusalem tried to have Paul flogged, and later killed, Paul boldly shared the testimony of the LORD. Instead of praying that God would take him out of the situation, he embraced the opportunity to be a witness of the truth. Hallelujah.
May we be a people of boldness! Boldness is key.
Last night was awesome! The power went out.. AGAIN :) Second time in two weeks!! It went out while my family was making dinner. Everything worked out and it was great! I prayed that God would turn the power back on because my house parents had four guests over... and thankfully, it came right on :) We did not have to wait eight hours like last time.
My dad, Brother Michael, said that I needed to stop praying to live like the poor because God was answering me :) He said that they would just put me outside if that's how I wanted to live. Of course, he was being silly... but it made me think! God really is answering my prayers about that (in the little things). He is preparing me to be ready and content in all things.. it is so exciting to see His sense of humor :) I am grateful that He hears me!!
Today I was able to talk to a cousin, aunt, brother, grandmother, and mom. For that I am thankful. It was such a joy :) Someone asked if I had been interrupted a bunch and I said yes & then grew thankful that God allowed the interruptions. You know, not every one has family to talk with. I want to always be thankful for what I have.
One thing that I felt impressed upon my heart was that I am not to be concerned with who I am not & what I do not look like, but how I can become & do what it takes to get there. The opportunity to change that which is impure is always available. Make every effort to become like Christ :) He is our underwriting!
You know, God does not compare us to who He is. He just loves us for who we are. His love for us is powerful and is always available to those who humble themselves and receive it. His love is strong. Amen.
"Do not make friends with the hot-tempered, do not associate with those who are easily angered, or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared" Proverbs 22:24&25
"Do you see those who are skilled in their walk? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank." Proverbs 22:29
HEY, church is about to start... so I am going to go.. but think about the way Paul was... even close to death! It's an example we should follow today. Pray for boldness. I pray that you all receive boldness, so that God's message of hope will be reached through all people.
Thankful for: church, family, writing & the Bible.
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