Oh To Be Like Jesus

Oh to be like David, a man after God's own heart.
Simply the Glory of God, was all he cared about.
Oh to have a story like his,
a story of lions, bears and giants,
all a testimony of the provision of God.
From a small boy he was never expected to do great things,
no, he never measured up in stature,
but that was ok, becasue God looked at his heart,
a heart that was strong, and set on God,
a heart that was simple, steady and sure,
a heart that was God's, that's what made him God's man.
His early days were his proving ground,
the days when God was molding His man,
the victories started small, but then grew larger.
the lion the bear and then Goliath,
all a testimony of the power of God.
Then the king he became, and his victories grew ever larger,
nations fell before him, and he slay his ten thousands,

In the end, he was a man after God's own heart
in the end, he wrote more Psalms than we can ever know,
in the end, he knew what this life was all about,
it is about the glory of God, and a heart that is set on Him.

but mixed in with all of this triumph, is a story of defeat,
a story of times when life wasn't all that great,
yes there were days when God's man walked a dark lonely path,
there were days when David walked far away from God.
How could a man after God's own heart walk really far away?
The answer is easy; sin never rests.
When we are not radically pursuing the glory of God,
when we become passive for just one second,
we start to go backwards and fall on our face,
falling like David is something that many of us could do,
the only thing stopping us, is God's grace.
So let's take a moment, to commmit to pursue His face,
when we are seeking His glory, sin stays a long ways away.

This old sin nature is no fun to fight,
oh Lord come quickly, and end this dark night,
sin is so very messy, and brings You no glory,
rid me of sin until my heart is fully in Your hands.
I want to be like You, and be a man after Your own heart.
But just like David, some days we spend far from Your heart.

So help me to committ, to live each day for Your glory.
Help me to not waste any days and simply strive after You, Jesus.
You're the only thing that matters.

Oh to be like Jesus, that is my hearts plea.
Oh to be like Jesus, and be willing to suffer for my Father's Name.
Oh to be like Jesus, who gave everything.
Oh to be like Jesus, who humbly served friend and foe.
Oh to be like Jesus, a Man after God's own heart.
Oh to be like Jesus, yes Lord, please make me Your man.

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Be always greatly abased for your remaining sin and never think that you lie low enough for it; but yet be not discouraged or disheartened by it; for though we are exceedingly sinful, yet we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, the preciousness of whose blood, the merit of whose righteousness, and the greatness of whose love and faithfulness, infinitely overtops the hightest mountain of our sins.
--Jonathan Edwards

Thoughts

1 & 2 Samuel and the nature of Love.
Those topics will be topics of future posts and be connected with the over-arching theme of the Gospel.

Purpose

For awhile, I have been writing on here without much purpose.
I finally have a direction I want to take this blog for at least the next few posts.
I want to talk about the Gospel, because the Gospel is the heart of everything.
First however, I will talk about purpose.

Purpose after all ties very closely with the Gospel.
From the beginning of time God purposed to rescue humanity by sending His One and only Son. It wasn't an accident, it wasn't an "oops," it wasn't plan B, it was purposeful, intentional, and well designed.
Everything in the Bible points to God obviously, but it all shows His intricate purpose and plan as well.
I love when pastors talk about the phrase "Jesus set His face towards Jerusalem." It's incredible to look at the story of Jesus and see how purposeful and intentional He was about everything. There were no wasted moments for Jesus. He never wasted an opportunity to witness, to share a lesson, to give to someone, to heal, restore or rescue. He never missed a chance to hang out with the orphan or the widow or the homeless. He never failed to confront those who needed to be confronted. Everything Jesus did was intentional. It was all designed to show the world who God really was and to provide a ransom for sinners by His ultimate death on the cross.

If the Ephesians says to imitate Christ, why do we look so much like the world?
Why do we fail to be purposeful like Jesus?
Why do we find ourselves not on the Calvary road, but on our own road of our own choosing.
Instead of walking the road that Jesus walked (the road of purpose, and sacrifice), we far too often walk the road of self-indulgence and pride.
Jesus didn't save us to walk that road.
He saved us to walk the Calvary road, to serve and give and suffer as Jesus and to live every moment with purpose because every moment is a gift from God.
Those who have been forgiven much must remember that we aren't guaranteed another moment.
The Bible tells many stories of people who were flippant in life and ultimately this was a picture of them dealing flippantly with God. These stories don't generally turn out too well for the individual.
Perhaps it is time for us to own up to our mistakes, to admit that we don't live with the urgancy and purpose and sacrifice that Jesus calls us to, and change our direction. We can only do this with Jesus' help, and we will inevitably fail, but we need to die to our pride and beg God for the help to walk the Calvary road in a way that glorifies and honors Jesus.
May we be people that are willing to take the hard and narrow and purposeful path that leads to real joy and brings God glory.

Time

Time is so very very precious.
Time is short.
We must be very careful how we spend our time.

"The way we spend our days is the way we live our lives."

Kansas Morning - A Song from one year ago

6 Am again. Rollin' out of bed. Just another day in the life of me.
Throw open the door, and walk into the wonder of a Kansas morn'
The air is crisp and sweet, the day is dawned and Your morning makes me want to shout for joy.
And it's mornings like these, that make me realize just how You love me.

And it's days like these, that make me realize why I'm home
There's something indescribable, about a perfect Kansas morn'
and now I see what You're wanting from me.
You brought me home to teach me how to love.
You brought me home for love.

I see all the books. All the knowledge and time.
Just what has it accomplished? What has it done?
What is a meaningful life? How do we not waste our days?
With so many superficial, and so much pain behind the walls.
Oh that love would break them down, and wrap them in the arms of Jesus.
Oh that we would dare to change the world, and not succumb and look just like the world.
Oh that we would stop waiting for tomorrow, and oh that we would seize the day.
take the hard and narrow way, and love and live, like God intends...
on days like these...

You say love. You say grace.
You say take the harder way.
You will guide. You will Lead.
You will carry through every day.
You will love on days like these.
As You love me every day.
And when you can't see the road ahead,
Trust My Love, Trust MY Heart...
On days like these.

There's so much I want to do. There's so much I want to know.
But it's all ok. time will play its melody.
and on that day, everything will fall into place.
And we will see just how God wrote, days like these.
oh days like these, perfect in every way.

You say love. You say grace.
You say take the harder way.
You will guide. You will Lead.
You will carry through every day.
You will love on days like these.
As You love me every day.
And when you can't see the road ahead,
Trust My Love, Trust MY Heart...
On days like these.


And it’s days like these…when YOU make things perfect in every way!
And it’s days like these…when all I feel is peace.
Trials will come, and hardships will rise.
But you will lead me through them all…and you will make those days perfect…in Your perfect way.