My Outlet

So, yah, this is my outlet. :) I am re-posting this Oswald Chambers devotion because I LOVE it. I love that my God brought me to this place where, because of His great love I am able to say I love Him with my whole heart. I hope and pray this for my children and for you, have you fallen head over heals in love with your Savior? Have you seen what He has saved you from? Do you realize? Have you come face to face with your sin and seen the ugliness of it and then when you feel repulsive in every way, felt the Lord's loving embrace? It is a blessed thing. This is the place I come to when I pray to the Lord for my children, 'whatever it takes'. Because this prayer is a frightful thing when you think of the possibilities of what it might take to bring someone to the point of humbling themselves before the Lord and finding freedom. Salvation. Peace. Joy.

But it is a prayer worth praying. And with a catch in my throat and tears in my eyes, this I pray for my children. 

I love this story. She comes to show her great gratitude and love for what her Lord has done for her. How He  abundantly loves her, forgives her, redeems her, defends her... He loves her. 

 Have you experienced His love for you? Its the same deep, fierce, wonderful, abundant love. His love for us is with abandon, may ours for Him be without reservation. Wild. Crazy. Willing. We will do foolish things for human love, may we that much more for our Creator, our Redeemer, our Savior. 

Subject: Do You Really Love Him?

She has done a good work for Me —Mark 14:6

If what we call love doesn’t take us beyond ourselves, it is not really love. If we have the idea that love is characterized as cautious, wise, sensible, shrewd, and never taken to extremes, we have missed the true meaning. This may describe affection and it may bring us a warm feeling, but it is not a true and accurate description of love.

Have you ever been driven to do something for God not because you felt that it was useful or your duty to do so, or that there was anything in it for you, but simply because you love Him? Have you ever realized that you can give things to God that are of value to Him? Or are you just sitting around daydreaming about the greatness of His redemption, while neglecting all the things you could be doing for Him? I’m not referring to works which could be regarded as divine and miraculous, but ordinary, simple human things— things which would be evidence to God that you are totally surrendered to Him. Have you ever created what Mary of Bethany created in the heart of the Lord Jesus? “She has done a good work for Me.”

There are times when it seems as if God watches to see if we will give Him even small gifts of surrender, just to show how genuine our love is for Him. To be surrendered to God is of more value than our personal holiness. Concern over our personal holiness causes us to focus our eyes on ourselves, and we become overly concerned about the way we walk and talk and look, out of fear of offending God. “. . . but perfect love casts out fear . . .” once we are surrendered to God (1 John 4:18). We should quit asking ourselves, “Am I of any use?” and accept the truth that we really are not of much use to Him. The issue is never of being of use, but of being of value to God Himself. Once we are totally surrendered to God, He will work through us all the time.

- My Utmost For His Highest