Jo’s BJU Approved Blog

Vessel
Safe inside your hands you hold me
Pain and tribulations mold me
I try to run away from you
The pain’s too great you put me through
I find myself on my knees to pray
Then you hear the words you long for me to say

Make of me a vessel that you can always use
No matter how you break me, what i win or what i lose
Let me be a vessel pure and holy, perfect in your eyes
Lord, hear me when i cry, for you to make me, a vessel

Deep inside my heart you’ve shown me
Despite all my sins you’ve known me
I try to run away again
I break your heart with all my sin
I fall to you with tear-filled eyes
I run to you with broken heart and cry

Make of me a vessel that you can always use
No matter how you break me, what i win or what i lose
Let me be a vessel pure and holy, perfect in your eyes
Lord, hear me when i cry, for you to make me, a vessel

Make me into what you want for me to be
Oh, lord, may my prayer be
Make of me a vessel that you can always use
No matter how you break me, what i win or what i lose
Let me be a vessel pure and holy, perfect in your eyes
Lord, hear me when i cry, for you to make me, a vessel
Oh lord make me, a vessel

“After every time of exaltation, we are brought down with a sudden rush into things as they really are, where it is neither beautiful, poetic, nor thrilling. The height of the mountaintop is measured by the dismal drudgery of the valley, but it is in the valley that we have to live for the glory of God.” –Oswald Chambers

“We put our sense of loyalty to our relatives ahead of our loyalty to Jesus Christ, forcing Him to take last place. When your loyalties conflict, always obey Jesus Christ whatever the cost..Once the call of God comes to you, start going and never stop.”–Oswald Chambers

Luke 9:62 “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

“Jesus Christ demands that His disciple does not allow even the slightest trace of resentment in his heart when faced with tyranny and injustice”

“The Sermon on the Mount is not an ideal, it is a statement of what will happen in me when Jesus Christ has altered my disposition and put in a disposition like His own. Jesus Christ is the only One Who can fulfil the Sermon on the Mount.”

I am loving reading My Utmost for His Highest. I know I read it before, but I don’t know how I didn’t find it as enlightening/convicting as I am now finding it. I usually do my Bible reading at night because I am so not a morning person, but I’ve been making sure I do a little bit in the morning and reading this daily devotional to make sure I’m setting my thoughts on God at the beginning of the day. It has seemed to fit in perfectly to what I need for the day, and the Holy Spirit brings it to mind throughout the day when it applies.

“Never discard a conviction. If it is important enough for the Spirit of God to have brought it to your mind, it is that thing He is detecting. You were looking for a great thing to give up. God is telling you of some tiny thing; but at the back of it there lies the central citadel of obstinacy: I will not give up my right to myself - the thing God intends you to give up if ever you are going to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. ”

I read that this morning in My Utmost for His Highest. I’ve struggled before and couldn’t figure out why and then the Holy Spirit would prompt me about something and I would be like no that’s not it. duh…of course that’s it; that’s why the Holy Spirit is bring it to mind. Anyway the giving up my right to myself is a hard one, but obviously in my head I know God knows best and how ridiculously foolish is it for me to ever hang on to something or insist on my own way when God is the only one that sees the big picture. No one knows me better–where I’ve been , where I am now, and where I am supposed to go.

Proverbs 3:5-7 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.7 Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.

Back to school. Yea! I forgot how much I loved teaching. Yeah working retail paid the bills, but it definitely isn’t my life’s calling. I heard these lyrics these other day and they’ve been running through my head. I’m not a Chris Sligh fan, but the chorus really stuck with me
“Empty me of the selfishness inside
Every vain ambition and the poison of my pride
And any foolish thing my heart holds to
Lord empty me of me so I can be filled with you. “

I Do Not Love Thee
 
by Caroline Elizabeth Sarah Norton

I do not love thee!—no! I do not love thee!
And yet when thou art absent I am sad;
And envy even the bright blue sky above thee,
Whose quiet stars may see thee and be glad.

I do not love thee!—yet, I know not why,
Whate’er thou dost seems still well done, to me:
And often in my solitude I sigh
That those I do love are not more like thee!

I do not love thee!—yet, when thou art gone,
I hate the sound (though those who speak be dear)
Which breaks the lingering echo of the tone
Thy voice of music leaves upon my ear.

I do not love thee!—yet thy speaking eyes,
With their deep, bright, and most expressive blue,
Between me and the midnight heaven arise,
Oftener than any eyes I ever knew.

I know I do not love thee! yet, alas!
Others will scarcely trust my candid heart;
And oft I catch them smiling as they pass,
Because they see me gazing where thou art.

I’m not normally an FFH fan, but I felt like I related to the lyrics of this one when I heard it the other day.

Every Now and Then

Every now and then I get a little wrapped up in myself and
I can’t see You reaching
Every now and then I get a little overwhelmed and
I can’t hear you calling
But you have any ways told me you will always be there
You are only a prayer away

CHORUS:
Every now and then you whisper peace to me
With your tender words- unexpectedly
When I’m at the end taking my last breath
Drowning in my pride I’ve got nothing left
I can see it coming ’round the bend
Yeah, you’re taking me to that place again
Every now and then

Every now and then I get a little tired of my reflection and I want to break the mirror
And every now and then I get blinded by my own perception and-
I need to see you clearer
But you have always told me you will always be there
You are only one prayer away

My pastor mentioned this passage in his sermon today. I love this passage. It never fails to both encourage and convict me
Hebrews 12:1-4 (ESV)

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood

It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity. I bet this kind of thing does not happen to heroin addicts. I bet that when serious heroin addicts go to purchase their heroin, they do not tolerate waiting in line while some dilettante in front of them orders a hazelnut smack-a-cino with cinnamon sprinkles. ~Dave Barry

I picked up this book in May called The Valley of Vision. I hadn’t had much free time toward the end of the school year, but I started to read it last night. Here is a prayer I read this morning that really encouraged/convicted me.

“O God, most high, most glorious, the thought of Thine infinite serenity cheers me, for I am toiling and moiling, troubled and distressed, but Thou art for ever at perfect peace. Thy designs cause thee no fear or care of unfulfilment, they stand fast as the eternal hills. Thy power knows no bond, Thy goodness no stint. Thou bringest order out of confusion, and my defeats are Thy victories: The Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

I come to Thee as a sinner with cares and sorrows, to leave every concern entirely to Thee, every sin calling for Christ’s precious blood; revive deep spirituality in my heart; let me live near to the great Shepherd, hear His voice, know its tones, follow its calls. Keep me from deception by causing me to abide in the truth, from harm by helping me to walk in the power of the Spirit. Give me intenser faith in the eternal verities, burning into me by experience the things I know; Let me never be ashamed of the truth of the gospel, that I may bear its reproach, vindicate it, see Jesus as its essence, know in it the power of the Spirit.

Lord, help me, for I am often lukewarm and chill; unbelief mars my confidence, sin makes me forget Thee. Let the weeds that grow in my soul be cut at their roots; grant me to know that I truly live only when I live to Thee, that all else is trifling. Thy presence alone can make me holy, devout, strong and happy. Abide in me, gracious God. “