Praise Him!

O give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; 

make known His doings among the peoples! 

Sing to Him, sing praises to Him,

meditate on and talk of all His 

wondrous works 

and devoutly praise them! 

Glory in His holy name; 

let the hearts of those rejoice 

who seek the Lord! 

Seek the Lord and His strength; 

yearn for and seek His face 

and to be in His presence continually!

1 Chronicles 16:7-11 .

I listened to a young Christian reading John 14 recently. She broke down and cried tears of thankfulness several times, overwhelmed by the miracle of God's love and forgiveness. She had a traumatic childhood that had set her up for much abuse and heartache, but the love of God has set her free. 

Behold the Beauty of the Lord

One thing I have asked from the Lord, 

that I shall seek:

That I may dwell in the house of the Lord 

all the days of my life,

To behold the beauty of the Lord

And to meditate in His temple.

Psalm 27:4

Sunday afternoons, a group of us head over the the nursing home for "church" in the cafeteria. Our friends there love to sing the old hymns. We continued to sing for about thirty minutes last Sunday - At the Cross, Sweetly Lord Have We Heard Thee Calling, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms...
They sang with such enthusiasm, it sounded like the Heavenly Choir had joined in. What a wonderful time we had worshiping Jesus, reading God's Word, sharing stories and praying for each other. 

Lily Flower

credit

One Sunday morning at church, a friend told me as she was getting dressed, she asked the Lord, "Is there someone you especially want to bless through me today, Lord?"

The Lord impressed her: "There is a woman with brown hair who will be wearing blue. Tell her that I love her and to ME she is as beautiful as a lily flower."

As she was greeting me, she realized that person the Lord had in mind was me. (She did not know that lilies were special to me and that Lily Valley is the name of my blog.)

Our precious Lord has so lovingly done for us what we could never do for ourselves. He has cleansed us and made us pure in His sight.

If only we could see ourselves as God sees us: We were made to be loved by God.

In Jesus' prayer for believers, He said:
The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.
John 17:22-23

God Even Listens to My Complaining!

I pour out my complaints before Him 
and tell Him all my troubles.

Psalm 142:2

If we don't release our voice in prayer to God, 

we will release it in frustration 
and in the flesh toward others.

John Belt

I must tell Jesus all of my trials,
I cannot bear these burdens alone;
In my distress He kindly will help me,
He ever loves and cares for His own.

Elisha Hoffman

Worship the Lord

Dawn and dusk take turns calling, 

“Come and worship!"

Worship the LORD in all his holy splendor. 

Let all the earth tremble before him.

Psalm 96:9