pour out your hearts to him

“Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;
My hope comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation;
He is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
My salvation and my honor depend on God;
He is my mighty rock, my refuge.
Trust in him at all times, O people;
Pour out your hearts to him,
For God is our refuge.” Psalm 62...

Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, “Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.”
But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test.”
Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel…”

When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.

Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan--
The people walking in darkness
Have seen a great light;
On those living in the land of the shadow of death
A light has dawned.
You have enlarged the nation
And increased their joy;
They rejoice before you
As people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice
When diving the plunder.
For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
You have shattered
The yoke that burdens then, the bar across their shoulders,
The rode of the oppressor.
Every warriors boot used in battle
And every garment rolled in blood
Will be destined for burning,
Will be fuel fr the fire.
For to us a child is born,
To us a son is given,
And the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Pease.
Of the increase of his government and peace
There will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
And over his kingdom,
Establishing and upholding it
With justice and righteousness
From that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
Will accomplish this.

I have been listening to the song “Beautiful Grace” by We are Creation.

Oh, Lord, You are my Lord, You are
my strength when I am weak, and you come
to me and you lift me up,
Until I find my place, I find my place
in You. Will You go
and make a place
where I can fall on my face and lay
my arms before Your beautiful grace?
And all the world holds dear will be stripped away
by Your beautiful grace.

A few nights ago I prayed---
Father, I guess I have been thinking a lot about words, since I heard “surrender my own voice to take on Your’s.” My God, that seems so vital. Why? Lord, I have been feeling very incompetent. LORD, may I feel like that? And just find my strength in You? I feel like I need to figure out how to do that. I keep coming closer and closer to a realization, like inching towards a cliff---God, why won’t I give up and stop wrestling with You and look at Your face? It is too humbling for me. Let me look down that cliff, let me be shocked back into existence, in a sort of sobriety. Let me claim these words:
“The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:7-8
And now----love covers over a multitude of sins---Jesus, why don’t I believe that Your love does that?

I keep slipping back into grace, after slipping out of it.

Thought: what does pouring require?

“He (Peter) claimed that, though all others might fall away, he never would. One of the most disastrous things that could have befallen Christianity is if Peter had kept that promise. In that case, the key figure of the early church would have continued to operate under the faulty proposition that radical commitment is the key to the Christian life. It is not. Radical grace is.” Rick James.

Merry Christmas to you all.

*Passages found in the book of Isaiah

Blessed.

Blessed.

Bless: Old English, from 'blood,' from the use
of blood in consecration. Consecrate:
to induct into an office; to make or declare
sacred; to devote solemnly to a purpose.

Bless: praise, glorify; to confer happiness
upon; to sanctify. Sanctify: to make holy,
consecrate; to free from sin.

Bless:
holy,
beautified,
delightful.
Delight: great pleasure or satisfaction. Joy.

Read Psalm 119 with these definitions.
Thanks to Merriam-Webster dictionary for definitions.

Psalm 119

1 Blessed are those whose ways are blameless,
who walk according to the law of the LORD.
2 Blessed are those who keep his statutes
and seek him with all their heart—
3 they do no wrong
but follow his ways.
4 You have laid down precepts
that are to be fully obeyed.
5 Oh, that my ways were steadfast
in obeying your decrees!
6 Then I would not be put to shame
when I consider all your commands.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart
as I learn your righteous laws.
8 I will obey your decrees;
do not utterly forsake me.
...