TO KNOW GOD & BELIEVE HIM

You are my witnesses," says the Lord.
And you are my servant. You have been chosen to know me,
believe in me, and understand that I alone am God.
Isa 43:10 NLT

It is a wonderful fact that God has chosen us to know Him, to believe in Him and to understand that He alone is God. The Hebrew word for know often refers to the relationship between husband and wife. This means we are to have a reverent intimacy and familiarity with Him.

Come to Him

In Jhn 6:37 Jesus says, "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away." So, we come to Him, believing He is who He says He is. "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One? “I am,” said Jesus. "And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." (Mrk 14:61-2 NIV)

Believe Him

I love the clarity found in the New Living Translation. But the NIV phrases our opening scripture differently. Instead of saying that we are to know Him and believe IN Him, it says we are to know Him and believe Him.

Accept What He Says

The more I think about that, the more I see the difference in believing in Him and believing Him. To believe in Him has to do with who He is. To believe Him is to accept everything He says as truth. While I purpose to practice both statements, I find it more of a challenge to believe everything He says than I do to believe in Him. How about you?

RAGTIME BUS LOADING

This fun video was made by John Cotton of Frugal Audio and features some of my friends at Little Portion Monastery loading the bus for a recent John Michael Talbot concert tour. Be sure your speakers are turned up, click the arrow and enjoy!

CHECK IT OUT!

For some time now I have been enjoying free streaming "soaking" music from Soaking.net. Soaking is a new concept for me. I have long been an active participant in praise and worship. And I spend private times in prayer. But this soaking business is something different. I stumbled across the term, did some research on it, and decided to give it a try. At first I wasn't sure I liked it but now I don't want to be without it. Life has been hectic lately and just hanging out with God listening to this soft low-key music has helped me quiet myself and be still. There's a lot to be said about that:

Be still and know that I am God.
Ps 46:10

In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.
Isa 30:15B

Here's a quote from the website: "We have coined the term "SOAKING" as being that which we do when we lay down before the Lord, with no other agenda than to meet with Him." There is also a statement that this is "one way among many which translates our longings into an act of worship and abandonment, something we can practice to bring us to a place of utter abandonment to God."

Much of the music is instrumental. The limited lyrics are Biblical and inspiring. The entire experience is a gentle, peaceful one that brings me to a place of stillness and quietness before the Lord.

You might want to check out their vision statement and other relevant information at http://www.soaking.net From there click Enter in the bottom right corner of the opening logo to get to the music.

Was the cross of Jesus a good thing?
Is today a "Good" day?

Click here to go to an in-depth article on the topic
"Why is it called Good Friday?"


Photo by absolved