Letter 13 – May 3, 2010

Dear Sisters,
This morning I was awakened with thoughts, and the song:
Lord, You are more precious than silver,
Lord, You are more costly than gold,
Lord, You are more beautiful than diamonds
And nothing I desire compares with You.

I sing this and sing this and sing this…..but, does everything I desire pale in comparison to Jesus Christ?

What about this song? Does everything really fade?

When I look into Your Holiness,
When I gaze into Your loveliness,
When all things that surround,
Become shadows in the light of You.

When I’ve found the joy of reaching Your heart,
When my will becomes enthralled in Your love,
When all things that surround
Become shadows in the light of You.

CHORUS
I worship You, I worship You,
The reason I live, is to worship You.
I worship You, I worship You,
The reason I live, is to worship You.

#1 means First Place, or having first priority – in this instance, in my life.
Ok, here’s a test for a priority:
Wake up in the morning, what comes first?
Praise the Lord – this is the day that the Lord has made
OR
Oh man, I have so much to do today….and I want to roll over and sleep another 15 minutes.

Sometimes, Sleep is more desirable than praising God, but here is the truth:
Ps 63:1 [[A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.]] O God, thou [art] my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

Pr 8:17 I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.

Pro 6:10 [Yet] a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
11 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.

Ok, Next test:
Come home at night, have supper, spend time with the family, and there is some time left before bedtime, do you:
Go to your room, remember what God has done, praise Him, and meditate on His word?
OR
Plop down in front of the TV to relax and unwind?

There are some spiritual examples that would differ with the ‘relax and unwind’ scenario:
Ps 55:17 Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.

2 Chron 13:11 And they burn unto the LORD every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense: the shewbread also [set they in order] upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening: for we keep the charge of the LORD our God; but ye have forsaken him.

Dan 6:10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.

Heb 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of [our] lips giving thanks to his name.

Ps 101:3 I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; [it] shall not cleave to me.

Ok, so I failed both of those tests.
I could go on with tests (and I’m sure God will be keeping these before my eyes) such as,
What do I do with my money? Tithe, or hoard; give or get; or is it even my money in the first place?
Mal 3: 8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
9 Ye [are] cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, [even] this whole nation.
10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that [there shall] not [be room] enough [to receive it].
11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.
12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.

Would I rather sleep than go to church?
Would I rather fit in than speak up?
Would I rather look good or give to the needy?
Would I rather is a measurement – what I’d rather do shows me what is 1st place in my heart at that time.

What should be my first goal?
Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service.

Oh my….God is meddling here. He’s getting quite personal!
1 Cor 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and [that] the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which [temple] ye are.

1 Cor 6:19What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost [which is] in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

2 Cor 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in [them]; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing]; and I will receive you,
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Here’s what God is talking to ME about in these verses….
When I’m stressed, do I….
Go to my room, kneel before the Lord, turn it over to Him and get His word of truth on it?
OR
Eat a bag of M&M’s while watching a sappy or funny movie?

True confession. I have a weight problem because I have a faith problem.
When things go wrong, or hurts from the past have come up, I have turned to food, or self harm, and sometimes the binge-ing falls into the self harm.

Faith doesn’t come by hiding from the problem.
David would never have taken down Goliath – in fact, Israel was hiding!(1 Samuel 17)
Moses would not have faced down the Pharoah! (Exodus 2 and following.)
Gideon would not have won the battle! (Judges 6-8)

In fact, the lack of faith IS the problem.
Luke 18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

Heb 11:6 But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Rom 14:23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because [he eateth] not of faith: for whatsoever [is] not of faith is sin.

This is because the first gift we are given, even before salvation, is the gift of faith.
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

We can’t even take credit for being able to believe in order to make the choice to be a believer!
Rom 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think [of himself] more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Luke 17:6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

We can cause our faith to grow. In fact, we have a responsibility to do so.
1 Pet1:6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see [him] not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
9 Receiving the end of your faith, [even] the salvation of [your] souls.

One of the fruits of the Spirit is faithfulness…a growing faith.

When I am stressed, disappointed, or even depressed – I can build up my faith by listening to the word of God.
Rom 10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
Jude 1:20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

But I always have a choice….and with those choices comes consequences!
God gave me a garment of joy to put on for the spirit of heaviness(Is 61:3)….do I choose that, or do I choose to wallow in heaviness?
And, if I choose the spirit of heaviness – I am putting that ahead of the Lord! Another spirit that is not God’s!

Through Moses, God had some very clear words about this situation.
Do NOT put other God’s before me…..Do not make graven images….
Ex 20:4 You must never worship or bow down to them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not share your affection with any other god! I do not leave unpunished the sins of those who hate me, but I punish the children for the sins of their parents to the third and fourth generations.
1 Sam 15:23 – Samuel to Soloman: For rebellion [is as] the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness [is as] iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from [being] king.

When we put anything above obedience to the Word of God, and knowing Him, and choosing to be in HIS presence, we are rebelling against HIM, and to not change is stubbornness.
Whether it’s waking up in the morning, spending time with Him at night, or turning to Him during the day for our strength – anything that comes BETWEEN us and God is an idol….because we made it that way.

Proverb 8:10 – 11
Choose my instruction instead of silver,
knowledge rather than choice gold,
for wisdom is more precious than rubies,
and nothing you desire can compare with her.
Psalm 19:7-12
The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the sou8l.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever.
The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous.
They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.
By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

Matt 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Deut 28….doing things God’s way does have it’s benefits. But the first thing is having God as the number one priority…..and if He is the desire of our hearts….He promises to meet those desires!
Ps 37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

If it’s a trial, we can choose to count it joy, because God is working our faith muscles, and making us stronger for the Kingdom work HE has for us. But there is no joy without Him, and it is HIS joy that is our strength.

After some repenting, Now I am ready to sing:

Lord, you are more precious than silver,
Lord, you are more costly than gold,
Lord, you are more beautiful than diamonds,
and nothing I desire compares with you.

Additional lyrics:
Who can weigh the value of knowing you?
Who can judge the worth of Who you are?
Who can count the blessings of loving YOU?
Who can say just how great you are?

You are my everything, you are my all,
You are my everything, both great and small.
You gave your life for me, made everything new.
You are my everything, I worship you.

I pray that each person that reads these words will look at their lives and cast down idols that stand in their way of being totally devoted to God, through the Lord Jesus Christ.

In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi

Bible references from http://www.blueletterbible.org
Music info from: http://www.higherpraise.com
“When I look into your holiness” – ©1980, Integrity’s Hosanna! Music Words and Music by Wayne and Cathy Perrin
“More Precious than Silver” by Lynn DeShazo http://www.lynndeshazo.com/©Public Domain Words and Music by Unverified
© 2010 M.C.Wildman