Just one...

It's so special the way the Lord listens to our small prayers, He hears every one. And He answers, when He is supposed to answer.

"Just one, Lord..." it was asked, and just about a half an hour later, it was answered, beautifully. It was a cry said out loud, but even deeper in the spirit, it was sent so tenderly to God. 

Proverbs 3

New International Version (NIV)

Proverbs 3

Wisdom Bestows Well-Being

 ¹ My son, do not forget my teaching,
   but keep my commands in your heart,
² for they will prolong your life many years
   and bring you peace and prosperity.
 ³ Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
   bind them around your neck,
   write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴ Then you will win favor and a good name
   in the sight of God and man.
  
⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart
   and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways submit to him,
   and he will make your paths straight.
  
⁷ Do not be wise in your own eyes;
   fear the LORD and shun evil.
⁸ This will bring health to your body
   and nourishment to your bones.
  
⁹ Honor the LORD with your wealth,
   with the firstfruits of all your crops;
¹⁰ then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
   and your vats will brim over with new wine.

 ¹¹ My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline,
   and do not resent his rebuke,
¹² because the LORD disciplines those he loves,
   as a father the son he delights in.

 ¹³ Blessed are those who find wisdom,
   those who gain understanding,
¹⁴ for she is more profitable than silver
   and yields better returns than gold.
¹⁵ She is more precious than rubies;
   nothing you desire can compare with her.
¹⁶ Long life is in her right hand;
   in her left hand are riches and honor.
¹⁷ Her ways are pleasant ways,
   and all her paths are peace.
¹⁸ She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her;
   those who hold her fast will be blessed.

 ¹⁹ By wisdom the LORD laid the earth’s foundations,
   by understanding he set the heavens in place;
²⁰ by his knowledge the watery depths were divided,
   and the clouds let drop the dew.

 ²¹ My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight,
   preserve sound judgment and discretion;
²² they will be life for you,
   an ornament to grace your neck.
²³ Then you will go on your way in safety,
   and your foot will not stumble.
²⁴ When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
   when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
²⁵ Have no fear of sudden disaster
   or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,
²⁶ for the LORD will be at your side
   and will keep your foot from being snared.

 ²⁷ Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
   when it is in your power to act.
²⁸ Do not say to your neighbor,
   “Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you”—
   when you already have it with you.
²⁹ Do not plot harm against your neighbor,
   who lives trustfully near you.
³⁰ Do not accuse anyone for no reason—
   when they have done you no harm.

 ³¹ Do not envy the violent
   or choose any of their ways.

 ³² For the LORD detests the perverse
   but takes the upright into his confidence.
³³ The LORD’s curse is on the house of the wicked,
   but he blesses the home of the righteous.
³⁴ He mocks proud mockers
   but shows favor to the humble and oppressed.
³⁵ The wise inherit honor,
   but fools get only shame. 

Alyssa

Thoughts of heart

"From the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks."

Tonight I was having this very honest talk with The Lord. To be honest, I was feeling... Well I didn't exactly know... I had so many things swirling around in my head. Things I couldn't make out. And I really had, well I suppose you could say a heavy heart. 

Well during our talk, The Lord had me realize what the feeling was. Very early in our talk, in fact.

I've read a few things today, and heard a few things today, and they were convicting. 

So what was the "feeling" you ask? It was disgust, to be quite honest. I was disgusted when looking at a few of my actions. 

Apologize - Weight Lifted - And a humbling and confirming reading...

Ephesians 4:1-6

New International Version (NIV)

Ephesians 4

Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ

 ¹ As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. ² Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ³ Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 

The Beauty of conviction.

Alyssa

With empty hands I'll come. Answer me, Lord.

Wisdom. 

I have only the wisdom the Lord has given me. So then, can there be wisdom without the Lord? 

No, there can be no true wisdom, only empty hands.

Tonight I came with empty hands, asking the Lord to amaze me. You see, I needed understanding. 

And here was His answer;

Proverbs 2

New International Version (NIV)

Proverbs 2

Moral Benefits of Wisdom

 ¹ My son, if you accept my words
   and store up my commands within you,
² turning your ear to wisdom
   and applying your heart to understanding—
³ indeed, if you call out for insight
   and cry aloud for understanding,
⁴ and if you look for it as for silver
   and search for it as for hidden treasure,
⁵ then you will understand the fear of the LORD
   and find the knowledge of God.
⁶ For the LORD gives wisdom;
   from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
⁷ He holds success in store for the upright,
   he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
⁸ for he guards the course of the just
   and protects the way of his faithful ones.   
⁹ Then you will understand what is right and just
   and fair—every good path.
¹⁰ For wisdom will enter your heart,
   and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
¹¹ Discretion will protect you,
   and understanding will guard you.

 ¹² Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,
   from men whose words are perverse,
¹³ who have left the straight paths
   to walk in dark ways,
¹⁴ who delight in doing wrong
   and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,
¹⁵ whose paths are crooked
   and who are devious in their ways.

 ¹⁶ Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman,
   from the wayward woman with her seductive words,
¹⁷ who has left the partner of her youth
   and ignored the covenant she made before God.
¹⁸ Surely her house leads down to death
   and her paths to the spirits of the dead.
¹⁹ None who go to her return
   or attain the paths of life.

 ²⁰ Thus you will walk in the ways of the good
   and keep to the paths of the righteous.
²¹ For the upright will live in the land,
   and the blameless will remain in it;
²² but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
   and the unfaithful will be torn from it. 

Majesty, you've answered.

Alyssa

You Decide.

We are faced with many decisions in our lives.

But there is ultimately one decision we have to make, with two choices; Wickedness or Righteousness?

Which will you choose?

Ultimately this decision comes down to; Heaven or Hell?

It's time. You decide.

Isaiah 48:12-22

New International Version (NIV)

Israel Freed

 ¹² “Listen to me, Jacob,
   Israel, whom I have called:
I am he;
   I am the first and I am the last.
¹³ My own hand laid the foundations of the earth,
   and my right hand spread out the heavens;
when I summon them,
   they all stand up together.
 ¹⁴ “Come together, all of you, and listen:
   Which of the idols has foretold these things?
The LORD’s chosen ally
   will carry out his purpose against Babylon;
   his arm will be against the Babylonians.
¹⁵ I, even I, have spoken;
   yes, I have called him.
I will bring him,
   and he will succeed in his mission.

 ¹⁶ “Come near me and listen to this:

 “From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret;
   at the time it happens, I am there.”

   And now the Sovereign LORD has sent me,
   endowed with his Spirit.

 ¹⁷ This is what the LORD says—
   your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the LORD your God,
   who teaches you what is best for you,
   who directs you in the way you should go.
¹⁸ If only you had paid attention to my commands,
   your peace would have been like a river,
   your well-being like the waves of the sea.
¹⁹ Your descendants would have been like the sand,
   your children like its numberless grains;
their name would never be blotted out
   nor destroyed from before me.”

 ²⁰ Leave Babylon,
   flee from the Babylonians!
Announce this with shouts of joy
   and proclaim it.
Send it out to the ends of the earth;
   say, “The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob.”
²¹ They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts;
   he made water flow for them from the rock;
he split the rock
   and water gushed out.

 ²² “There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.”

God WANTS YOU! Oh' how He wants you!

Alyssa

My grace is sufficient for thee...

Love. A love so deep, it envelopes your soul. 

No words are needed, in fact there are no words. 

How could someone explain the feeling of this deep love, correctly? 

I think the only time we can describe the true love we have for someone, is when our hearts are being truly broken.

Hosea 11:1-12

New International Version (NIV)

Hosea 11

God’s Love for Israel

 ¹ “When Israel was a child, I loved him,
   and out of Egypt I called my son.
² But the more they were called,
   the more they went away from me.
They sacrificed to the Baals
   and they burned incense to images.
³ It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
   taking them by the arms;
but they did not realize
   it was I who healed them.
⁴ I led them with cords of human kindness,
   with ties of love.
To them I was like one who lifts
   a little child to the cheek,
   and I bent down to feed them.   
⁵ “Will they not return to Egypt
   and will not Assyria rule over them
   because they refuse to repent?
⁶ A sword will flash in their cities;
   it will devour their false prophets
   and put an end to their plans.
⁷ My people are determined to turn from me.
   Even though they call me God Most High,
   I will by no means exalt them.

⁸ “How can I give you up, Ephraim?
   How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah?
   How can I make you like Zeboyim?
My heart is changed within me;
   all my compassion is aroused.
⁹ I will not carry out my fierce anger,
   nor will I devastate Ephraim again.
For I am God, and not a man—
   the Holy One among you.
   I will not come against their cities.
¹⁰ They will follow the LORD;
   he will roar like a lion.
When he roars,
   his children will come trembling from the west.
¹¹ They will come from Egypt,
   trembling like sparrows,
   from Assyria, fluttering like doves.
I will settle them in their homes,”
   declares the LORD.

Israel’s Sin

 ¹² Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,
   Israel with deceit.
And Judah is unruly against God,
   even against the faithful Holy One.

 So many times I have broken my Father's heart, yet He still loves me.


Alyssa