"in need"

in need of grace
in need of love,
in need of mercy raining down
from high above.

in need of strength
in need of peace,
in need of things
that only you can give to me.

in need of christ
the perfect lamb,
my refuge strong
the great i am.

this is my song,
my humble plea:
i am your child
i am in need.

i need jesus. a lot. i can't. he can. he's willing to give. am i willing to receive? lord, get me to a place where i'm willing to take all you want me to have. i love how the lord forgives in an instant. wow. his grace is seriously amazing.

[promise]

isaiah 49:23b
"those who hopefully wait for me will not be put to shame."

jesus--he's faithful and true.

lord, help me to trust you with all that i am. even when my life is crazy, seemingly complicated, and beyond my comprehension, it's in your hands and you know and fully understand all that's going on. even more than knowing, you care and are deeply invested. wow. it's hard to believe, but i know it's true. you love me so much, lord. please help me to cooperate with all you wanna do. i wanna be your faithful servant who seeks you first and allows all these things to be added unto me. lord, help me to keep my eyes fixed on you. i love you, lord. you are good.

done with neutral.

no more walking the line. i am so over being miss neutrality. jesus calls us to be either hot or cold; he's not down with the whole lukewarm thing. lately i have spent some time thinking about how i can actively be a witness of jesus to those around me. i have come to the conclusion that this may require me to say something at some point. (duh, right?) i woke up today and purposed in my heart that i am over the whole neutral gig. my identity is in christ, and i plan to be who he created me to be--like it or not. does this give me a license to do and say whatever i please? of course not! it gives me the freedom to step out in faith, be who he made me to be, and to turn around when i get out of line. the dangerous thing about being me is that people won't be like, "oh, lisa, she's a nice person." being bold and being me means that some people will love me and some people will hate me. oh well. my identity is hidden in christ, not in the opinions of men. of course, as far as it depends on me, i plan to live at peace with people, but when there's a conflict of interest between god and people, i have to go with god. so yes. this is my decision, and there shall be no turning back. will this be easy? of course not. it will definitely be difficult and shall require perserverance and endurance. my hope is in the lord, and his word says that if my hope is in him, i will not be disappointed!!

god not people...

people are never the answer. i think i finally got this through my little head. praise the lord for that!! it's been awhile in the making...god can for sure use people in radical ways, but that's the key--it's GOD using people. in and of themselves, people can never provide you with what you're looking for. along the same lines, in and of myself i have absolutely nothing to offer to you or anybody else. i simply don't have what it takes in and of myself to meet the smallest need; however, with the lord, i have all that i need for life and godliness. that includes loving and serving you. gotta love the lord.

whose understanding?

proverbs 3:5-6 "trust in the lord with all your heart. lean not on your own understanding. in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your path straight."

thought for the day: why do i spend so much of my time trying to gain understanding if i'm not supposed to lean on that anyway? that makes absolutely no sense! what i need is revelation from the lord, not my own ideas.

my current life verse: 1 corinthians 2:1-5 "and when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of god. for i determined to know nothing among you except jesus christ, and him crucified. i was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of god."

there's a lot i don't know right now about pretty much every area of my life: work, people, living situations, life in general. however, the one thing i do know is jesus! he is steadfast and immovable. his word is true.

life...

lessons i'm learning: life's not all about having everything figured out or understanding all things happening in my life or in the lives of those around me. life is so much better than that. it's all about trusting the lord, seeking his face, and following after him. that's it. life in short--trusting jesus and going with it. think about it...there's a lot of freedom in that kind of life. no need to over-analyze everything, no need to know, no need to even understand. all you have to do is "trust in the lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding. in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your path straight." who doesn't want that kind of life? i'll take it! is it easy? no. good? definitely!

my god is good, and each and every day i'm alive is a gift from him. "this is the day the lord has made, i will rejoice and be glad in it." life, it's not about me and it's not for me. my life is for the lord and for others. everytime god blesses people, he desires that they turn around and use that blessing to bless others. man, if i can only incorporate these truths into my daily lifestyle. that would be a life worth living. lord, i can't do this, but with you ALL things are possible!

trust...

"trust me." this is what i hear jesus saying a lot lately. "trust me, lisa." even when i don't get it, perhaps especially then. even when it's hard. even when i don't like it. "just trust." i know that i know that god is faithful and i can choose to trust. here i am, making the decision...i wanna trust you, lord. when i'm in constant communication with him, it's easier to do. help me to do that...i wanna pray without ceasing. god, i am stoked to see what you wanna do this month. i love new beginnings. august here we come! one day at a time...