Grant me never to lose sight of...

the exceeding sinfulness of sin,
the exceeding righteousness of salvation,
the exceeding glory of Christ,
the exceeding beauty of holiness,
the exceeding wonder of grace.

-from The Valley of Vision

Excerpt from: Lies Women Believe and the Truth that Sets Them Free by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

The Lie: I can’t control my emotions.

TRUTH

• I do not have to be controlled by my emotions.

Isaiah 54:10 “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.”

Philippians 4:4-7 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

1 Thessalonians 5:18 “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Psalm 94:18-19 “When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O LORD, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.”

Psalm 66:9-12 “he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.

• I can choose to fix my mind on the Truth, to take every thought captive to the Truth, and to let God control my emotions.

Psalm 42:11 “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”

Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.”

Isaiah 50:10 “Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.”

John 10:10 “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

2 Corinthians 10:5 “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

Colossians 3:1-2 “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

Excerpt from: Lies Women Believe and the Truth that Sets Them Free by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

The Lie: If I feel something, it must be true.

TRUTH

• My feelings cannot always be trusted. They often have little to do with reality and can easily deceive me into believing things that are not true.

Psalm 119:29-30 “Keep me from deceitful ways; be gracious to me through your law. I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws.”

Jeremiah 17:9-10 “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? "I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve."

• I must choose to reject any feelings that are not consistent with the Truth.

Psalm 56:3-4 “When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?”

Philippians 4:8-9 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

Excerpt from Lies Women Believe, and the Truth That Sets Them Free by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

The Lie: I should not have to live with unfulfilled longings.

THE TRUTH

• I will always have unfulfilled longings this side of heaven.

Romans 8:22-25 “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”

Hebrews 11:13-16 “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”

• The deepest longings of my heart cannot be filled by any created person or thing.

Psalm 16:11 “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

Psalm 73:25-26 “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

• If I will accept them, unfulfilled longings will increase my longing for God and for heaven.

Deuteronomy 8:2-5 “Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. …Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.”

Psalm 34:4-6 " I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.”

Here are excepts from an article I found very applicable to my own life and wanted to share it with you.

Dependence Day - Begging God daily is the right place to be
by Andree Seu
World Magazine, March 17, 2007

"I've been waiting for the day when I can amass just enough spiritual capital to achieve some sort of independence and not have to go begging God for every little thing.
I have envisioned what this will look like: I would have read enough of the great books to be respectable in polite society. I would be over the sleep slump that leaves me stupid with exhaustion. I would have attained enough competence in some skill area to 'amount to something'. I would possess surplus of purity of heart the way I have stockpiles of paper towels in the pantry, not having to fight for it anew every day in prayer.
I always think it's just around the corner, this restful coasting. In the meantime, I'm constantly desperate for God...
There are precedents to my frustration in the widow of Zarephath tale... A stranger blows into town and asks for bread. "I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die" (1 Kings 17:12). She is already counting herself dead.
At this point Elijah can, if he wants to, call on Jehovah Jireh to throw open the storerooms of heaven and make it rain fig cakes. But he does not. He promises only, "The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord ends rain upon the earth." Every day she comes down to the kitchen (Is she biting her fingernails?) and there is just a little meal and a little oil, enough for the day.
We like a little more margin than that, thank you very much. But God is not into comfort zones. He dispatches disciples to preach with "no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money" (Luke 9:3). His heavenly caretakers send manna enough for the day, but try to scrape up Tuesday's dinner for Wednesday and you'll get maggoty manna for your unbelief (Exodus 16:20). Lesson: God will be as faithful on Wednesday as He was on Tuesday...
Simon the Sorcerer (Acts 8) is merely the crassest illustration of my desire to own the gifts of God as a commodity. Who needs moment-by-moment relationship with God? Just sell me the ownership of the Holy Spirit to wield independently of Him. To me be the glory!
I am chastened but happy. Begging God daily is the right place to be. Not to possess anything in myself but to draw the day's grace as the branch draws from the vine---whether bread or essays or purity of heart. Andrew Murray says it was God's intention, in creating the universe, to communicate his attributes to His creatures:
"But this communication was not meant to give created beings something they could possess in themselves, having full charge and access apart from Him. Rather, God as the ever-living, ever-present, ever-acting One,...meant that the relationship of His creatures to Himself would be one of unceasing, absolute dependence"
In your right mind you wouldn't want it any other way."

This is a song I learned from my Indonesian friend:

Saat ku sendiri
Tiada seorang pun
Yang memperhatikanku
Seperti Kau Tuhan
Saat ku berjalan
Dalam lembah kelam
Ku percaya Kau s'lalu sertaku

Tangan kuat yang memegangku
S'lalu mununtunku
Ku tak mau jalan sendiri
Yesus ku perlu kasihMu
ku perlu kuasaMu
Samaih akhir hidupku


Now, translating the song doesn't capture the beauty of the original language, but I will attempt it for the sake of understanding the meaning.

At this moment I am alone
There isn't anyone
Who takes notice of me
Like You Lord
At this moment I am traveling
Through the dark valley
I believe You are always with me

Your strong hand holds me
You always guide me
I don't want to walk alone
Jesus I need your love
I need your power
For the rest of my life

No posts yet, I'm not sure what to put here. Perhaps a spiritual journal or language board (Spanish, French or Indonesian). I'm not sure.