THE SPIRIT OF JESUS LISTENING IN US.

"Listening in the spiritual life is much more than a psychological strategy to help others discover themselves. In the spiritual life the listener is not the ego, which would like to speak but is trained to restrain itself, but the Spirit of God within us. When we are baptised in the Spirit - that is, when we have received the Spirit of Jesus as the breath of God breathing within us - that Spirit creates in us a sacred space where the other can be received and listened to. The Spirit of Jesus prays in us and listens in us to all who come to us with their sufferings and pains.

When we dare to trust fully in the the power of God's Spirit listening in us, we will see true healing occur."

HENRI NOUWEN

I think that this passage shows us the importance of being open to allow the Holy Spirit to work through us and the importance of being an active listener. We need the abilty to see beyond the here and now, and need to discern with the heart what is going on for the person who has entrusted us with their inner most thoughts and feelings.

I would pray that we all find that "sacred space" where we can receive others non-judgmentally and extend the healing power of Jesus to them.

IN CHRIST ALONE.

Artist : Brian Littrell
Song : In Christ Alone

In Christ alone will I glory
Though I could pride myself in battles won.
For I’ve been blessed beyond measure
And by His strength alone I’ll overcome.
Oh, I could stop and count successes like diamonds in my hands
But those trophies could not equal to the grace by which I stand.

Chorus:
In Christ alone
I place my trust,
And find my glory in the power of the cross.
In every victory
Let it be said of me,
My source of strength
My source of hope
Is Christ alone.

In Christ alone do I glory
For only by His grace I am redeemed.
For only His tender mercy
Could reach beyond my weakness to my need.
And now I seek no greater honor in just to know Him more
And to count my gains but losses to the glory of my Lord.

Chorus:
In Christ alone
I place my trust,
And find my glory in the power of the cross.
In every victory
Let it be said of me
My source of strength
My source of hope,
Is Christ alone.

This song reminds me of the verses in Phillipians ch 3 vs 7-11, my favourite Bible passage. My favourite verse is actually verse 10. However the verse that the song reminds me of is verse 7 "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ."
I hope that this blesses you as you read it.

THIRSTING FOR GOD.

Our friend and Pastor, Dave went to the Hillsong conference last week. He had an amazing time there. Through some speakers God gave him some things for our church and through other speakers God spoke to Dave personally.

Hearing about his trip made me yearn for another "touch "from God. Not that I am feeling far from God. I just wanted some intimate moment of hearing from Him that touched my spirit and refreshed me. I rang a friend and asked her to pray with me for that.

On Monday, waiting for a doctor's appointment I read from my bible Psalm 27. It is a great Psalm but what caught my attention was verse 4-

"One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek Him in His temple."

"That's what I want it " I thought. I want to gaze upon the LORD . I want to catch a new glimpse of Him.

Now that can't be manufactured but God does say in 1 Chor.ch 28 v9 "If you seek Him He will be found by you." So I have been seeking Him and He came to me last night with a wonderful time of refreshing my spirit. I am just rejoicing in Him and thanking Him for that time of refreshing.

"LET MY WORDS BE FEW" BY MATT REDMAN

This song is inspired by Ecclesiastes Ch5 vs 2 and 7.

You are God in heaven
And here am I on earth,
So I'll let my words be few
Jesus I am so in love with You.

And I'll stand in awe of You,
Yes I'll stand in awe of You,
And I'll let my words be few
Jesus I am so in love with You.

The simplest of all love songs
I want to bring to You,
So I'll let my words be few
Jesus I am so in love with You.

Matt Redman is my absolute favourite worship songwriter and lead worshipper. I love the depth of his words and his passion for Jesus. I guess that I am a fairly deep person and very passionate myself so what he writes really resonates with me.

When you love someone you only need to say those three little words " I love you" to convey your heart's deepest feelings. It is the same with Jesus. We don't need to have lots of words to impress Him. He wants our love and our hearts, like any lover.

So when you get in your room and close the door just enjoy being in His presence because He knows what you are going to say before you even ask.

Take some time today to be with Him and simply tell Him that you love Him.