*Mark 4:19*
But the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

Change.
Personally I am not really one for change. But, what I keep learning is that CHANGE is a MUST in life. Change can be good. God has brought some BIG change in my life, and keeps teaching me things. Change can and will happen whether I want it to or not. So when that happens, I need to accept it and go with the flow, not try and go against. If I go against, I may be wrecking something that in the end, I'll love, and that God has divinely planned for my life. I rest, as we all should, in God's unfailing love and His amazing faithfulness! He will NEVER leave us, even if we "feel" that all is lost and gone. God is right there, with outstretched arms, ready to talk to and hold us close. Thank you, Lord!

Jeremiah 32:17
‘Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.

Isaiah 53...beneath the cross...

Isaiah 53

¹ Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

² He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

³ He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

⁴ Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.

⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.

⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was stricken.

⁹ He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰ Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

¹¹ After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light of life ^[and be satisfied ;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.

¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
***************************************************
I am currently reading "Living the cross centered life" by C. J. Mahaney. Mahaney pointed out that even though we can watch "The Passion Of The Christ" we can never quite see and really feel what Christ did for us. I believe as I think C. J. does the closest we can get to seeing Christ as He was on that cross is by reading this passage of Scripture. I read it for the first time and was taken aback with the word phrasing and the reality of what my Savior did for me! Sin, forgiveness, Christ for that matter, after reading this should make everyone take what Christ did more real. Sin is nothing funny, Christ went through ALL this for US to SAVE us from that sin. This is a picture of TRUE love.
It makes me think how dare I deny Christ for whatever reason. How dare I only give half of my heart. My friend in youth group gave an illustration that I will NEVER forget! She said picture Christ holding you in His arms. Covering us. Now picture demons and distractions and sins around us. When we listen and obey those evil things in this life, it's like we are taking a knife and stabbing our Savior all over again! Yet, Jesus STILL holds us! AMAZING!
Hopefully this passage from Scripture will change your life. If it doesn't make you feel something, I honestly do not know what will.

In Christ,
Natalie Joy

GOD IS AWESOME!

In the Valley

When You lead me to the valley of vision
I can see You in the heights
And though my humbling wouldn’t be my decision
It’s here Your glory shines so bright
So let me learn that the cross precedes the crown
To be low is to be high
That the valley’s where You make me more like Christ

Let me find Your grace in the valley
Let me find Your life in my death
Let me find Your joy in my sorrow
Your wealth in my need
That You’re near with every breath
In the valley

In the daytime there are stars in the heavens
But they only shine at night
And the deeper that I go into darkness
The more I see their radiant light
So let me learn that my losses are my gain
To be broken is to heal
That the valley’s where Your power is revealed


For Me

For a good man someone might die
But for an enemy Lord why
When I loved only self and sin
You gave Your life to call me friend

Every lash of the whip
Every stroke of the hammer upon
Every nail
Every insult You bore
Every minute You hung
Between heaven and hell
Every thorn in Your crown
Every tear on Your back
Every drop of Your blood
Was for me
Oh it was all for me
For me
Oh it was all for me

It was for me oh Lord
Such grace unknown
I pour out my love to You
And praise Your holy name
For all the things You’ve done

© 2000 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP).

YES AMEN! That's all I can say! These songs just makes me wonder how anyone can say no to Christ.

How do these quotes strike you?

"Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you are not saved yourself, be sure of that."
-Charles H. Spurgeon-

"Oh my friends we are loaded down with countless chruch activities, while the real work of the church, that of evangelizing and winning the lost is almost entirely neglected."
-Oswald J. Smith-

If only people knew and believed...

If only everyone knew and believed that God forgives, and that there are people out there who won't let them go.
If only they knew that there are people who will stick by them and show them the love of Christ.
If only people would do just that, and break out of the mold and live for Christ in that way....
the lost would not be lost, the hurting WILL find forgiveness, the weary WILL know their place is in God's hands not the worlds.
-Natalie Joy-