Tempestuousness

I was reading Psalms 50 today.
When the scriptures refer to 'Zion',
we understand that it means the church,
the body of Christ.

I wrote the following verses on a card today.
(Ps. 50:2,3,14,15,23)

"Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God will shine forth.
Our God shall come,
and shall not keep silent;
A fire shall devour before Him,
And it shall be tempestuous all around Him."

This reminds me of the term 'Beauty for Ashes.'
From the body of Christ,
God will bring forth the perfection of beauty,
even as He purges with His refining fire.

This will not be a peaceful, all-is-well type of experience.
It will be tempestuous as He works on the church.
He's going to be speaking.
It will be painful.
There will be ashes.
But there will be beauty because of the pain and the ashes.

"Offer to God thanksgiving,
And pay your vows to the Most High.
Call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me."

In the midst of the tempest,
thank God and stay committed to Him.
Cry out to Him in the midst of the pain,
and He will deliver you
and you will glorify Him.

"Whosoever offers praise glorifies Me;
And to him who orders his conduct and his conversation aright,
I will show the salvation of God."

We glorify Him when we give an offering of praise,
and He will reveal His saving power
to those whose lives reflect His godliness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is so much to this passage of scripture.
Does anyone else have a thought to share?

New Blog

Please check out the new blog on my side bar entitled, "Through My Eyes."
It is written by a young woman who is soon to be my daughter-in-law.
(Daughter-in-love as my mother-in-law calls me.)
You will find her writings to be deep and refreshing-
like an oasis in a dry and thirsty land.

Quotes from Beth

I've been reading Beth Moore's book, "JESUS-the One and Only."
I love it because she takes stories about Jesus and makes them
come alive and applicable to my life today.
I have some favorite words that I underlined
that I'd like to share with you.
Thank you, Beth.

"..I just want to be about God. Not about ministry. Not about my own agenda. Not about writing Bible studies. Not about me at all. When all is said and done, I would give my life for people to be able to say, "She was just about God."

"On another Sabbath, Jesus encountered a man with a withered right hand...I don't think it's a coincidence that the man involved had lived a humiliating life of unwelcome rest from effective labor. Christ granted him a rest from his incapacity and futility. The One who created the Sabbath used it to bring restoration to a man weary of uselessness."

"To inoculate me from the praise of man, He baptized me in the criticism of man, until I died to control of man."-(Francis Frangipane)
"...nothing will squelch our efforts to seek the approval of others like not receiving it!
Furthermore, those who approve one day can be the same ones who accuse the next day. I encourage you to break free from the traps set by approval and accusation. We are called to live our lives above reproach but expect it anyway. Christ was blameless yet was blamed continually. I think you can trust me on this one: blameless people are rarely those who cast blame."

"Jesus watched as the Pharisees sunk their proud feet into the quicksand of legalism and stood their sinking ground. What a ridiculous scene they created. They presumed to tell the lawgiver Himself how to obey the law."

"Another form of spiritual abuse is using Scripture or the name of God to manipulate others. I have very little doubt we will be called to account for the times we have used God's name to get what we want. Christ despises all forms of human oppression."

"Christ Jesus longs to draw us under the shelter of His wings-so close to His side that we can hear His tender heartbeat. He yearns to lavish us with His possessive, protective love. To cover us from so many unnecessary harms. There is a secret place. Go, beloved, and hide."