Scriptures/Hymn/Testimony for January 2014 Meditation, Prayer, Praise

[anna274]

Psalm 105:43-45
And He brought forth His people with joy, and His chosen ones with gladness and singing,
And gave them the lands of the nations, and they reaped the fruits of those peoples' labor,
That they might observe His statutes and keep His laws [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying them].  Praise the Lord!

Psalm 51:10
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right, persevering, and steadfast spirit within me.

Ezekiel 11:19-20
And I will give them one heart [a new heart] and I will put a new spirit within them; and I will take the stony [hardened] heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh [sensitive and responsive to the touch of their God],
That they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances, and do them.  And they shall be My people, and I will be their God.

Final Restoration Promised
Zephaniah 3:9
For then I will give to the people a clear and pure speech from pure lips, that they may ALL call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one unanimous consent and one united shoulder [bearing the yoke of the Lord].


O FOR A HEART TO PRAISE MY GOD  Charles Wesley (1707-1788)

O for a heart to praise my God,
A heart from sin set free,
A heart that always feels Thy blood
So freely shed for me;

A heart resigned, submissive, meek,
My great Redeemer's throne,
Where only Christ is heard to speak,
Where Jesus reigns alone;

A humble, lowly, contrite heart,
Believing, true and clean,
Which neither life nor death can part
From Him that dwells within;

A heart in every thought renewed
And full of love divine,
Perfect and right and pure and good,
A copy, dear Lord, of Thine:

Thy nature, gracious Lord, impart;
Come quickly from above;
Write Thy new name upon my heart,
Thy new, best name of Love.

=====
"It is not surprising that John and Charles Wesley were concerned about the human heart.  After all, they had gone through the motions of a heartless Christianity for years.  It was not enough, they discovered, for a person to be religious, moral, and orthodox.  They had been all that -- as ordained clergymen they knew the gospel well.  But their hearts still had to be changed by an encounter with God.

As John Wesley read Luther's commentary of Galatians and then read about "the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" Gal 2:20, the personal pronoun struck him.  Suddenly he saw the necessity of a personal faith that would change the heart.

The above hymn, written by Charles Wesley less than four years after his conversion, is based on Ps 51:10, "Create in me a clean heart, O God.,"  He knew as well as anyone that this was the only way he could truly be what God wanted him to be. "

from
The complete book of HYMNS by William J. Petersen & Ardythe Petersen

[JulieTang84]

Anna, thank you for posting this. All that you wrote is so true regarding my own experience. I was always the odd one out, rejecting Eternal Damnation from a very early age. I studied hard and read much, yet I was empty and I knew it. Oh I loved and could feel love but my life was anything but peaceful; quite the opposite actually.

Father has given me a new heart these last 18 months or so. There is now such a love filled peace that permeates my entire being, walking away is simply not an option. No matter what life brings my way, I know without doubt that everything is going to be okay. Life is now simply a grand adventure and Father is with me all the while.

I know I seem to talk a lot about myself, I don't do this to show off; I am sure Father has worked miracles in most everyone on this forum. I am a work in progress for sure, but the change so far is spectacular to say the least. Seeing the changes in ones life according to Scripture is worth sharing. I truly hope I am not the only one to feel this way.

Thank You!!!  :dsunny:

Love Julie  :HeartThrob: