Simply Praise
1 Ch. 29:13 “Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.
(A monthly meditation considering our God)
Fill My Cup
The poor and needy are seeking water when there is none; their tongue is parched with thirst. I, the Lord, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. (Isaiah 41:17 Amplified O.T.) Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. (Matthew 5:3,6) Every time I seek to fill the empty void in my heart with anything other than you God, I do You an injustice. Yes Lord, I admit I have sought water where there is none and I am thirsty. It is so easy to get caught up in the daily task of survival that I lose sight of Who is sustaining me. You are my source, my Living Water. You fill my empty hungry soul with Your presence. As You poor Your rivers on the bare heights of my life, may it fill every crack and flow into every void, filling my valleys with fountains and making my dryness a spring of life giving water. Lord I have Your promise that You will not forsake me. I believe You; but my heart fears my own forsaking of You. Let me not go astray from You. Draw me ever near to You, so that my heart beats in time with Yours. My desire is to be one of Your blessed ones, who seek Your face, who hunger and thirst after Your righteousness. How can mere words ever express even the tiniest bit of gratitude. Your love and unfailing grace has kept me through every storm, valley, mountain top, battle and reprieve. There is nothing I have that I have not received from You. Nor is there anything ahead that should pass my boarders that You have not given or ordained. So Your constant watch over my soul and life, is a mighty comfort. We are truly blessed when we choose to seek Your righteousness, for You are a God who cannot lie, and loves us more than we can imagine. Blessed be Your name, forever! Amen…..D.E.M
Open Thine Heart to Me
O My child, I need you for Myself. Yea I have purposes for thy life beyond thy present comprehension. Yea, I have truth concerning Myself to give to thee deeper and richer and more wonderful than thine understanding has thus far taken in. Open thine heart wide to Me. I would fill thee with my Holy Spirit, and in so doing will satisfy the deepest longings of thy soul.
(Come Away My Beloved, by Roberts) p.127
Draw Near
Read Matthew 9:18-26; 11:28-30, Anyone reading this who has come to know Jesus will testify to the fact that at some point in your life you became dissatisfied with looking at Jesus from a distance, and you began to draw near to Him.
You began seeking out people who seem to know Him.
You opened the bible and started digging into it.
You got down on your face and cried out to Heaven.
You read every book you thought might help, and suddenly, one day, there He was, speaking to you, bringing you to life. Jesus never forces His way into people's hearts. He descends from the throne of the Godhead down to within range of your life, and offers to put Heaven into you. But to receive what Jesus wants to give you, you have to draw near to Him.
During the three-and-a-half years of His ministry, Jesus thoroughly covered the entire nation of Israel made Himself available to the least of the least of men. Every single Israelite was given some clear opportunity to receive healing, forgiveness, some heavenly help from Jesus. There wasn't one fisherman, or prostitute, or con-man, or merchant, or queen, or king, or priest, in all Israel upon whom the Spirit of God did not stir, saying,
"Draw near to Jesus of Nazareth.
He has the very thing your heart cries for.
He is the answer to the thirst within you."
But, it was up to them to draw near.
And every one who did, received a taste of heaven.
"My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her and she will live", and Jesus went and took her by the hand, and raised her from the dead. And a woman who had suffered from a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His garment, for she said to herself, "If I only touch His garment, I shall be made well". Jesus turned and seeing her, He said, "Take heart, daughter, your faith has made you well". And instantly the woman was made well.
Tax collectors and sinners drew near to Him.
Lepers came as close as they were allowed by law.
The blind called out to Jesus from their darkness, and every one was answered with healing, forgiveness, some kind of life from heaven.
But, as time went on, the vast majority of the people who drew near to Jesus to be healed, forgiven, or fed, drifted away. And as they drifted away, the atmosphere of Heaven that surrounded them so wonderfully, when they were near the Son of God, departed. They were back in the world. Their blind eyes were still open, their leprous bodies were still clean, but that awareness of God was gone. Jesus could walk right toward them in the temple and it was the same as if He were a million miles away. They had drifted from Him like a man and woman in a marriage living in the same house, eating at the same table, can be light-years apart.
By the time of Jesus' arrest, it was no difficult thing for them to be stirred to shout, "Crucify Him!" They had already lost touch with Him. And this is exactly what happens to many of us. We draw near to Jesus, taste Heaven, and then we drift away again. The glory of God is gone. Our vision of heaven is lost.
And we wonder whether those blessed days were ever real.
Some of us spend our lifetime doing nothing but drawing near to Jesus, and drifting away, drawing near and drifting away.
When things get painful we draw near. But when the pain eases we drift away, until our spirits become numb, and while drifting, the desire to draw near becomes so faint, it's nothing more than a flicker of regret, until even that is gone.
Only a handful of all the people Jesus touched got hold of what it was all about.
They didn't draw near and drift, draw near and drift.
They drew nearer and nearer and nearer.
These were the ones who forsook all to follow Him.
These were the ones who saw Him alive from the dead.
A day came when Jesus wasn't just with them, He was in them. Still they kept drawing nearer, boldly proclaiming His name, joyfully laying down their lives. These were the New Israel. These were the ones who formed His Body on earth, through whom Jesus did far greater works then He ever did in His own body of flesh and blood. And it is into their ranks that we are being called now in the closing hour of this age.
Jesus is not calling us to draw near and drift.
Jesus is calling us to draw near and follow, to continuously draw near as He leads us on in the work He would have us accomplish on this earth before the End. So, the question we need to ask ourselves is, Am I drawing near to Jesus Christ only to drift again? Or, am I drawing near to Jesus to go on with Him in the Father's will? Am I forever rising and sinking? running hot and cold? Or, Am I going from strength to strength, lifted from one degree of glory to another by the Spirit of the Lord? Several things to keep in mind.
1. Drawing near to Jesus is the only godly thing we can do.
We do not have, in ourselves, the power to discern who God is,
or to do one God-pleasing thing,
or to bring the slightest degree of healing to this sick world,
until we are quickened by the Son of God with divine life.
Come unto me all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and lowly of heart and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink. Draw near to me, and I will enable you to see God,
I will quicken you with my Spirit,
I will give you a new heart and a new mind and even a new body,
I will make you into a Son of God. The minute we go off trying to be healers apart from Jesus, we just make this sick world sicker. When we go running off trying to spread spiritual truth, or love,
or the New Testament Church, or The Revolution, or what ever else fascinates us, apart from a living, burning, relationship with the Son of God, all we spread is death.
"Apart from me you can do nothing." "Draw near to me and I will quicken you for the work I want to be doing through you.
2. Drawing near to Jesus never stops.
You don't just draw near and stick there like a piece of mud on the wall.
You don't just go through life drawing near and drifting like waves lapping against the shore.
You follow Him all your days, ever more deeply into the Kingdom.
You draw nearer and nearer as Jesus leads you on into the center of that blazing light which is God. Paul, after years as an apostle, still considered the primary object of his life to draw closer to his Lord. He said,
I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as refuse
that I may gain Christ. still thirsting for more of the Son of God.
Our churches are cluttered with people who drew near to Jesus once, and ever since they've been living in the afterglow following a memory. They have as much life in them as those leaves lying out there on the ground.
Our churches are cluttered with these yo-yo saints who have to be revived every six months.
They get a little spiritual charge and then they drift.
Then they get another shot and then they coast.
They are like spiritual storage batteries, but storage batteries wear out.
When Jesus went up on that cross and died, He opened the way for us to draw near to Him without ceasing, whether you're walking down the street, or playing with your child, working hard on your job, lying down to sleep, you can be continuously drawing near to the Son of God. everything that once stood in the way of coming into the presence of God the Son, has been removed by His shed blood. There is no guilt, there is no distance, that can keep you from Him if you want to draw near.
3. Drawing near to Jesus is a thing of the heart.
Lots of people were bumping and pressing and crowding against Jesus that day. But, the touch on the fringe of His garment by a woman who wanted healing, was noticed by Jesus immediately.
Why? Because that woman's whole heart was in that touch. As her fingers brushed against the cloth, Jesus could hear a cry coming to His Spirit. That woman didn't realize it but if she had been a million miles away from Him and had cried out, "Jesus, heal me!", the very same thing would have happened. For the minute any heart anywhere draws near to Him, Jesus draws near to that heart. "Call on my name, I will be there.
Gather in my name, I will be there. Open your heart to me, I will enter.
Take hold of my promise, I will come and fulfill it.
Start obeying my command, instantly I will be at your side, enabling you to do it."
You don't have to travel land and sea to find Jesus. Wherever you are at any given moment, reach out to Him with your heart and there He is.
The thief on the cross couldn't come down and walk over and take hold of Jesus' feet. Between gasps for breath that man had all he could do to rebuke his fellow thief and call out to Jesus for mercy. But when he called, instantly the Spirit of God drew near to him and aided him in his journey into Paradise.
If there is anybody reading these words who has never experienced the reality of Jesus.
If there is anybody who longs to come into that continuous, unbroken communion with the Son of God. Then take the padlocks off your heart that's been hurt so many times. You've got it locked, and grilled, and barred like a pawn shop on Skid Row on Sunday night.
Open it up and cry out to Jesus, and He'll come, He'll come!
4. Drawing near to Jesus spoils you for the world and the world for you.
When you take that yoke of Jesus upon you say goodbye to worldly success, say goodbye to all the earthly glories that once thrilled your heart. You've turned your back on the old glories of this world and fixed your heart on the glory of the Cross of the Son of God. Now its "The Cross before me, the world behind me, no turning back."
God forbid that I should glory, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
by which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. Never mind that the preacher assures you that you can have God and mammon. Never mind how big his cathedral is, or how wonderfully he may claim the Lord has prospered him. You cannot draw near to Jesus Christ and the spirit of this world at the same time.
To draw near to Jesus is to draw away from the way of this world: from the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. To draw near to Jesus is to say to Satan, "Keep your goodies.
Keep the reputation of being a "spiritual heavy" for your followers.
Keep that shining image and that big name among men for your antichrist.
I'm satisfied with Jesus. His Cross is my glory. His Spirit is all I want." And suddenly, the fancy illusion that Satan conjured up before your eyes will shrivel to nothing, as the path God wants you to walk opens up before you.
There isn't a problem that won't be solved.
There isn't a task facing us under God that won't be accomplished.
There isn't an obstacle standing in our way that won't be removed.
There isn't a need that won't be filled,
if we'll but answer the call of the Spirit on our hearts to draw near anew to the crucified and risen Son of God. Forget everything else and draw near to Jesus and He will draw near to you and guide you in the way that you should go.
Hebrews 10:22
Let us draw near
God always encourages us to draw close to Him in prayer. Here Paul instructs us to do so with unwavering confidence, fullness of faith, without any doubt, because the sacrifice of Jesus Christ has cleared our conscience and paved the way into God's presence.
Today, some no longer feel the need to pray and study daily. They make the excuse that they do not have enough time. There is not enough time NOT to pray and study! The Day is approaching! Paul writes in Romans 13:11-14: And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly. . . . But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
If we fail to use these very vital tools of prayer and study—which will help us "walk properly" and "put on the Lord Jesus Christ"—we will find ourselves separated from God. That is the last thing we want as the Great Tribulation approaches!
Drawing Near to God
(From Forerunner Commentary) Matthew 5:8
This beatitude, like all the others, has both a present and future fulfillment. Paul says in I Corinthians 13:12, "For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known." To "see" God is to be brought close to Him. In this instance the sense is that what we are far from cannot be clearly distinguished. That, as sinners, we are far from God is proclaimed in Isaiah 59:2: "
But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He will not hear."
Thus James 4:8 admonishes us, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." The pure in heart are those who with all their being seek to remain free of every form of the defilement of sin. The fruit of this is the blessing of spiritual discernment. With spiritual understanding, they have clear views of God's character, will, and attributes. A pure heart is synonymous with what Jesus calls a "single" (KJV) or "clear" (NKJV margin) eye in Matthew 6:22.
When a person has this mind, the whole body is full of light. Where there is light, one can see clearly. The sense of this beatitude's promise to see God carries over into the Kingdom of God.
In one sense, all will see God, as Revelation 1:7 prophesies: "Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they also who pierced Him. And all the tribes of earth will mourn because of Him."
They will see Him as Judge. Jesus' promise, though, is stated as a blessing, a favor. Revelation 22:4 says of those who will inherit God's Kingdom, "They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads."
I John 3:2 reads, "We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." To see someone's face is to be so near as to be in his presence.
In this case, the term indicated the highest of honors: to stand in the presence of the King of kings. Certainly David understood the greatness of this: "As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness" (Psalm 17:15).
God places great value on being clean, especially in terms of purity of heart. Also, we can easily become defiled, whereas remaining clean requires constant vigilance, a determined discipline, and a clear vision of what lies before us to serve as a prod to keep us on track. Since it is sin that defiles, this beatitude demands from us the most exacting self-examination. Are our work and service done from selfless motives or from a desire for self-display?
Is our church-going a sincere attempt to meet God or merely fulfilling a respectable habit? Are our prayers and Bible study a heartfelt desire to commune with God, or do we pursue them because they make us feel pleasantly superior?
Is our life lived with a conscious need of God, or are we merely seeking comfort in our piety? To examine our motives honestly can be a daunting and shaming but very necessary discipline, but considering Christ's promise in this beatitude, it is well worth whatever effort and humbling of self it takes.
It is good for us to keep Paul's admonishment found in II Corinthians 7:1 fresh in mind:
"Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Beatitudes, Part 6: The Pure in Heart
