until you came along || jj heller

I tried to live this life on my own
But emptiness was beating down the door
Yeah it rose up like a flood
Until my dying days were done
They are no more

Nothing makes sense without you
It's like waking up in the dark
I didn't have a song
Until you came along

Falling in love with you was easy
You were always meant to have my heart
I was broken all to pieces
You were there to be the missing part

Nothing makes sense without you
It's like waking up in the dark
I didn't have a song
Until you came...

And I never wanna go back
To the way things were beforeYou saved me and you made me yours

Now nothing makes sense without you
It's like waking up in the dark
I didn't have a song
Until you came along

Now nothing makes sense without you
It's like waking up in the dark
I didn't have a song
Until you came along

"If you want God’s grace, all you need is need, all you need is nothing."

Tim Keller, Counterfeit Gods

“For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all. Oh the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments…” ~Romans 11:32&33

wow. these verse just fill me with wonder of God. to think that he would have us remain in sin, and make sure we get to the point of hopelessness because of our disobedience… so that he could have mercy on us, and blow our minds with grace. it’s amazing! it’s unlike anything we could imagine. he is so much more wise than us. why don’t i trust him more? his ways are so much better than my ways.

just wondering at the grace of God once again, and being drawn to praise my wonderful Savior. :)

gethsemane - getty

To see the King of heaven fall
In anguish to His knees,
The Light and Hope of all the world
Now overwhelmed with grief.
What nameless horrors must He see,
To cry out in the garden:
“Oh, take this cup away from me –
Yet not my will but Yours,
Yet not my will but Yours.”

To know each friend will fall away,
And heaven’s voice be still,
For hell to have its vengeful day
Upon Golgotha’s hill.
No words describe the Savior’s plight -
To be by God forsaken
Till wrath and love are satisfied
And every sin is paid
And every sin is paid

What took Him to this wretched place,
What kept Him on this road?
His love for Adam’s cursed race,
For every broken soul.
No sin too slight to overlook,
No crime too great to carry,
All mingled in this poisoned cup –
And yet He drank it all,
The Savior drank it all,
The Savior drank it all.

peace & joy

perfect peace

is filling my mind

and drawing my heart

to praise you again.

~every.day

[sov.grace.music]

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

~Phil.4:6&7

God seems to be wanting to teach me about peace.

last year through my sickness and depression,

he revealed soosoosooo much to me in this area.

i've in no ways attained perfection in this area (haaaaaaaa),

but lately i have been SO blessed by peace from God.

he has given me so much peace and joy in him,

it has been un-believably amazing!

really "surpassed my understanding..." like Philippians says.

i don't deserve his grace, but he gives it.

i have squandered it, but he gives more grace.

here are some things he's been helping me learn.

(but again, i still have sooo much more growth to attain in this area).

hopefully this will encourage you all!

- he gives peace as a gift

- joy comes through obedience (although God's gift is by NO means limited to my obedience... praise the Lord!)

- the Gospel guarantees me the ultimate peace- peace with God in his holiness

- i find peace when i cast my cares on God, because he cares for me (1Peter4:7)

i have romans 5:1-5 memorized, and part of it keeps coming to mind... (one of the reasons its SO good to hide scripture away in your heart! it pops up when you need it!)

"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God."

~Rom.5:1-2

his grace through peace and joy does draw my heart to praise him.

how wonderfully he gives gifts to his undeserving children!

redeemed - hillsong

i love this song by hillsong- here are some of my favorite lines:

My simple mind cannot understand

My feeble faith cannot comprehend your grace

By the blood of the Lamb

I'm made white like the snow

Now I'm redeemed

By the blood of the Lamb

The Lamb who was slain

By the nails through your body

Atonement was made

For those who believe

Who believe on your name

What grace

Rather than a boat tossed about by the sea

I like a tree firmly planted will be

Your grace, how its sufficient for me

How it carries all my burdens

And displaces my iniquity

When the Father gazes down no longer does he see

The reflection of a wicked man

But the Lamb who died on Calvary

You hung yourself upon a tree

Shed your blood for the sake of me

How do I thank You, Lord?

*

"The ocean love of God, so broad that even the wing of imagination could not traverse it, sends forth its treasures of the rain of grace, which drop upon our hearts..." chs

when the storms swirl and rage
there are mercies anew
in sorrow and pain
you will carry me through
and at the end of my days
when your throne fills my view
i will sing of your mercies anew

The Daily Spurgeon

i'm subscribed to the daily spurgeon and let me tell you, it's amazing.

almost every day i get an email with a quote from morning & evening or one of spurgeon's other works.

the one i got yesterday met me RIGHT. exactly. where i was. like totally.

praise the Lord that he knows what we are going through at every single moment.

even when we haven't told others about what struggles we're facing (which is a huge help by the way. so do it!)... he still knows.

and let's face it... even when we haven't been praying for his help in a particular area, but we've been having a hard time...

he still knows. and he reveals truth to us.

"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." -Romans 8:28

wow.

even through my guilty feelings & lack of prayer, he is drawing me to him!!

how great, how awesome, how unlike this world is our God!

here's the quote...

O you who feel your unworthiness this morning, who have been seeking salvation earnestly, and suffering the weight of sin, Jesus will freely give to you what you cannot earn or purchase, he will give it as an act of his own free, rich, sovereign mercy; and he is prepared, if you come to him, to give it to you now, for so has he promised, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

just a great, amazing reminder that it is Jesus who PROMISES to sanctify us.
and when we are painfully aware of our sin, this is actually a good thing.
before the Holy Spirit gave us this awareness, we would have dismissed our sin as no big deal.
Christ is working in us!
we needn't be discouraged, because our hope is not in ourselves! which is awesome. for me at least! :)


and i would suggest that everyone subscribe to the daily spurgeon.
you can do that by clicking "subscribe by email" on the right panel (duh!).
:)