Delight

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Psalm 37:4

The word “delight” in the Hebrew from the above verse means to be soft and pliable.  As we find our pleasure in worshiping God and meditating upon His word, we are to allow Him to reveal to us those areas of our lives that need His gentle correction.  Like a skillful gardener, He prunes us so that we bear more fruit.  When we allow our Father God to minister to us in this way, doors open for Him to grant us the secret petitions of our hearts.
 

When God corrects us, it is never pleasant, but if we allow Him to have His way, we will see Him perform wonders within us and upon our circumstances.  As we spend time with Him, He incubates desires deep within us that, in His timing, will be fulfilled - as we delight ourselves in Him.  Let’s choose to be soft and pliable before our Father God.  As we do, we invite Him to move mightily upon the canvass of our lives. 

Healing Grace

Jehovah-Rapha
The Lord our Healer
By Your grace
We are made whole

A flash of lightning from Your hands
Restores all that's broken
Creative miracles
Born by the atonement

Healing grace
Flows as we seek Your face
A byproduct of a life
Focused on the heart of God

Healing comes
Sometimes in a moment
Sometimes as a gradual incline
Sometimes not until we reach
The heavenly gate

Your promise is true
You forgive all our sins
You heal all our diseases

You are the Lord who heals us
By Your grace
We are made whole

Twice-born

I was lost

In a sea of gray

All my efforts led me astray

Religious ways

Left me like a withered skeleton

Dead works crowned me with illusion

Then light danced

Like a meteor out of the sky

Revelation filled my eyes

Truth revealed

Grace filled me

With resurrection life

Now I skip and leap

To Love’s harmonies 

Freedom fills the air

I am privileged

Twice-born

Because of Christ’s cross

Because of the mystery

Of Your divine mercy

Transformed

But we all, with unveiled faces, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18

The hands of the potter skillfully shape and mold the clay. He masterfully crafts the vessel in a way that fits the design he envisions. We each are vessels of clay. In order for our Lord, The Potter, to make us into what He desires, we must yield to the Master's perfecting work in us. If we resist, we will never be made into vessels of honor. We must surrender to the Spirit's promptings.

As we behold the Lord in times of worship, and as we gaze and graze upon His word, we will be changed from glory to glory. The Spirit of the Lord will conform us into the image of Christ. What we see in our times of beholding Him, will be made real in us. It is Christ in us who is the hope of glory.

Let's surrender to the Potter of our souls and lets fix our eyes on Him. He will transform us daily so we reflect His glory. Then we will be vessels of honor bringing the cool water of the Spirit to a dry and thirsty land.

Dear Lord my Potter,


I surrender all to You. Mold me and make me into what you desire me to be. Transform me into your image as I behold Your glory. I worship and adore You. Fill me with Your Spirit and use me to bring refreshing to others. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Jesus Loved Him

Jesus loved him
One of the twelve
But he betrayed the Lord with a kiss

Christ washed his feet
Full-knowing
Of the evil abiding within the disciple's heart

Judas the traitor
Enemy of God
Was all this worth thirty pieces of silver?
You perceived the horror of your deeds
But instead of repentance
You chose suicide

Who are the enemies in your life?
In mine?
Like Jesus,we are called to love them
Called to repay good for evil

Perhaps they will turn to the Master
The breach repaired
Perhaps they will choose repentance
Over the crooked road that winds towards
Death's door

Scatter the Seed

One of my devotionals was recently published in christiandevotions.us.  If you'd like to read it, here is the link.   http://christiandevotions.us/?wpmlmethod=newsletter&id=33&mailinglist_id=0&subscriber_id=1063&authkey=71a3cb155f8dc89bf3d0365288219936

Blessings,

Tom Toya

Clothe Me

Pride precedes a fall

Lord, steady my heart

So I don’t slip

Teach me truth in the inmost place

Let me tremble at your word

May I know wisdom

The kind that springs from humility

Help me to practically apply Your timeless word 

Draw me to the poor

Let me extend my hands to the underprivileged

May I not strut before people

Instead, may my heart long to serve

Long to be of help

Long to love
Clothe me, Oh Lord, with the plain garment of humility