"Come Home" by Luminate

You're best friends with the word regret.
You're afraid that your life's been wasted,
So why hope if it's only gonna let you down.
You don't think people really change.
That you're a mess and you'll always be the same,
And you doubt if you'll ever get it turned around.

So (I know) you've been running, searching for something But you're looking in a place you don't belong. It's never too late, you can't outrun grace.
No, Mercy doesn't care what you've done!
So Come Home (Oh Oh, Oh Oh)
So Come Home (Oh Oh, Oh Oh)

You can try to fix your broken empire. And put bricks on a cracked foundation. But you'd be building castles on the sand. There's power in the blood of Jesus.
Your Father's screaming just come home.
He's reaching out His hands...

From the shadows, From the wrong roads
From the darkness, From the unknown
To redemption, Something beautiful
To a new love, To new Home...

Yep... another pivotal song!! Today is music day in my little brain :) I really LOVE this song & the message it brings! NO MATTER WHAT YOU'VE DONE OR HOW UNREDEEMABLE YOU THINK YOU MAY BE THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE STILL SCREAMS YOUR NAME... I know all caps on that last sentence lol. It's just a point that we just don't seem to get. Even the most mature in their faith walk still struggle at times with the AWESOME fact that God still wants a heart to heart closeness with us regardless of our mistakes, regrets, wrongs, failures, etc.... ask God to forgive those things because He loves you anyway & it's done that simple :) It all goes into the sea of forgetfulness. Jesus paid it all, period. You can do all things through Jesus, but without Him, well... it's like the vine without the branch it grows from. No access to the good things you need to grow & mature. I would not survive without my sustainer, God or His son Jesus who strengthens me daily, nor could the vine away from the branch & the vine dresser. The vine, the branch & the vine dresser...we are the ultimate team ;)
~ Randa ~

You hold the weight of the world
Still I don't slip through Your hands
Your love is bigger
Than just a notion built by man
I fall again and again,
But you whisper, “You're still mine.”
You feel the pain of the world,
But you never push mine aside.

(Chorus)
And You reach for me
With a love that quiets all my fears
And You reach for me
Like a Father wipes away the tears
So many people in this world,
But I hear You calling out my name.
You reach for me.
Now I'm never gonna be the same.

You know all of my fears
There's nothing Your eyes can't see.
When I tried to give up,
Lord, You never gave up on me.
I give You all of my hopes and dreams,
I lay them down.
Of all the place I've looked,
You're the one truth I have found.

And You reach for me
With a love that quiets all my fears
And You reach for me
Like a Father wipes away the tears
So many people in this world,
But I hear You calling out my name.
You reach for me.
Now I'm never gonna be the same.

You hold the weight of the world,
Still I don't slip through Your hands.
You put the stars in the sky.
You know every grain of sand.

And You reach for me
With a love that quiets all my fears
And You reach for me
Like a Father wipes away the tears
So many people in this world,
But I hear You calling out my name.
You reach for me.
Now I'm never gonna be the same.

You reach for me.
For me.
~ Reach by Peter Furler ~
WOW!! That's a great song by Peter Furler! God is bigger than anything we are facing! Think about the lyrics for a minute... He holds the weight of the world, yet each of us don't slip through His hands... He put the stars in the sky, but He knows every grain of sand! He is in total control even when we think it's all out of control. Isaiah 55:8-9 says "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways," declares the Lord. "As the Heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." And while He is in control of ALL that is going on in the universe & this planet, He wants a relationship with US, between our hearts & His heart. A close walk with us. Who are WE that the creator of EVERYTHING wants to be near us in all of our faults & imperfections?? AWESOME right?! :) He calls us by name.. He reaches for us, for our hearts so that not only will we benefit, but so that those around us will benefit by seeing God's love & light shining in us. May God shine through you today & everyday in amazing, incredible boldness!!! ~ Randa

That was awkward...

Ok Ok soooo, obviously this has been the topic of conversation for at least a few days right??
Well, these are my thoughts, and I'm sure those of you who personally know me knew I would have a few ;)

Matthew 24:36-44
The Day and Hour Unknown
36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

Alright, that being said....
Make no mistake, He will return for His beloved! Are you prepared? Have you heard of the Parable of the Ten Virgins?

Matthew 25:1-13
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’

9 “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

11 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’

12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’

13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

So, is your lamp full? Will you be prepared or you run out of oil when He returns?

~ Randa ~

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD!

Jeremiah 29:11-13

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Wow..what an amazing verse!! In all of our struggles, in all of our problems & pain God has a PLAN! Not JUST any PLAN, but a PLAN FOR HOPE & A FUTURE!! JESUS was & still is that PLAN & GOD knew what He was doing all along. How comforting is that?! What's even more comforting is that God STILL knows what He's doing as He always has. He still desires us to come to Him, to seek Him FERVENTLY. To pray FERVENTLY. To call on Him & He will listen.

Sometimes we have to realize that when we ask for certain things it may not be in His will. That can be hard to take but His thoughts are not our thoughts, His ways are not our ways. His plans are meant to give us a hope & a future. And what the enemy has meant for evil, God will work out for good. He can use those struggles & trials to get you to the place He needs you to be for a certain purpose, place, & time. God is ALWAYS with you, even when you think He isn't. So go in peace & seek God with all of your heart, because our hope & future arose & lives!
~ Randa ~

Prophetic Wonderings

VERSE:
This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ's suffering and his great glory afterward.
-- 1 Peter 1:10-11 nlt

THOUGHT:
One of the most important claims Scripture makes about itself, and its origins, is that it is God-breathed and Spirit-inspired (2 Tim. 3:16-17). The prophets of Israel had looked forward to the coming of the Messiah and the making of a new people. But they did not, and could not, fully understand what their prophecies meant. This was especially true of Jesus' suffering and the glory that followed his resurrection. Yet these messages, these recorded prophecies in the Old Testament, were given them by the Holy Spirit of God to speak of the coming of Christ. We value Scripture because we believe that the Spirit of God stands behind its origin and inspired the words that its prophets and writers shared.

PRAYER:
Father God, please give me a deeper appreciation for Scripture, looking to it as the words inspired by the Holy Spirit and used by the Holy Spirit on my heart as I read them. Open my heart, open my mind, and transform my will and my behavior as I read your words inspired by your Spirit. In Jesus' name I ask for this grace. Amen.

~www.heartlight.org~

~Randa~

TODAY'S VERSE from HEARTLIGHT -- Colossians 1:19-20

VERSE:
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace with his blood, shed on the cross.
-- Colossians 1:19-20

THOUGHT:
How do you comprehend both the majesty and the sacrifice of Jesus? We've been looking at our Lord's identity all this month and still we find ourselves amazed, delighted, bewildered, and blessed by his glorious and humble character. The main thing, however, is that he made peace between a perfect heaven and a flawed humanity. He made this peace at horrific cost, the shedding of his own blood on the torture tree at Calvary. He did this with all of God's pleasure and nature in himself. He did this because of our sin. He did this because of love.

PRAYER:
O Father, I am sorry that it took such a great sacrifice to atone for my sin. I am thankful that you loved so much that you would pay the price for that sacrifice. I praise you for bridging the distance that I could not cover that my sin created between you and me. May you be as pleased with me today and see my life as a praise for your costly grace. In Jesus' name I thank you. Amen.

~from http://www.heartlight.org~

~Randa~

All my chains ... I can't disengage, And I don't believe that I want to
One hand sings your praise, The other brings me shame
I have selfishness to blame ... And I'm singing for FREEDOM...
I know I'm not the only one, praying to the One who can bring me this FREEDOM...

I'm ready for change, broke down I lay I keep holding my chains
No longer bound but here I stay...I scream Father PLEASE.... I need rescuing
I need You and You alone. And I'm singing for FREEDOM...
I know I'm not the only one praying to the One who can bring me this FREEDOM...

I'm ready for (change) still You patiently await, Yet I won't just let go
I see You and You alone saying FREEDOM...
And so I'm singing for FREEDOM!
The time has come, separation lost the war to love. Take my hand grace has found you where You once began. You're Alive! You're Alive! in the waking of new life.. Take my hand, in the end there's only love, There's only love
There's only singing for FREEDOM!

I know I'm not only one
Praying to the One who can bring me this FREEDOM.. I'm ready for,
I'm ready for...
Father please I need rescuing...
I need You and You alone

~Freedom by Run Kid Run~
~Randa~