Category Archives: Clean Heart

Something In The Water???

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Our symbol of faith in Jesus…

And obedience to Christ our Lord!!!

He said, “I’ve been where you’ve been before.
Down every hallway’s a slamming door.”
No way out, no one to come and save me
Wasting a life that the Good Lord gave me

Then somebody said what I’m saying to you
Opened my eyes and told me the truth.”
They said, “Just a little faith, it’ll all get better.”
So I followed that preacher man down to the river and now I’m changed
And now I’m stronger

There must’ve been something in the water
Oh, there must’ve been something in the water

Well, I heard what he said and I went on my way
Didn’t think about it for a couple of days
Then it hit me like a lightning late one night
I was all out of hope and all out of fight

Couldn’t fight back the tears so I fell on my knees
Saying, “God, if you’re there come and rescue me.”
Felt love pouring down from above
Got washed in the water, washed in the blood and now I’m changed

And now I’m stronger

There must be something in the water
Oh, there must be something in the water

And now I’m singing along to amazing grace
Can’t nobody wipe this smile off my face
Got joy in my heart, angels on my side
Thank God almighty, I saw the light
Gonna look ahead, no turning back
Live everyday, give it all that I have
Trust in someone bigger than me
Ever since the day that I believed I am changed
And now I’m stronger

There must be something in the water
Oh, there must be something in the water
Oh, there must be something in the water
Oh, there must be something in the water
Oh, yeah

I am changed
Stronger

I’m free.

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Matthew 3:11
“I baptize you with water for repentance,
but He who is coming after me is mightier than I,
whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
Acts 22:16
“And now why do you wait?
Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins,
calling on His Name.”
Matthew 28:19
“Go therefore
and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”
Amen!!
I’m changed…
I’m stronger…
I’m free!
Thank you, Jesus!!
 

Are You Washed By The Water!?!

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John 3:5

“Jesus answered,

Very truly I tell you,

no one can enter the kingdom of God

unless they are born of water and the Spirit.'”

The story behind the song:

-Bear Rinehart-

Needtobreathe

“It’s a song about my dad.

He’s a pastor.

He just uh, he went through –

if you know anything about how preachers are,

they just…

You know,

there’s a lot of stuff that gets said in the church.

There was some stuff that got said at our church

that actually turned out to not be true

when it all came out, or whatever.

I just thought it was a cool thing

that my dad kept his integrity throughout that whole situation.

Yeah, and we put sort of a gospel feel to it.

There’s a gospel choir on the record that we recorded.

And yeah. It’s one of my favorites too.”

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Even when the rain falls

Even when the flood starts rising

Even when the storm comes

I am washed by the water

Daddy was a preacher

She was his wife

Just tryin’ to make the world a little better

You know, shine a light

People started talking

Trying to hear their own voice

Those people tried to accuse my father

Said he made the wrong choice

Though it might be painful

You know that time will always tell

Those people have long since gone

My father never failed

Even when the rain falls

Even when the flood starts rising

Even when the storm comes

I am washed by the water

Even if the Earth crumbles under my feet

Even if the ones I love turn around and crucify me

I won’t never ever let you down

Won’t fall, won’t fall, won’t fall

as long as you’re around me

Even when the rain falls

Even when the flood starts rising

Even when the storm comes

I am washed by the water

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Hebrews 10:22

“…let us draw near to God

with a sincere heart

and with the full assurance that faith brings,

having our hearts sprinkled

to cleanse us from a guilty conscience

and having our bodies washed with pure water.”

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Ephesians 5:25-26

“…just as Christ loved the Church

and gave Himself up for Her 

to make Her Holy,

cleansing Her

by the washing with water

through the Word,”

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John 13:5-11

“After that, He poured water into a basin

and began to wash His disciples’ feet,

drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him.

He came to Simon Peter,

who said to Him,

‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’

Jesus replied,

You do not realize now what I am doing,

but later you will understand.’

No,’ said Peter, ‘You shall never wash my feet.’

Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you,

you have no part with Me.’

‘Then, Lord,’

Simon Peter replied,

‘not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!’

 Jesus answered,

Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet;

their whole body is clean.

And you are clean,

though not every one of you.

For He knew who was going to betray Him,

and that was why He said not every one was clean.”

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Isaiah 12:2-3

“‘…Surely God is my salvation;   

I will trust and not be afraid.

The Lord, the Lord himself,

is my strength and my defense;   

He has become my salvation.’

With joy you will draw water   

from the wells of salvation.”

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John 4:14

“…but whoever drinks the water I give them

will never thirst.

Indeed, the water I give them

will become in them

a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

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John 7:38-39

“‘Whoever believes in Me,

as Scripture has said,

rivers of living water

will flow from within them.’

By this He meant the Spirit,

whom those who believed in Him were later to receive.

Up to that time the Spirit had not been given,

since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”

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Revelation 22:1-2

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life,

as clear as crystal,

flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb

down the middle of the great street of the city.

On each side of the river stood the Tree Of Life,

bearing twelve crops of fruit,

yielding its fruit every month.

And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.”

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Revelation 22:17

The Spirit and the bride say,

‘Come!’

And let the one who hears say,

‘Come!’

Let the one who is thirsty come;

and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.”

Amen!

Grace? Walk Right In!

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Grace means:

To get something that you do not deserve;

Unmerited favor

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John 1:14

“The Word became flesh

and made His dwelling among us.

We have seen His glory,

the glory of the One and Only Son,

who came from the Father,

full of grace and truth.

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Ephesians 2:8-9

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—

and this is not from yourselves,

it is the gift of God—

not by works,

so that no one can boast.”

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You’re standing with your list of regrets that you can’t get past yourself
You wish so bad that you could make the mark
But your dreams are stuck on a shelf
And all you wanna do is turn back time
And redeem the days you lost
But shame keeps calling out your name
The chains refuse to fall

But it’s not over, it’s not over
This is the moment grace walks in
With arms wide open, arms wide open
To tell you this is not the end
When doubt is strong and your will is weak to even believe again
That’s when grace, that’s when grace walks in

You once believed that you could change the world
With a fire deep in your soul
Your faith was strong and the call was clear
You were sure you could make a new road
Like so many the flame grew dark
And your confidence hit the wall
There always seems to be a lot of big questions
But the answers seem so small

Just in the nick of time
Right there to save our lives
Grace is greater
Grace is greater

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2 Corinthians 12:8-9

“Three times I (Paul)

pleaded with the Lord

to take it (the thorn in my flesh) away from me.

But He said to me,

My grace is sufficient for you,

for My power is made perfect in weakness.’

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly

about my weaknesses,

so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

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Hebrews 4:16

 “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence,

so that we may receive mercy

and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

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2 Peter 1:2

“Grace and peace be yours in abundance

through the knowledge of God

and of Jesus our Lord.”

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John 1:16

“From the fullness of His grace

we have all received one blessing after another.”

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Romans 3:23-24

“…for all have sinned

and fall short of the glory of God,

and all are justified freely

by His grace

through the redemption

that came by Christ Jesus.”

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2 Corinthians 8:9

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,

that though He was rich,

yet for your sake He became poor,

so that you through His poverty might become rich.”

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2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

“May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself

and God our Father,

who loved us

and by His grace

gave us eternal encouragement and good hope,

encourage your hearts and strengthen you

in every good deed and word.”

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Grace is at the heart of the Gospel message!

To accept God’s grace…

Means to live in thankful response!

We don’t deserve God’s grace!

Yet, He has chosen to give it to us!

We should be moved to give our all to Him!

Amen!!

“On My Knees…” Is An Attitude!

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Humble Yourself!!!

How to survive???
Get on your knees…
Before the Lord…
It changes you…
Don’t know how…
But there’s power…
When I’m on my knees!!
In a crowd…
By myself anywhere…
When there’s a need…
To talk with God…

He is Emmanuel!

Close your eyes…
No darkness there…
Only light!

Power!
Blue skies or at midnight…

When I’m On My Knees!!

Trouble  again???
Breaks down my best defense…
God, I’m looking for You!!

I need rest…
Fear’s is filling my head…

God, I’m longing for You!!

I will find You in the place I’m in!
Find You when I’m at my end!
Find You when there’s nothing left of me to offer You…
Except my brokenness!!

Lift me up…
I’m thirsty…
I’m weak…
I’m lost and searching…
I’m on my knees!!

Sorrow shakes my faith…
Heartache still remains…

My God, I’ll trust you…
‘Cause you are faithful!!

My hope is gone…
Fear is strong…
Pain is real…
Hard to heal!

Faith is shaken…
Heart is broken…
Joy is stolen…
Lift me up!
Never leave me searching…

When I’m on My knees!!

PRAY!!!

In a wide variety of ways:

Sitting, bowing, kneeling, and standing.

1 Chronicles 17:16

“Then King David went in and sat before the LORD,

and he said:

‘Who am I, LORD God,

and what is my family,

that You have brought me this far?'”

Nehemiah 8:6

“Ezra praised the Lord,

the great God;

and all the people lifted their hands and responded,

‘Amen! Amen!’

Then they bowed down

and worshiped the Lord

with their faces to the ground.'”

Daniel 6:10

“Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published,

he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem.

Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed,

giving thanks to his God,

just as he had done before.”

Mark 11:25

“And when you stand praying,

if you hold anything against anyone,

forgive them,

so that your Father in Heaven

may forgive you your sins.”

Pray with the right heart attitude…

Offer silent prayers wherever you are…

God hears our prayers…

Even though they may go completely unnoticed by those around us!

Amen!

The Law Of “Clean-A-Tivity!!”

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If you know me…

Or, you’ve read my blog during this year…

You know I hate cleaning!

Oh, I love a clean house…

And basically work hard to keep it that way…

But when it gets away from me…

I give up

It defeats me!!

So I think there should be a law!

So everyone will know the state of the “clean-a-tivity” of my house!

The Law of “Clean-A-Tivity!”

My house is spotless=Come visit, stay over!!

“I just got done cleaning my house from top to bottom…

Dusting fans, cleaning windows, dusting furniture, mopping floors!

So come on over and stay a few days!!”

My house is clean=Come for lunch or dinner!

“Let’s have party!!

Ha!  Even use the bathrooms!”

My house is messy=Let’s meet somewhere for lunch!

“I do this a lot!!”

My house is dirty=Even I can’t stand it!

“Have company????  No, I really couldn’t!!”

Keeping a house clean is hard work…

Maybe you have help…

I have my son!  Ha!

For days on end, this summer…

I didn’t even get past the mailbox after cleaning…

It was such a mess and I was so far behind…

I just had to keep at it!

Day after day…

I kept thinking of my goal!!!!

I was determined my house would be cleaned BEFORE school started back again…

And BEFORE my summer vacation was completely gone!!

Talking about a clean house…

Makes me think about having a clean heart…

It’s hard to keep either of them that way!

Help me, Lord!!

Psalm 51:10

“Create in me a clean heart,

O God;

and renew a right spirit within me.”

Yes, Jesus, I pray…

Renew my mind and spirit…

Purify my heart and motives…

Sanctify my life for You!!

Is your heart right???

Can Jesus come and stay in your heart???

Or, is He just allowed to visit?

Can He just pop in?

Or do you say, “No way!”

Or, do you need to know when He’s coming???

Another Law of “Clean-A-Tivity!”

My heart is spotless=Jesus lives there!

My heart is clean=Jesus can visit!

My heart is messy=Jesus, let me know when you’re coming, so I can straighten up!

My heart is dirty=Jesus, you wouldn’t want to pop in here, even I can’t stand myself!

Jesus creates in us a clean heart…

Guard your heart!

It takes diligence on our part…

Ask for forgiveness immediately…

Don’t let things get away from you…

And pile up…

To the point where you’ll feel defeated…

And give up!!

Keep your heart clean…

Be aware…

Pray!

Ask Jesus for help!!

It’s much easier to keep a spotless House/Heart clean…

Than constantly picking up in a messy, dirty House/Heart…

Your mind is clear…

Not distracted by chaos and clutter!!

Let Jesus do the heavy cleaning to change your heart…

You’ll then be able to see the smallest speck of dirt…

And deal with it immediately!!

By confessing and receiving forgiveness!!

Proverbs 4:23

“Above all else, guard your heart,
   

 for everything you do flows from it.”

Amen!!