It’s Him

The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

- John 4:25-26

 

Jesus is coming back, He promised that He would, and I believe Him.

But will I know Him when He comes?

We have all heard the stories and we all know He will return someday, but like the woman at the well, will we know Him when we see Him?

Song reference!

All of creation

All of the earth

Make straight a highway

A path for the Lord

Jesus is coming soon

Call back the sinner

Wake up the saint

Let every nation shout of Your fame

Jesus is coming soon

Like a bride waiting for her groom

We'll be a Church ready for You

Every heart longing for our King

We sing "even so come"

Lord Jesus, come

Even so come

Lord Jesus, come

There will be justice, all will be new

Your name forever, faithful and true

Jesus is coming soon

Oh, like a bride waiting for her groom

We'll be a Church ready for You

Every heart longing for our King

We sing "even so come"

Lord Jesus, come

Even so come

Lord Jesus, come

So we wait

We wait for You

God, we wait

You're coming soon

So we wait

We wait for You

God, we wait

You're coming soon

Like a bride waiting for her groom

We'll be at Church, ready for You

Every heart longing for our King, we sing

Like a bride waiting for her groom

We'll be at Church, we'll be ready for You

Every heart longing for our King, we sing "even so come"

Lord Jesus, come

Even so come

Lord Jesus, come

Even so come

Lord Jesus, come

Even so come

Lord Jesus, come

I long for the day that Jesus comes to bring us home, but more importantly, I pray that my heart is ready for Him, that I’ve done things right here on earth.

Will you know Him?

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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water

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water.”

- John 4:10

 

Living water.

When I think of “living water” I think of a cool, crisp clear mountain stream, the kind where you can see the bottom as it rushes along, I don’t think of a stagnant, smelly, mossy pond that is never clear. 

Think about those two bodies of water and ask yourself, which water you would prefer to drink to quench your thirst?

Song reference!!

Here in this worn and weary land

Where many a dream has died

Like a tree planted by the water

We never will run dry

So living water flowing through

God, we thirst for more of You

Fill our hearts and flood our souls with one desire

Just to know You and to make You known

We lift Your name on high

Shine like the sun, make darkness run and hide

We know we were made for so much more than ordinary lives

It's time for us to more than just survive

We were made to thrive

Into Your Word, we're digging deep

To know our Father's heart

Into the world, we're reaching out

To show them who You are

So living water flowing through

God, we thirst for more of You

Fill our hearts and flood our souls with one desire

Just to know You and to make You known

We lift Your name on high

Shine like the sun, make darkness run and hide

We know we were made for so much more than ordinary lives

It's time for us to more than just survive

We were made to thrive

Joy unspeakable, faith unsinkable

Love unstoppable, anything is possible

Joy unspeakable, faith unsinkable

Love unstoppable, anything is possible

Joy unspeakable, faith unsinkable

Love unstoppable, anything is possible

Joy unspeakable, faith unsinkable

Love unstoppable, anything is possible

Just to know You and to make You known

We lift Your name on high

Shine like the sun, make darkness run and hide

We know we were made for so much more than ordinary lives

It's time for us to more than just survive

We were made to thrive, hey

We were made to thrive

Where are you in your faith, are you living water or a stagnant pond? 
Living water. 

That is what Jesus is to our souls, a cool, crisp clear mountain stream, filling us and resolving our thirst.

And if we are to be like Jesus, we cannot be stagnant.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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recording

If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you.

- Psalm 130:3-4

 

In today’s world of security cameras, virtual meetings, cell phones with video options and the dreaded social media outlets, you can pretty much guarantee that you are being recorded at some point in your day. 

People always manage to have their phones handy to record life’s embarrassing moments, epic fails and crazy human behavior.

I have seen a quote along the lines of “I'm so glad I was young and stupid before there were camera phones”.   

We are blessed in the sense that God does not keep a record of our “stupidity”.

We are certainly all sinners, there is not one perfect human currently walking this earth, but we can acknowledge our sin, confess and repent (and don’t repeat) and be forgiven.

Because that is the awesome God we serve. 

He loves us, no matter what.  

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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where is your heart?

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”

- Jeremiah 17:9-10

 

“She followed up, but her heart wasn’t in it.” 
We can usually tell when someone doesn’t really mean what they say, or doesn’t want to do something but feels obligated to do it anyway.

Even if we can’t tell, God always can.

As we go through life we are going to come across a lot of circumstances that may harden our hearts and we simply cannot allow that to happen.

Once our hearts turn deceitful against our friends, family, God and even our own selves, it becomes increasingly difficult to turn back to God.

Do a regular heart check on yourself, make sure your heart really is in the right place.

We might be able to fool others, but we can’t fool God, He sees our real heart.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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freedom

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

- 2 Corinthians 3:17

 

It’s Independence Day weekend in the United States!

This is one of my favorite holidays because it is in the summer, there is no obligation to buy gifts for people, you just get to hang out, eat food, play in the water and watch the sky light up with fireworks. 

But there is more to it than that, I grew up in a military family, so there was always a somber moment, remembering the lives that were lost for our freedom.

Still, there is more to it than that, because we are living in the land of the free and the home of the brave we do not have to fear the oppression that some Christ followers do, where merely owning a Bible can get you thrown in jail (yes, that still happens!!!).

And yet there is still more . . .  how about a song reference?

For we know the truth

Your truth has set us free

In Your Name alone

We have been released

You are here with us

You are here with us

We are slaves no more

Freedom is our hope

Never looking back

Jesus, You are Lord

We give all to You

We give all to You

Where the Spirit of the Lord is

There is freedom

Where the Spirit of the Lord is

Chains are broken

Eyes are open

Christ is with us

Christ is with us

Who the Son has freed

He is free indeed

All our sin is gone

We have been redeemed

Jesus paid it all

Jesus paid it all

Where the Spirit of the Lord is

There is freedom

Where the Spirit of the Lord is

Chains are broken

Eyes are open

Christ is with us

Christ is with us

Where the Spirit of the Lord is

There is freedom

Where the Spirit of the Lord is

Chains are broken

Eyes are open

Christ is with us

Christ is with us

Open wide the gates of heaven

Fill our hearts as we surrender

Lord let Your presence fall

Lord let Your presence fall

I hope that sometime during the picnics, swimming, boating and fireworks that we stop to remember what true freedom is, the freedom that we find in surrendering our lives to Christ Jesus, because of His sacrifice we are truly free. 

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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secret

Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the Lord. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord.

- Jeremiah 23:24

 

Hide and seek is probably one of the earliest games we learn as infants (think “peek-a-boo”).

As we reach toddler stage, nothing is more fun than finding that perfect hiding place where mom, dad, or siblings can’t find us.

Once when my youngest child was maybe 8 or 9 years old he was mad at us so he wrote a note that he was running away and then climbed onto the top shelf of his closet to hide.

Our middle child found the note, called us immediately and started combing the neighborhood searching for him.

I can’t remember who found him in the closet (I think it was the middle child) but I remember telling him no matter where he hid, someone would always find him.

We cannot hide from God either, and we should not want to hide from Him.

In fact, check out this song reference!

In the secret

In the quiet place

In the stillness

You are there

In the secret

In the quiet hour i wait

Only for you

Cause, i want to know you more

I want to know you

I want to hear your voice

I want to know you more

I want to touch you

I want to see your face

I want to know you more

I am reaching

For the highest goal

That i might receive

The prize

Pressing onward

Pushing every hindrance aside

Out of my way

Cause, i want to know you more.

Secret places can be good, as long as we aren’t trying to hide from God (or our parents!)

Find your place and use it to get to know Him.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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blame it on the rain

I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit.

- Leviticus 26:4

 

I can remember growing up in the midwest, this time of year the rain was coming less often and it was getting hotter and drier.

My mother, having grown up on a farm, referred to it as the “dog days of summer”.

I used to think that meant that we would have a bunch of dogs running loose in the neighborhood, but instead it was referring to extreme hot and humid days coming in July and August. 

If you are into astronomy, you also recognize that the dog days of summer generally coincides with the early rising of Sirius the Dog Star, when the star is visible in the eastern sky prior to the sunrise. 

In ancient Egypt, the Nile River flooded each year, bringing with the waters the rich soil that was needed to grow crops in the desert.

Read today’s verse again, God said in that He would send rain in its season and the ground would yield its crops.

I feel like this is just further proof that God does take care of us, seeing to our every single need.

If God can send rain to grow crops in a desert, why is it hard for us to believe that He will move mountains for us?

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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