Good Tidings, Good Tidings

I feel as though there has been some powerful truths that have been spoken into my life lately. I also feel encouraged to share them. 1 Chronicles 16:23 says to "sing to the Lord" and "proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day."

By His grace, He has saved me. Is saving me, still. God never hid the fact that it takes a daily choice to follow Him (Luke 9:23.) This is not easy. Not only, because of the fact it is self-denying, but it also is nothing of this world...which we live in and are often confronted by. Brother Lawrence, in his book The Practice of the Presence of God, writes "that in order to form a habit of conversing with God, and referring to Him all that we do, we must first apply to Him with some diligence, but that after a little care we should find His love inwardly excite us to do it without any difficulty." I find that statement very true. It takes effort.

A good analogy that Raleigh gave last night about this (that also hit home), is that if we say (in spoken word, thought or prayer, possibly etc.) that we want to do better in school, then it takes more studying or going to class, etc...effort to do better in school. For me words are easily said, and actions left to be taken.

So if I love the Lord. Say that I want to live my life for Him. Then what action that I take actually represent that? Oswald Chambers wrote that "if you are in love, you do not sit around dreaming about the one you love; you go and do something for him." Practical.

I know that knowing these words and His truth matters to my Savior.

Lastly, in good tidings, the lord gave me the opportunity to make a public profession of what He has done and is still doing in my life.

BAPTISM!! woop woop!

and no...Raleigh and I did not plan the color coordination.