"I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me."  (Song of Solomon 7:10)

Some of the most intimate conversations we have with our spouses occur while we lay in bed, in a darkened room, quiet, and nestled in the warmth of the covers.  The children are asleep, the phone is done ringing for the day, the television is quieted, and the house is at peace. 

Intimacy in today's world is immediately equated with sex.  However, true intimacy can more easily be related to communion and communication with unguarded truthfulness.  More simply put, pillow talk!

The Father wants intimate moments with us, times of communion and communication with unguarded truthfulness.  He wants to hear from us our most private thoughts, our concerns, our joys, our fears, our victories, our praise, our disappointments, and our loving words of intimate worship.  Yet, we so thoughtlessly neglect this...

"Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth."  (Psalm 46:10)

Not long ago I heard a story about a young man and an old preacher. The young man had lost his job and didn't know which way to turn. So he went to see the old preacher.

Pacing about the preacher's study, the young man ranted about his problem. Finally he clenched his fist and shouted, "I've begged God to say something to help me. Tell me, Preacher, why doesn't God answer?"

The old preacher, who sat across the room, spoke something in reply--something so hushed it was indistinguishable. The young man stepped across the room. "What did you say?" he asked.

The preacher repeated himself, but again in a tone as soft as a whisper. So the young man moved closer until he was leaning on the preacher's chair. "Sorry," he said. "I still didn't hear you."...

"Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all."  (1 Chronicles 29:11)

There are some times when our hearts just cry out, "Worship Him!" Today is one of those days.

You don't feel like worshipping Him? Well take a minute and consider: MERCY, FORGIVENESS, SALVATION, ETERNAL LIFE, FAITHFULNESS, etc. Now, do you feel a little more like worshipping Him?

Good!

Take a look at the verse for today again . . . "Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all."

Here's a picture of God's greatness . . . unspeakable, unfathomable, unmatchable! He is more than we could ever expect Him to be. He is greater than great, higher than high, holier than holy, mightier than mighty. He is sovereign over all, totally in control of everything. Nothing is too small for His care; nothing too big for Him to handle....

"For the kingdom is the Lord's: and he is the governor among the nations." (Psalm 22:28)

God is in control in our nation, our cities, our jobs, our school systems. Although the economy is not good, our family and friends are losing their jobs, the prices are rising, we serve a God who is "governor among the nations." No matter how things look in the natural, God is in control. He and He alone.

There is no power in heaven or on earth that can match the power of God. No principality or power can usurp His might and His sovereignty over all. There is no reason to fear … our God is THE "governor among the nations." He and He alone.

Wickedness may abound, yet God is in control. Unemployment may rise, yet God is in control. Prices of food and necessities may increase exponentially, yet God is in control. Family and friends may rise up and curse God, yet God is in control....

"Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you."  (1 Samuel 12:24)

The MERCY of God is one attribute that everyone finds easy to live with. If we're honest with ourselves, we often think, "God is merciful, He'll understand" when trying to ease our conscience when faced with a difficult decision. Even those that have not made Jesus Lord of their lives count on God's mercy thinking that He is too "good" to allow them to be eternally separated from Him because they never made a commitment to Him.

The FEAR of God, however, is another story. Our relationship with the Lord is nothing to be taken lightly. It is a serious duty we are called to time and time again throughout scripture. To fear Him is to honor Him, to reverence Him, to count Him worthy of our undivided love and adoration. We must be filled with truth...

"Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him."  (John 9:3)

The thing we desire the most—to please our Heavenly Father, to live a life which stands out as being contrary to the ways of the world. Just as the moon has no light in and of itself, we cannot truly "shine" without reflecting the glory of the Lord in all we say and do. We have no ability to shine on our own; we only reflect the light of the Sun.

The blind man was not responsible for his situation because of any sin in his life. His parents were not held accountable, nor his grandparents, etc. He was blind so the Father could be glorified in his life.

Ask yourself a question: Why am I the way I am? The answer is simple: So the Lord might be glorified through our lives. God, the Creator, in His omniscience, knew exactly what you needed...

"Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."  (Philippians 2:9-11)

Sometimes less is more. Today's thought may be few in words, but the words used hold more than all the words mankind has ever uttered or even thought of! There truly is no MORE—no greater name than the Name of Jesus.

There is no other name by which a sin-sick soul is healed.

There is no other name by which we can be saved!

The Name of Jesus . . . there is no other Name which evokes such authority yet imparts such unspeakable love and mercy!

The Name of Jesus . . . above all other names, above all principalities and above all...

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." (Genesis 1:27)

Please forgive me for my obvious passion for the unborn . . . but with the anniversary for the landmark court decision popularly known as Roe v. Wade this week, I can't think of a better time to explore the value of mankind in the eyes of a Holy and Righteous God.

God created man in His own image. God values human life so much that He made us as the image of Himself. What does that mean? Go look in the mirror. What do you see? You see the image of who you are. You see the image of your person reflecting back at you. This is what God did when He created man—He made man as a reflection of Himself. Before the fall, before sin entered the world, man was the express image of God reflecting Himself. Man was perfect, sinless, and he walked daily with the Lord in the garden. There was nothing separating God from man. Go look in the mirror again – there is nothing separating you from your image. What you see is the exact image of who you are; this is the value God placed on man!...

"But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works."  (Psalm 73:28)

Draw nigh to God, put our trust in the Lord, that we may declare His works. Interesting verse.

God's divine order would have it that we first and foremost cultivate our relationship with Him, for without it there is no foundation for trust and there is no passion for the testimony of His works. It is a good thing for man to carefully pursue and secure a relationship with God, above all things. As God draws near to us, we must run to meet Him, thus drawing near to Him. It is not only our duty; it should be our desire to have an ongoing and ongrowing relationship with Him.

The next step, however is putting our trust in the Lord. By putting our trust in the Lord, we proclaim that we will never seek after other gods, we will never prostitute...

"O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me."  (Psalm 139:1)

Many people have the fear that if they ever revealed to someone what they were really like, that person would reject them. There are many people who go through life thinking there is no way anyone could ever know them intimately and still love them. However, God knows us, better than we know ourselves. And, He loves us more than we could ever imagine!

God is omniscient . . . He is all knowing. And He knows all things about everything, and He knows them perfectly. He knows what we need before we pray. He knows and understands our suffering. He never misunderstands us or anything. We stand naked and open before Him. There is nothing He doesn't know.

Because He is omniscient, we have to remember that His ways are better than our ways. We must trust Him and be obedient to His Word because He knows what is best...