....never fails

love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely; does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

Be Thou exalted over my reputation.

Be Thou exalted over my reputation. Make me ambitious to please Thee even if as a result I must fall into obscurity and my name be forgotten as a dream. ^A.W. Tozer

recently i have fallen in love with this peom. =) jimmy needham wrote it, and it comes from the quote above. he even reads it on his latest albumn (so go check it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a72yM5D2oSA it's only 2 minutes.)
 nightlights.
be thou exalted over my reputation,
'cause applause is a poor form of soul medication.
and I've tried it for years, but my symptoms remain:
still fretting the day that they'll misplace my name,
still selling my soul for american fame.
treating the promotion of Jesus like a well oiled machine,
advancing His kingdom just to snag some acclaim.
now, i'm both comforted and haunted that it isn't just me though.
i see a nation of people needing to feed their own egos,
parading status like steeples.
do we not know it's evil to love ourselves more than both God and His people?
but see, here's where you turn this poem on it's head,
'cause the greatest among us came as servant instead,
and You humbled Yourself to the point of Your death.
apparently love for the Father's glory runs red.
so friends, will we point to the Son till our own flames grow dim?
will our bright lights become merely night-lights near Him?
words echo once, let them echo again:
be Thou exalted over my reputation

innocent as doves

Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.

^Matthew 10:16

George Müller.

growing up, i loved the stories of faith that i read about a man - who lived in england- and cared for 10,024 orphans. this same man opened 117 schools that brought Christian education to over 120,000 children. he never made requests for financial support, nor did he go into debt; and still God allowed millions of dollars (equicalent of $150 M) to pass through his hands. through his prayer and example hundreds of thousands were led to the Lord, and he lived to be ninety-three years old. what was his 'key' to success? what brought this unwavering faith and security that drove away the fear and stress he probably could have been under?

^Phillipians 3:7-9
    "But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him,"

Mr. Müller's faith in God was strengthened each day and he spent hours in prayer and Bible reading; and, in his later years, he read the entire Bible, cover to cover, four times every year. his prayer was 'legendary', and there are countless stories of modern day miracles, present day examples of God's strength. he prayed about anything and everything - and - expected each prayer to be answered. this courage was not out of pride or false trust, but of faith. it wasn't of a spoiled son who asked for what he wanted, but of a servant who's desires were exactly like his Master's. one who knew His heart well.

when he was asked about his faith, he said:

"I was converted in November of 1825, but I only came into the full surrender of the heart four years later, in July 1829. The love of money was gone, the love of place was gone, to love of position was gone, and the love of worldly pleasures and engagements was gone. God, god alone became my portion. I found my all in Him; I wanted nothing else. And by the grace of God this has remained, and has made me a happy man, and exceedingly happy man, and it led me to care only about the things of God. I ask affectionately, my beloved brethren, have you fully surrendered the heart to God, or is there this thing or that thing that which you have taken up irrespectively of God? I read a little of the scriptures before, but preferred other books; but since that time the revelation He has made of Himself has become unspeakably blessed to me, and I can say from my heart, God is an infinitely lovely Being. Oh, be not satisfied until in your own inmost soul you can say God is an infinitely lovely Bing!" [Man of Faith and Miracles by Basil Miller]

may i always surrender like that. may i always prefer Him. and may i always be a woman of prayer.

when asked about prayer: here are some of the things he said....

"I seek at the beginning to get my heart into such a state that it has no will of its own in regard to a given matter. Nine-tenths of the difficulties are overcome when our hearts are ready to do the Lord's will, whatever it may be. When one is truly in this state, it is usually but a little way to the knowledge of what His will is.

"Having done this, I do not leave the result to feeling or simple impressions. If so, I make myself liable to great delusions.

"I seek the will of the Spirit of God through or in connection with the Word of God. The Spirit and the Word must be combined. If I look to the Spirit alone without the Word, I lay myself open to great delusions also.

"Next I take into account providential circumstances. These plainly indicate God's will in connection with His Word and Spirit.

"I ask God in prayer to reveal His will to me aright.

"Thus through prayer to God, the study of the Word and reflection, I come to a deliberate judgment according to the best of my ability and knowledge, and if my mind is thus at peace, and continues so after two or three more petitions, I proceed accordingly. In trivial matters and transactions involving most important issues, I have found this method always effective."