Mulibwanji!: October 2007

There is so much amazing stuff in this song! I almost don't know where to start. Part of me thinks I should start at the beginning, but my Zambian nature wants to start with "victors in the midst of strife". Ahhh decisions.

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee,
God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flow’rs before Thee,
Op’ning to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;
Drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness,
Fill us with the light of day!

Wow. He IS a God of glory and love. Lately I have been so focused on his wrath and anger that I forget the other ways He describes Himself: slow to anger, compassionate, and abounding in love. I couldn't remember exaclty where this was found, so I searched that phrase on Biblegateway.com and do you know what came up? No less than TEN places the Lord is described as such. I know there is more than that but I don't have time to search deeper. TEN! I know a lot of you will not read any further because this blog is getting long, so if you read nothing else read this:

GOD LOVES YOU! It doesn't matter what you've done or how far you think you've walked away. He is always ready and willing to offer forgiveness to the repentent heart. So PLEASE don't spend another minute away from Him because you think you don't deserve His love. The fact is, you don't deserve it. None of us do, but He is GRACIOUS and MERCIFUL and offers it to us anyway!

Ok, now for the scripture:

Exodus 34:6And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,

Numbers 14:18'The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion.

Nehemiah 9:17They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them

Psalm 86:15But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Psalm 103:8The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.

Psalm 145:8The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.

Joel 2:13Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.

Jonah 4:2He prayed to the LORD, "O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.

Nahum 1:3The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished.

It is not His desire that any should suffer, perish or be destroyed. He waits patiently for those He loves and gives second chances. He is a God of glory and love. This is the reason hearts open to Him. We love because he first loved us.

So I pretty much took over Amy's life this week. We bowled on Wednesday with Jared and Cade, watched Grey's and Private Practice on Thursday, went out with Josh and Jared on Friday, watched the Horns lose Saturday afternoon, went to see The Jane Austen Book Club Saturday night, and today I went back to her apartment after church for a nap. It was a great week and I am SO appreciative of her friendship. Here are some pics from the goings-on.

*The title of the blog is a quote from the movie (which I find not only fitting for the last week, but incredibly true to life in general).

Above: me, Jared and Amy at Union Park