Loving Jesus

Before I set out on the little post, just know there is a point.  There always is.

When I was in 7th or 8th grade, my friend and I attended a Youth event during the summer. One of the closing hymns, nope the only closing hymn, was "As the Deer."  I know it was the only closing hymn because we sang the chorus near a 102 times.  To the point, that my friend whispered to me "I wish that deer would make it to the water already."  I obviously haven't forgotten that story because I just retold it here.  But the song stands out in my mind too: "As the deer panteth for the water/ So my soul longeth after thee/ You alone are my hearts desire/ And I long to worship thee."  Taken from Psalm 42:1, it's definitely a clear picture of what our life should look like as believers.  Just as a thirsty deer wants to make his way to the waters for refreshment, we should be longing for continual fellowship with Jesus.

And now for the token Duck Dynasty reference.  I love it.  I love the beards. I love the way they share their faith. I love the way they live their faith. And I think Jase is pretty darn funny. I love them even more so now that I've officially read the Phil Robertson biography.  I feel like that takes fandom to a whole new level.  Each episode closes with a prayer. Yet, the one that remains in my mind is this: "Lord may we love you more today than we did yesterday."

Tie all that together, and you get this (at least for me anyways):
I pray that my heart would grow to love the Lord more than I did yesterday.
I pray that I would continue to know the power and sufficiency of His grace.
I pray that I would be captivated by the gospel and the sacrifice made for me.
I pray that I would be captivated by God's love for me.
I pray that I would love Him in the most sincere way possible - with all of my heart.
I pray that I would be refreshed in His Word.
I pray that my days would be filled with prayer to discern the knowledge of His will.
I pray that I would yearn for the Lord in a way that I never have before - a hunger and thirst for Him.
I pray that in a world full of distractions, He would remain on the throne of my heart.
I pray that the peace of Christ would rule.

These are prayers I've been praying for quite some time.  I am so thankful to see how He is answering each one of them and increasing my desire to know Him more.

In other news, I think I'm going to start another something on the blog.  I've been studying James for a couple of weeks during my morning time with Jesus.  He's become my main man - aside from Jesus obv.  This is what I think about the Book of James - it's practical instructions of how to live out true faith.  And because of that, I want to share some stuff.  And because it's my blog, I can do that! So look for it.. once a week.. James.  It'll be good!

PS- If you are in the Raleiggghhh area and want to get involved in a summer Bible study, FB message me or comment here. I think I'm going to do one again. Just need that interest level, and we can get that ball rolling.