Holy Adonai

A devotion by Gwen Smith

Today’s Truth
“Then said I, Woe is me! For I am undone and ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Isaiah 6:5 (Amplified Bible)

Friend To Friend
Have you ever been ‘undone’ before the LORD? Have you shaken your head in awe at the mere thought of being accepted as holy in His sight? The prophet Isaiah experienced God, in all of His splendor, through a vision that left him flat-out speechless.

“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above Him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:

"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of His glory."

At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." (Isaiah 6:1-5)

I shudder to think how often I approach this awesome, powerful, holy LORD without the reverence that is due Him. I confess that every fiber of my being should fall before Him and shout, “I am undone!” so much more than I actually do. Isaiah’s response takes us to the place we should be…face down before our holy, royal, heavenly King.

As a worship leader, I often find myself torn between feeling called and feeling unworthy of the call. The fact of the matter is – I am unworthy of the call. I screw up on a regular basis. I battle enemies like selfishness, anger, indifference, and pride. I struggle to honor my husband at times and wrestle with shame and guilt more than I’d care to admit. BUT GOD, through His only Son Jesus Christ, made a way for me to be holy and acceptable in His sight.

With the weight of this in mind, I was inspired to write the following worship song: (Adonai is a Hebrew name for God meaning “Master, Lord, LORD, or owner.”)

Holy Adonai
Words and Music by Gwen Smith

Majesty
Mighty King
You are God
Everything

Holy One
Father, Son
Matchless Lord
We're undone

You are the One deserving praise
You are the Lord of all my days
You are the royal King of Kings
The only reason we can sing

You rule in splendor from your throne
Within Your grace our hope is known
You are the God who reigns on high
Holy Adonai

You are holy, holy
You are worthy, worthy, worthy, worthy!

©2007 Audio 31 Music / Sunday Best Music / ASCAP / CCLI #4574314

(If you would like to hear and worship along with Gwen’s song “Holy Adonai,” CLICK HERE)

My dear friend, I can’t help but join the heavenly creatures as I shout from my home in North Carolina to you across the globe: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory." As you read this devotion in Maine, Florida, Texas, Idaho, California, Indiana, Brazil, Guatemala, Germany, India, Uganda, Croatia, Australia, China or Norway. In whatever city, whatever state, whatever country you reside, would you join heaven’s song and lift the name of the LORD high today as a united body of sisters? Let us be ‘undone’ together and bow before our King with a renewed awe of His greatness. He is worthy!

Let’s Pray
Most Holy Father, Adonai, I pray that You would forgive me for all the times that I have come into Your presence lacking reverence. You are worthy of all praise! May You become greater in my life and may I become less. Empower me to live a life that points to your glorious splendor.

In the matchless name of my risen Savior Jesus Christ,
Amen

Now It’s Your Turn
Read Psalm 103

Take a few moments to hum or sing a favorite worship song that focuses on awesomeness of God. (Here are some suggestions: “I Exalt Thee” – “Heart of Worship” – “How Great Is Our God” – “How Great Thou Art” – “Fairest Lord Jesus” – “Doxology”)

Do you feel unworthy to approach God’s throne this morning? His love is unconditional and His grace extends beyond anything you have done because of Jesus. He is waiting with open arms to embrace you right now. Go to Him!

More From Gwen
Hey friend. I hope you were spurred on to greater thoughts of God through this devotion. To worship at home with the song “Holy Adonai,” get a copy of Gwen’s BECAUSE CD.

God delights to transform lives…including your own. In her book, Broken Into Beautiful, Gwen Smith invites you to experience how the unconditional love of Jesus can change your life and then stand back and watch the wonder of grace at work. He is willing to eternally forgive and forget and to transform your life into something beautiful.

Unsearchable

A Song Devotion by Gwen Smith

Key Verses
“I will extol You, my God, O King, and I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever. Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable.” (Psalm 145:1-3, NASB)

From My Heart to Yours
I fell in love with my husband half-my-life ago, yet with fifteen years of marriage under my belt, there are still moments that I shake my head and wonder, “who is that man?” And while I may not have every mystery about him solved, I do know my husband. I know his voice, his touch, and his quirks. I’m a witness to his character, his personality, and his ways. The same is true about my relationship with God. Over the years, I have learned to hear His voice, to recognize His touch, and to understand some basic truths of who He is.

There are so many revelations of God in His Word. The Bible boasts of His greatness, glory, honor, and character. We know that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb 13:8), that God’s grace is sufficient for every repentant heart, and that His power is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). We know that His name is above all other names (Philippians 2:9), that there is no other like Him (Jeremiah 10:6), and that His wisdom holds secrets that are hidden from before time began (I Corinthians 2:7). And for as much as we know about the LORD, our knowledge of Him is but a fraction of grain of sand as held up the all the beaches on earth.

Though He is the mysterious master Creator who hung each star in the sky and calls them by name, He wants us to love Him, to trust Him, to know Him, and to worship Him. That thought alone sets my mind to wonder! God invites us to participate with Him in a vibrant dance of abundant life through His Son, Jesus Christ. Our amazing Heavenly Father bids each and every one of us to come to Him with questions, to be held by His love, to find peace, hope, and healing in His Son. He calls us to seek Him through prayer and experience new revelations of Him through His Word and through Holy Spirit.

The voice of all of creation shouts His praise! I encourage you to pause in this moment to consider Him…to respond to Him…to meditate on His glorious splendor. As you do, He will become the all-satisfying desire of your heart, while at the same time, He will stir up a hunger in your soul to know Him even more.

Let’s Pray
Holy Father, Your greatness truly is unsearchable! I pray that you will continue to stir up a hunger in my soul to know all the mystery of You that remains. Please cause me to think bigger thoughts of You, and to acknowledge You in all my ways. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Now It’s Your Turn
Read Jeremiah 33:3. "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." What does this verse mean to you? What does this verse tell you about the rewards of calling on our Lord? Thank Him for hearing your prayers and for healing your pains. Be lost in the wonder of Him.

Set-Apart Living, Part Two

Today’s Truth
“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” (Ephesians 4:29, ESV)

Friend to Friend
Yesterday we began to talk about living a set-apart life. We looked at our e-lives, the time we spend on computers, and were challenged to establish healthy boundaries to protect and strengthen our faiths. It was noted that God is the source of all holiness. In order to live a set-apart life, we must spend time with Him and then be fueled by His Holy Spirit. Today, we are going to consider how we can be set-apart (holy) with our words.

My ten year old son, Hunter, recently came to me with a humble confession. He said that, “because he hasn’t been spending much time with God lately, he has been grumpier and grumpier.” He quietly admitted that he has been mean to his siblings and has said some unkind things. With amazing insight, he connected the amount of time that he spent with God and in God’s Word with his behaviors ... recognizing that there was a direct correlation in his life.

Boy, could I relate to that! Tears welled up in my eyes as we spoke about this. I told Hunter that I experience the exact same thing in my life. That when I don’t carve out time in my day to spend with the Lord, I often say things I shouldn’t. For that matter, even when I do read my Bible and pray, I still say and do sinful things.

There was a time in my life when I really struggled with profanity. My tongue was a loose cannon. My church friends would never have known, but when I was angry, profanity was often present ... even if only under my breath. God has delivered me from that ugly habit, but it took over ten years of prayer. In those ten years, I failed repeatedly and struggled to believe that God could change my ways. It was a long-term process for me to be purified in my language, and I can assure you that it is only by the grace and strength of God that I can stub my toe now without needing to wash my mouth out with soap.

The Bible has so much to say on this topic! Here are just a few examples:

"Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." (Proverbs 12:18, NIV)

“My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.” (James 1:19-20, NIV)

“When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness.” (Proverbs 31:26, NLT)

“He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.” (Proverbs 13:3, NIV)

This is hard stuff. Living set-apart with our words is simply beyond us, but be encouraged, because all things are possible with God. We need to constantly fall before the Lord and ask Him to filter our words through the Holy Spirit. It’s important that we keep short accounts with God. When we do, He equips us to disarm the loose cannon of our tongues.

At the end my conversation with Hunter, I told my son that one of the most amazing things about our Heavenly Father is the mercy that He greets us with when we come before Him to confess our behavior. I said to him, and I say to you, God loves us so perfectly, that every time we turn to Him with a repentant heart, He offers us His grace. Go in His grace and live a set-apart life in the power of His Spirit today.

Let’s Pray
Holy Father, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14, NLT)

I ask this in Jesus’ Name,
Amen.

Now It’s Your Turn

· Meditate on Hebrews 4:14,16:

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

· Now, grab your journal and throw yourself into this devotion. What are your greatest areas of temptation and weakness regarding your words? Confess those to God and ask Him to grant you the mercy and strength to help you live a set-apart life.

· Read Ephesians 4.

More from the Gwen
If you are a Christian woman and you’re struggling to tame your tongue, know that you aren’t alone. Many believers struggle to honor God with their words. Keep praying and believing. The changes might not happen over night, but as you persist, God will work in and through you.

God delights to transform lives … including your own. In her book, Broken Into Beautiful, Gwen Smith invites you to experience how the unconditional love of Jesus can change your life, and then stand back and watch the wonder of grace at work. He is willing to eternally forgive and forget and to transform your life into something beautiful. To order Gwen’s book, Broken Into Beautiful, please CLICK HERE.

Into FaceBook? Check out Gwen’s MUSIC PAGE on FaceBook - leave a message on her wall – listen to a few songs – share the page with your FB friends!

Set-Apart Living, Part One

Today’s Truth
“Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15-16, NIV)

Friend to Friend
As Christian believers, we’re called to live set-apart lives. To be holy as God is holy. To be in the world, but not of the world. God is the source of all holiness, and in order to live a set-apart life, we must spend time with Him so we can be fueled by His Holy Spirit.

I don’t know what your days look like, but mine are pretty full. They start early and end late. Once the sun rises, it seems that coffee isn’t the only thing brewing in my house. An invisible competition brews daily that vies for my time and attention. The competitors are often “good things” that end up to be “time-robbing things” that keep me from God’s best and God’s presence.

Today I’d like to put our computer lives under a spiritual microscope. I’m an e-girl. I love my MacBook Pro computer, my iPhone, email, instant messaging, and the World Wide Web. Though I’m admittedly fully immersed in the e-life, I’m also cognizant of the fact that the e-world has become a dangerous addiction and spiritual deterrent to many. I struggle with this personally! These electronic forums host a new and efficient opportunity for us to connect with other people 24/7. While much of the social networking, online surfing, and emailing is innocent, encouraging, and fun, they clearly present us with opportunities to sin and be distracted from set-apart living.

Over the past several years, Facebook, MySpace, blogs, instant messaging, and chat rooms have replaced many face-to-face conversations and, for some, devotion time. They have become a new source of temptation for us, an opportunity to live a fantasy or a momentary escape from the daily grind.

A friend of mine recently said, “My computer whispers to me.” Yikes! Mine does, too! Though it’s embarrassing to admit, I sometimes don’t manage my time efficiently because I’ve given in to the lure of e-life by responding to the audio alert that indicates “I’ve got mail” or the notification that someone has left me a message on a social networking page of mine. As a result, I’ve robbed myself of productive time. Time I have wasted and spent unwisely.

We are warned against this in Scripture. “Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15-16, NIV).

Now, hear me clearly on this. I’m not saying that electronic forums or computers are bad or evil in and of themselves. (For goodness sakes, you’re reading this devotion because of the amazing electronic world!) I’m simply suggesting that it would be wise for each of us to pray about the amount of time and energy we devote to these things.

How can we be set apart in our e-life? How can we establish healthy e-boundaries that will protect our purity and our time with God? Perhaps we could start by taking an honest look at the amount of time we commit to our social e-lives versus the amount of time we commit to spending in God’s Word and in His presence each day. (Did that sting? Rest assured, it stings me too.)

The good news is that we can turn to God for direction and wisdom in all of this. “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5, NIV). Our gracious Lord longs for each of us to choose His best and live each day in His strength.

“God, make a fresh start in me.
Shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don't throw me out with the trash,
or fail to breathe holiness in me.
Bring me back from gray exile,
put a fresh wind in my sails!”
Psalm 51:10-12, MSG

Let’s Pray
Today I thought it would be fitting to pray directly from Scripture. “And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light” (Colossians 1:10-12, NIV).

Father, we ask this in Jesus’ Name,
Amen.

Now It’s Your Turn
Let’s get practical today:

• Spend some time in thought and prayer about this subject.
• Ask God to reveal to you any e-habits that are sinful, indulgent, or inappropriate.
• Check your on-line notification settings and consider eliminating unnecessary email alerts.
• Remember that God longs for your time and attention. Be certain that you don’t choose mundane activities instead of spending time with Him.
• Read Ephesians 5:1-20.

More from the Gwen
Hey, girlfriend! It just occurred to me that one of the biggest time-sucking e-temptations for me came from the homepage I had chosen on my internet browser. I used to have my favorite cable news network set as my home page. Every time I logged on to the internet, the headlines begged me to click their links. Today I went into the settings of my internet browser and chose a blank page for my homepage. I anticipate that though it’s not overly exciting to have a blank homepage, it will allow me to be wiser with my time. Hope this spurs you on to similar responses!

God delights to transform lives…including your own. In her book, Broken Into Beautiful, Gwen Smith invites you to experience how the unconditional love of Jesus can change your life, then stand back, and watch the wonder of grace at work. He is willing to eternally forgive and forget and to transform your life into something beautiful. To order Gwen’s book, Broken Into Beautiful, please CLICK HERE.

From God to You

My Child,

You may not know me, but I know everything about you. Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up. Psalm 139:2

I am familiar with all your ways. Psalm 139:3

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered. Matthew 10:29-31

For you were made in my image. Genesis 1:27

In me you live and move and have your being. Acts 17:28

For you are my offspring. Acts 17:28

I knew you even before you were conceived. Jeremiah 1:4-5

I chose you when I planned creation. Ephesians 1:11-12

You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book. Psalm 139:15-16

I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live. Acts 17:26

You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14

I knit you together in your mother's womb. Psalm 139:13

And brought you forth on the day you were born. Psalm 71:6

I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me. John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love. 1 John 4:16

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you. 1 John 3:1

Simply because you are my child and I am your Father. 1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could. Matthew 7:11

For I am the perfect father. Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand. James 1:17

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs. Matthew 6:31-33

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope. Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love. Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore. Psalms 139:17-18

And I rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17

I will never stop doing good to you. Jeremiah 32:40

For you are my treasured possession. Exodus 19:5

I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul. Jeremiah 32:41

And I want to show you great and marvelous things. Jeremiah 33:3

If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me. Deuteronomy 4:29

Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

For it is I who gave you those desires. Philippians 2:13

I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine. Ephesians 3:20

For I am your greatest encourager. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you. Psalm 34:18

As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart. Isaiah 40:11

One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes. Revelation 21:3-4

And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth. Revelation 21:3-4

I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus. John 17:23

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed. John 17:26

He is the exact representation of my being. Hebrews 1:3

He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you. Romans 8:31

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you. 1 John 4:10

I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love. Romans 8:31-32

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me. 1 John 2:23

And nothing will ever separate you from my love again. Romans 8:38-39

Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen. Luke 15:7

I have always been Father, and will always be Father. Ephesians 3:14-15

My question is…Will you be my child? John 1:12-13

I am waiting for you. Luke 15:11-32

Love,
Almighty God