In his search for meaning in life, the "Teacher" (aka, King Solomon, I think...) in Ecclesiastes related that he had chased after many of the same goals our own society glamorizes:
Think deeper...
party harder...
experiment with more options...
experience all that you can (Ecclesiastes 1-2).
But the Teacher discovered what many of us have learned. It's all a waste of time in the end, for "with much wisdom comes much sorrow" (Ecclesiastes 1:18).
In other words, sometimes the more we learn from the experience, the worse we feel. Ignorance can indeed be bliss! :-) And it can take a lot of false starts for us to find out what really matters, leaving us with a deep and pervading sense of regret and futility.
Life begins to make sense for us only when we learn to trust God and take His words seriously. Jesus was explicit about his purpose for us: "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10). Living for Jesus bring true fulfillment to life, and our searching souls find satisfaction only when we realize that He is the One we have been looking for all along, the One who alone can fill our hungry souls with all we need for true joy (John 6:35, 48-51).
Monday, March 27, 2006
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Getting Out of the Mud
"Get out of the mud my child, I have something much bigger planned for you."
Lord I need You. I need your strengh and grace. I was never meant to do this alone. Let Galatians 3:3 be inscribed on my heart...Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?...I'm weary because I am relying on my own strengh. I can't fight this giant with my hands. I call on You, Abba, my Deliverer...Deliver me. Let me embrace Your FREEDOM as I fall into your embrace. Thank you for your truth - and the freedom that accompanies that truth. Forgive me for not trusting you, for trying to orchestrate what only Perfection can do. Wash over me - and awaken deeper Love within me! I love you!
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Mourning into Dancing
Something I was thinking of after some talks with my sister and running this morning...
Being a follower of Jesus doesn't imply that bad times will never come...there are the mountains and the valleys - and the valleys are very real and sometimes painful, even when we are walking with God!
We live in a world polluted by sin and are compelled daily to deal with the consequences of that sin - both our own and that of other people. We do not escape the effects of sin just because we accept Jesus and his forgiveness. But the difference should be the manner in which we approach the painful aspects of our lives. If we know God, we can trust Him in everything - even in those valleys - and say "I will exalt you, O Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths" (Ps 30:1).
It is often when we are in the depths of those valleys that we really learn to count on God to get us through. When the walls that we have erected to help us keep our balance are knocked down around us, we begin to sink in the the 'slimy mire' - and we come face-to-face with the fact that God Himself is the only One strong enough to rescue us! Wow!
I think of David, and how he danced before the Lord in celebration after confessing His sin to the Lord. God turns our mourning into dancing, if we will seek Him and let Him!! (Ps 30:5 - though the sorrow may last for the night, His joy comes in the morning!!!) It is during these times that we experience new dimensions of our relationship with Him and receive fresh new assurances of His unceasing love and care....new revelations of His character to trust in the next time we're in the valley!
Dance before the Lord today and be encouraged!
Being a follower of Jesus doesn't imply that bad times will never come...there are the mountains and the valleys - and the valleys are very real and sometimes painful, even when we are walking with God!
We live in a world polluted by sin and are compelled daily to deal with the consequences of that sin - both our own and that of other people. We do not escape the effects of sin just because we accept Jesus and his forgiveness. But the difference should be the manner in which we approach the painful aspects of our lives. If we know God, we can trust Him in everything - even in those valleys - and say "I will exalt you, O Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths" (Ps 30:1).
It is often when we are in the depths of those valleys that we really learn to count on God to get us through. When the walls that we have erected to help us keep our balance are knocked down around us, we begin to sink in the the 'slimy mire' - and we come face-to-face with the fact that God Himself is the only One strong enough to rescue us! Wow!
I think of David, and how he danced before the Lord in celebration after confessing His sin to the Lord. God turns our mourning into dancing, if we will seek Him and let Him!! (Ps 30:5 - though the sorrow may last for the night, His joy comes in the morning!!!) It is during these times that we experience new dimensions of our relationship with Him and receive fresh new assurances of His unceasing love and care....new revelations of His character to trust in the next time we're in the valley!
Dance before the Lord today and be encouraged!
On Being the Body
"I remember hearing about an old comic strip. Two guys are talking to each other, and one of them says he has a question for God. He wants to ask why God allows all of this poverty and war and suffering to exist in the world. And his friend says, 'Well, why don't you aks?' The fellow shakes his head and says he is scared. When his friend asks why, he mutters, 'I'm scared God will ask me the same question.' Over and over, when I ask God why all of these injustices are allowed to exist in the world, I can feel the Spirit whisper to me, 'You tell me why we allow this to happen. You are my body, my hands, my feet.'" (The Irrestible Revolution by Shane Claiborne)
Monday, March 20, 2006
A New Generation of Kids
HEAVEN IS MOVED!!!
I have so much to learn from these kids - reckless abandon to Him and confidence in the authority He gives to His children!!!
"I call myself a wimp and I call You a majesty!"
"May we be smitten by your love Lord, that nothing else will matter, but how much we love you Lord"
WOW!!!
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Who Do You Say That I Am?
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." "But what about you?" he asked, "Who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heave, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." [Matthew 16:13-19]
God has been calling me to push my limits of my understanding of who He is. As I ponder who I say that He is - I fear that I fail to utterly grasp the nature of God. I have structured my conception of Jesus to fit within the parameters of my own expectations and desires. I am quick to confess that Jesus is the Son of God, but then I proceed to try to force Him into some opening that represents my own image, perspectives, and needs. My human nature wants to make Jesus palatable to this modern culture, rather than allowing Him to shine forth before the world as the crucified and risen Savior! I realized this morning that by doing that - I am doing the work of Satan...Satan wants to sensitize Christ so that Christ's people will not understand the power they hold, the freedom they possess, and the righteousness they have been clothed in. Beloved, God wants to entrust us with His power - but He will only do that when we KNOW who He is!
In Matthew 16:19, Jesus says whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. He wants us to BELIEVE WHAT HE HAS GIVEN US - power to bind the enemy, and loose the Holy Spirit on this earth! Oh how I want to believe Him to the absolute limit that He will allow me to! Increase my faith Lord, help my unbelief!
I have come to realize that we are directly affected by who we believe that He is and our faith (or belief) will never be stonger than the God that we perceive Him to be. Too often, I have trusted what other people have told me of who God is, rather than letting HIM tell me - and experiencing Him for myself. We are reflections of the God that we perceive...Oh how I pray that God is not a God cast in my own image or something I have conjured up - but the God of the universe, the maker of Heaven and earth, the Alpha and Omega, the King of all kings, the Lion of Judah!!! I don't want the King of my heart to be something that scares away the demons like a scarecrow in a melon patch (Jeremiah 10:4-5) - I want the King of my heart to be the Living King, who entrusts the keys of His Kingdom to me because I KNOW who He says He is, and I believe it with all my heart! Increase my faith Lord, let my life be a reflection of who You truly are, help me to believe and release the power you have entrusted to me!
He is looking for people who believe He is who He says He is - in order to release the power of the heavenlies on this earth! Who do you say that He is...
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
What do You Want from Me?!
I was spending some time with Jesus this morning, and was thinking about Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-16). Thinking about how the sacrifice that Abel made was beautiful to the Lord, yet the sacrific that Cain made was not. Beyond the simple reason that Abel's sacrifice was of his firstfruit, and Cain's was just what was leftover...I started understanding that Cain's offering represents every time that I know what God wants and yet I refuse to give it to Him. Oftentimes I quickly give Him other things, as if He won't notice...so I asked the Lord...
What is it that You want from me? What am I holding back, not giving to You? What is hindering me from living completely abandoned to You?
I picked up my pen to write a couple of thoughts down, and found myself scrawling this out...Now I journal some, but I always think through what I'm saying...never do I just write. And I found my hand scribbling across the page without warning...such beautiful words from my Lord! I wanted to share, because I think it's something that more than just me needs and desperately wants to hear from our Abba...
I WANT YOUR HEART. I WANT IT STEADFAST ON ME - SEEKING ME IN ALL THINGS. NOT JUST THE EASY THINGS. I WANT YOU TO FIND WHO YOU ARE IN ME - AND REST THERE. I WANT YOU TO SEEK ME ABOVE THE PLEASURES AND WASTING APPROVAL OF THIS WORLD. I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND HOW PRECIOUS YOU ARE TO ME. STACEY, MY LOVE, I DELIGHT IN YOU. DID YOU HEAR ME? I DELIGHT IN YOU!! LET THAT GRIP YOUR HEART. LET THAT DEFINE WHO YOU ARE. LET THAT BE WHAT CARVES OUT THE PATH OF YOUR DAY. I LOVE YOU, AND I KNOW THAT YOU SEEK ME PASSIONATELY - BUT NOW BELIEVE WHAT I TELL YOU TO BE TRUE. I PURSUE YOU. I DESIRE YOUR HEART. LET THAT BE WHAT YOU SEEK AFTER. SEEK MY APPROVAL. BE A CHILD OF ONE THING. OH MY PRECIOUS DAUGHTER - SEEK MY FACE, DWELL IN MY HOUSE, GAZE UPON MY BEAUTY...AND NEVER BE SATISFIED - ALWAYS SEEK MORE. AND TRUST THAT I WILL GIVE YOU MORE OF ME. LET ME SPEAK REVELATION UPON YOUR HEART AND SEAL IT WITH MY BLOOD. DON'T LET THE EVIL ONE OF THIS WORLD CONVINCE YOU THAT YOU ARE NOT WHERE I WANT YOU. I KNOW WHERE YOU ARE - SEEK ME, DWELL IN ME, GAZE UPON ME. I LOVE YOU MY SWEET, SWEET ONE. I LOVE YOU!!
Friday, March 03, 2006
Everlasting Burning
GET A HOLD OF THIS!!
It is in the safety of the 'Everlasting Burnings' that our hearts are kept from offense even in the hour of great testing. When we have surrendered to the highest Flame, our hearts are protected from all lesser flames. When we voluntarily give ourselves to be bondservants of love, we are slaves to no one else. We are in truth finally free. When we have submitted to the wound of the Love of God, all lesser wounds have no power over us. When in the perplexities and pains of our afflictions, we will reenact this scene found in the Song of Solomon, having but one response, the response of the lovesick heart of a lovesick Bride.
from Deep Unto Deep by Dana Candler
It is in the safety of the 'Everlasting Burnings' that our hearts are kept from offense even in the hour of great testing. When we have surrendered to the highest Flame, our hearts are protected from all lesser flames. When we voluntarily give ourselves to be bondservants of love, we are slaves to no one else. We are in truth finally free. When we have submitted to the wound of the Love of God, all lesser wounds have no power over us. When in the perplexities and pains of our afflictions, we will reenact this scene found in the Song of Solomon, having but one response, the response of the lovesick heart of a lovesick Bride.
from Deep Unto Deep by Dana Candler
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Waiting
~ Though I sleep, my heart is awake ~ Though it's night, on you I wait ~ It's been a long night, and I am weary ~ It's been a long time, and I am hungry ~ So I wait in the stillness again, I wait in the quiet again ~ When I heard your voice, when you said my name, when I heard your voice, my heart it yearned ~ In the middle of the night, my heart it yearns ~ Though you're far away, still I'm here to say 'I am Yours' ~ and when you feel so far away, still I'm here to say 'I am Yours' ~ (Misty Edwards)
As He asked his disciples on the night before His death, Jesus is asking me: "Will you watch with me? Will you endure this night with me? And will you fellowship with me, even in it's blackness?"
O Lord - let my answer be a resounding yes!
YES - I will watch with You, I will watch as You surround me with Your love, as You reveal Your heart to me, as You withstand trials in my life to woo me closer to You.
YES - I will endure this night with You Lord, knowing that though the sorrow may last for this night, Your joy comes with the morning. Your ever-present and perfect joy.
YES Lord - I will fellowship with You. Even as You are silent. For I trust in who You have revealed Yourself to be...I trust in Your perfection...I trust in Your definition of good for my life.
And so Lord I wait, I wait for Your perfection. I wait for what You have in store for me - I choose You.
In Your silence Lord, I say yes to You. Though I cannot see - I say yes to all that You are, to all of Your ways. I believe in Your love. I say Yes to Your hand on my heart.
Have Your way with me Abba - take me to depths unknown, and sights unseen, and to the fullness of Your love. Ruin me with that love. Waste me on the presence of You. I want You. I want Your perfect plan, my King. Take me there, until only love remains.
My heart lives today because I believe that Your silence is Your answer to awaken my heart in greater love. I trust and place my hope in Your sovereignty Daddy.
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