consumed

I have spent recent days in much thought about being IN love with Jesus. Not just loving Him, but being IN LOVE with HIM. Being in love means that you can't wait to be together, can't stand to be apart. That you enjoy being together and look forward to that time. It is intense. It is intimate, passionate and consuming. Consuming....that is a word. When you are IN LOVE and in COVENANT, you consumate that relationship. The act of two becoming one flesh consumates the covenant. It is the act of being consumed with another and by another.
I am only beginning to understand that Christ IN me is the hope of glory. That it is no longer I who lives, but Christ IN me. Being IN love with Jesus, means being IN Him. Being IN Him, means being consumed by Him and with Him. It is the act of 2 becoming one. It is not Christ and me, but Christ IN me.
I think many of us love Jesus, but most of us are not IN love with Jesus. We have not given ourselves to Him. We have not been consumed with Him. I want to love Jesus, but I also want to be IN love with HIM. I want to not be able to wait to spend time together, hate being apart, constantly calling upon Him. I want to so enjoy our time together that nothing else on earth could bring such pleasure. I want it to be intense, overwhelming, intimate, passionate and CONSUMING. All of Him and None of me...nothing else.

ALL FOR YOU

believing is seeing

and He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief. Matt 13:58

Truth was truth then and it is true now. The reason we don't SEE Jesus work is the same as it was 2000 years ago...we don't believe. He does not do miracles where there is no belief.
What is the answer? Lord help our unbelief...so that we may SEE more of YOU!

ALL FOR YOU

ALL FOR YOU

Have you ever felt imprisoned...not necessarily behind bars, but captive none the less? Held in bonds in something that makes you feel like a prisoner? Have you ever felt trapped in your own life. Captives of our own souls? I have. But once you taste freedom...there is no turning back to that life. Once you taste and see that the Lord is good...well, freedom is an acquired taste. It comes from tasting and then yearning for more-being willing to fight for and to chase after it.

I have been thinking a lot about the issues of FREEDOM. In fact, I have been overwhelmed by the thought from Galations 5:1 that says it is for Freedom that Christ came to set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

I long for MORE FREEDOM. In fact, I am realizing that God created us to be free. From the beginning it was so...in the garden of Eden. Yet, sin came and took us captive, making us slaves. However, Christ came that we might be free...and free indeed. But not the kind of freedom most of us think. It is the freedom to do what is right, not to do whatever you want. For once we are freed from sin, we are enslaved to God-and God alone.

We were not meant to be captives....we were meant to have freedom.
Col 2 says IF you have died with Christ, (picture of true believer!) to the elementary principles of the world, WHY as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as "do not handle, do not touch." If God has granted us freedom, then why do we live as if we are captive? Why do we continually submit ourselves to the religious rules? The Pharisees had over 600 rules. Just rules...is that freedom? They meant nothing...and Jesus said so. Do we really need rules if we are free? Could it be that freedom is the ability to do what is right without the rules enforced...out of a love, passion, intimate relationship?
In Gal 5, Paul addresses this topic yet again by saying do not subject yourself AGAIN to a yoke of slavery. (he goes on to talk about circumcision-which was an outward sign of religion that people were trying to press in on others.) I love that word again....it so applies to us. AGAIN-as if we have done it before. He knew we were going to do it. He knew that we would be pressed to conform even in church. He knew that His yoke was easy and light and so He speaks to the issues of freedom concerning these things.

God wants us to have freedom, but it is our choice. We must stand firm and choose not to subject ourselves to the yoke of slavery. We must not submit ourselves to the decrees of man, but follow fervantly after God. We must know that Freedom is found in following Him alone.

John 8:36 says if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
John 8:32 says that the truth will set you free.

Jesus is all about FREEDOM in HIM.....and that means in HIM....nothing else, nothing more. God is not a warden, but a deliverer. He is so committed to your freedom that He was willing to be taken captive Himself and crucified for it...so that you could run free. But freedom in Him....looks like Psm 119:32: I RUN in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.
Freedom is running after Him and His commands.
Gal 5:13 says for you were called to freedom, only do not turn your freedom in to opportunity to sin, but through love serve one another.
1 Peter 2:16 says act as free man, but do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves to God.
Rom 6:22 says But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.

Freedom.....not to do as you want, but to do what is right. Enslaved to God. So running after His commands that your heart is set free, not bound to the yoke of slavery-of sin or religion, but to be free in the truth, free indeed. Free to serve, free to love, created to be free, called to be free...free to stand firm...to discipline your heart. This is true freedom....

and I want more!ALL FOR YOU

Anniversary

Today is my 16th wedding anniversary. It is a GOOD day. My husband brought home a dozen roses, a card and a promise of a night out....and a night in....lol! God has blessed us with a Covenant Love...it is a good thing, a God thing.
As I thought about our love and the celebration of it, I have been amazed by the journey we have been on and look forward to the journey ahead. I am mesmorized by the idea that through 16 years, good and bad-the passion has not faded, but only increased through the bonds of intimacy. Intimacy is key-not passion. For from intimacy comes passion.
The same is true for our walks with Christ. The longer we walk, the passion should not fade away. In fact, it should be more intense as the intimacy grows deeper. It make look different...more focused, more intentional, but it is strong and vibrant none the less.
Just like marriage, our passion and our intimacy for one another has got to be priority, that which we work on and are intentional about-so that our love does not fade away. I am thankful for a husband who understands that...and for a FATHER who explains it to us...so we can have good relationships!
Time to freshen up...I have plans....
ALL FOR YOU

Revolt

Revolts bring about revolutionaries. From revolutionaries come change. Jesus could be described as a revolutionary. Which caused me to pause and wonder what He would revolt against. Sin would be the normal answer, but I am not totally sure that is what His revolt was all about.
Although He came to redeem us from sin, as I read the gospels I am challenged by the thought that Jesus revolted against religion. In fact, He was down right defiant against it. He antagonized the religious. He was in their face. His very teachings stood in the face of what they stood for and taught.
I am wondering if Jesus walked the earth today, if the revolt would be the same. I can't help but hear Him say a resounding yes. A revolt against religious. He is simply looking for people whose hearts are fully His, fully seeking Him, full on, full throttle.
I wonder if Paul walked through our town if He would see our places of worship and think we worship an 'unnamed god' instead of the One who created it all.
I am thinking....Revolution is needed. We need a revolutionary-Jesus, to lead the way. He did...He revolted against religion and was defiant against hypocrites. If He is in us...Shouldn't His cause be ours?
ALL FOR YOU

ALL FOR YOU

2 responses

Jesus enters a small town and finds 2 men possessed by demons. The demons immediately recognize Jesus and realize that their end is coming. They say to Him, "if you are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine."
I have heard many ask what the pigs did to deserve such a sentence, for not long after the demons entered the swine, the pigs ran off the edge of the cliff into the sea and died. The story is not really about the pigs. In fact, it isn't really about the demons either. It is about the herdsman, to whom the pigs belonged.
You see, the pigs had herdsman that were at the very least watching over them. When Jesus sent the demons into the pigs and the pigs went over the cliff, the herdsman had a response to Jesus. They ran away!
They ran away and went to the city to report everything that just happened. Now, in my opinion, the event was a pretty miraculous, cool thing that I would have loved to have been present for. However, these guys thought differently. In fact, I am guessing their report was less than favorable. I mean...They did lose their pigs in the deal.
So, by the time Jesus got to the city, the whole place came out to meet Him. Not to say thanks for saving us from the demons, for making it where we could pass by the place where they were, for the miracle, for not sending the demons into ME. NO, they came out to implore (strong word) Him to leave. Jesus, the Son of God shows up, casts demons into pigs and the people ask Him to leave. Why? Because they lost their pigs? Crazy thought!

But when we encounter Jesus, we have 1 of 2 responses to Him. We are either amazed by Him or we will implore Him to leave. We will either be gripped by the amazing grace, mercy and sacrifice of Him or we will be afraid of loss, change and His power and will implore Him to leave. We will either be drawn to His love, His tenderness and forgiveness or we will be fearful of what He will require, the transformation that He will bring and what that will mean to us.
The question today....Is which response do you have to Jesus? Think carefully-before you say the first. Be sure that you have not asked Him to leave because what He wants done makes you uncomfortable. You would rather be in control of your pigs than to lose them to the King.
ALL FOR YOU

hypocrites

Reading through the sermon on the Mt in Matthew, my eyes fell on these words in chapter 6; "do not be like the hypocrites". Four times in that one chapter, Jesus speaks to His disciples and says the same thing. DO NOT BE LIKE THE HYPOCRITES! I think He was trying to get a point across to His followers.
There is grave danger for us and for the church when we don't heed Jesus' words. Today, the nice word for hypocrite is "religious".
So what does a religious/hypocrite look like?
1 : a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion
2 : a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings
an actor, a stage player, a pretender
Throughout His ministry, Jesus vigorously exposed and denounced the hypocrisy of many, especially the scribes and Pharisees-the religious leaders of their day. They paraded their charitable deeds, praying and fasting as a theatrical display to win the praise of men. They sought to give the appearance of being godly, but they were actually blind to the truth of God. This is what Jesus WARNS against.

Hypocrisy is professing to be what one is not and is generally applied to religious character. It is forbidden to the Christian .

And yet, so many of us engage in the charade. I don't even think we realize that it is a charade. Honestly, most of us think we are 'religious' and that is enough. But as I seek to find the answers to this problem, I am drawn back to the words of Jesus. Don't play the part. Don't be religious. Don't go through the motions of do right things. Don't be involved in liturgy, rote or traditions of man. Don't put on an appearance, dress up and pretend to be fully chasing after me when you are not. Don't parade your good deeds before men, when I see what is true. Don't sing songs you don't mean. Don't do what pleases yourselves in worship, do what please ME.

Isa 29:13 Then the Lord said, "Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from me, and their reverence for me consists of tradition learned {by} rote,

Don't be like the hypocrites....these are Jesus' words to His disciples.
So are we?


ALL FOR YOU

shout out!

Just a little shout out to the EBAG girls. Love you guys!
ALL FOR YOU

is it written on your face?

Have you ever met someone that can't hide their expressions, passions, feelings and emotions because no matter how hard they try-it is written all over their face? I am one of those kinds of people. Somedays that is good, somedays...not so good. My passions, my frustrations, my love, my zeal, my disappointments are all written all over my face. I am a what you see is what you get kind of person.
Although I am sure that there are many who would like me to hold it in, pretend, conform and control that about myself, I am not sure it is something I want to change. Because the very thing that gets me in trouble sometimes is also the thing that makes me long to live out loud, reflect His glory and be passionately ALIVE for the Lord Jesus Christ.
I want to be as MOSES...who sat in the presence of God and as a result had the glory of God written all over his face. In fact, He shined so brightly that the people had him place a veil over his face because the glow was so strong that they were afraid. Moses' face was a light beam of the glory of God, unable to hide the presence of God and the power of God in His life. It was written all over his face.
Could it be that I could SO get in the presence of God that His glory could illuminate me and make me the reflection of His glory...beaming out my eyes and written on my face? Oh yes...that is my prayer. Make me a mirror of YOU!

So I am thinking about these things...and while at camp, my son gave me a perfect reminder of what that might look like. He was on the RED team at camp and so jealous for the world to know what team he was on that it was written all over his face. Although, I don't recommend you using your face as a coloring book, I am thinking that the principle is the same-may the passion for our team be so strong that it is written all over our faces!

ALL FOR YOU