Emmanuel

If we could condense all the truths of Christmas into only three words, these would be the words: "God with us." We tend to focus our attention at Christmas on the infancy of Christ. The greater truth of the holiday is His deity. More astonishing than a baby in the manger is the truth that this promised baby is the omnipotent Creator of the heavens and the earth! John MacArthur4



Amazing to me that we don't think more on the truth that God came not to merely redeem, but to instead be WITH us...and more importantly IN US. He came that we might be crucified with HIM and life FOR HIM, so that He coud live IN US and THRU US. Because life isn't really about us...it is about HIM, making much of HIM, celebrating HIM, Loving HIM and being the correct reflection of HIM. We have the gospel confused with a story about us. It is but a small part we play in the epic story of HIM. Don't be confused, God loves us and did give His Son for us, but He did so because it makes much of HIM.



GOD with us...Emmanuel. I am way thankful for those words this Christmas. But more so, that He came so that He could be IN US....because apart from Him I am nothing. He is the I AM. This Christmas, have you made much of HIM or delighted in this world, the gifts of it and self? Or are you choosing to deny self, carry cross and follow, making much of HIM and delighting IN HIM?



How much time have you spent this Christmas delighting on IN the ONE we celebrate? I don't just mean attending church, but seriously thinking on, meditating on, reading the Word of, praying to, fixing your hope on, conversing about, sharing with others about, focusing on? We have forgotten that God's whole intent was not merely to rescue us from Hell, but to instead establish relationship WITH US, by coming TO US and bridging the gap betwen us. In doing this, He provided a way into the Holy Place, a place where no one but HE gets to go. Because HE is in us and we are in Him, we get to go boldly into the throne room, the inner court, the Holy Place. This....this....it the most precious, indescribable gift of all. Not salvation from hell, but the gift of HIS PRESENCE everyday.

ALL FOR YOU

no competition

Today, while having lunch at a restaurant, my waiter mentioned that his birthday was next week. He seemed to be pretty bummed about the timing of his birthday, for he mentioned in passing what a terrible time to have one. I wished him a happy birthday and thought that would be the end of it. However, his next comment startled me. He said, “who can compete with Jesus?”
In essence, he was admitting that it was a terrible time to have a birthday-a time when people normally celebrate YOU, because this is the time of year when everyone was celebrating Jesus-and who can compete with Jesus. He is so right. I immediately stopped and said, “you are right, NO ONE compares with Jesus.” And my next thought was, no one COMPETES with Him either. He WINS-hands down, every time.
I have been thinking about that all afternoon. No one compares to Jesus. No one competes with Jesus. People may try. People may even try to get you to make less of Him so they can be more in your life. People may try to deter and keep the focus on them, but in essence when they do they are stealing from Him, what is rightfully His. People may try to make a competition with time, money, affection and energy-but though people may try to compete with Jesus, nothing compares and therefore HE will win every time. To try and compete, puts you in the loser’s seat EVERY time.
We spend life thinking life should be about celebrating us. But in essence, we were created to make much of Him. We don’t do that by making much of self or by demanding that others make much of us. So, while I am sorry the young man feels like he is competing with Jesus, I am glad he understands that no one can win that competition with him. Perhaps, we all need to be reminded. Life just isn’t about celebrating us…it is about HIM.
ALL FOR YOU

people

I was driving through town today when I realized I was getting irritated. I wasn’t in a hurry to get to where I was going, nor was I on a time schedule, but I was not able to get to where I wanted, at the rate of speed I wanted. I was behind every slow driver, caught every red light and there was a line at every intersection. There was no reason to be irritated, but I was. I thought to myself….
“I wish these people would get out of my way. I could get to where I wanted to be so much quicker, if it weren’t for these people.”
That is when that voice that I know to be God boomed inside my head. You know the One that puts things in perspective and makes you realize just how wicked you are. Yes, that’s the voice. The One that speaks to your soul and causes you to realize how selfish you are.
And what did that voice say? “Christy, why are you always so interested in your destination. I am more interested in the people seeing Jesus in you along the way, not that you arrive at where you are going. Your destination is already determined, but you are to affect the people in your path. So, slow down…life is about people seeing you love me more than all, not getting to the end.”
It was then I realized the whole point for my outing was about people. Where I was going, what I was doing was about people. And it was in that moment, I turned the radio up and had a little Jesus party in my car. I didn’t need to run over anyone to get there. I just needed to go where He told me to go and be where He told me to be and not let people deter me on the way or get me frustrated. For it is in going where I am supposed to go and being where I am supposed to be and in not letting life or people deter that…that the world, the people around me see an unfathomable love for Jesus and He gets a ton of glory for that. So sometimes, He allows others to stand between me and my goal, simply so that they can see a life not deterred by them in getting to my destination. I am GOING and won’t be stopped. But instead of being frustrated by those in my way…perhaps a little party going on instead… so they see the passion with which I love my Jesus and want to know why and what makes that happen. It is because I KNOW THE LOVE OF CHRIST and the surpassing value of HIM over all things.

Eph 3:19-21
19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God.

ALL FOR YOU

survivor

I was watching Survivor last night, which is a rare thing. One, because I seldom watch TV, but two because I haven’t kept up with Survivor and am usually not interested in stepping into something in the middle. But last night, I just sat down beside my man for a few and watched and listened. I was actually eating a yummy apple fritter, so I was really more interested in the down time to enjoy that than the show, but something caught my attention. It was the fact that one of the players was quoting from memory passages of Scripture from Ephesians. I heard God’s Word coming through loud and clear and my ears perked up. A believer in the game of survivor. Oddly enough, he has seen favor as he continues to win immunity, play with integrity and has advanced. Everyone knows he is a threat and everyone sees that he has the potential to win-so they want to take him out. Not because he is bad, doing something wrong, but simply because he will keep them from what they want.
Isn’t that how we view life? We are playing Survivor, thinking we have to outwit and outlast, instead of realizing the whole game is about relationship. And not with the ones you think. We are working so hard to develop a network of people that we think we need in order to be able to get to what we want to win and totally forget that it is all about the ONE who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond what we can think or ask. Oh, we add Him to the game, but we play to outwit and outlast, instead of building the relationship that brings Victory.
We might survive playing the game of life, but I would prefer to be Victorious in the end. Not outwitting or out lasting, but being given immunity and deliverance, victory and redemption in the end. Not interested in a jury of my peers giving me a reward, but in the everlasting reward of the ONE who grants success to those who choose to walk in love with Him. I might not get the affirmation, the million dollars or the reward of being a survivor, but I will achieve the crown of life and be granted to sit on the throne with My Jesus because I didn’t play a game, but was instead a Victor linked to the King.
Many of us are Believers playing the game of survivor, instead of Believers that are walking victorious. Will you spend your days trying to outwit and outlast or walk knowing you have overcome the world and there is no reason to play the game? You have already won! Are you trying to take others out so that you can move ahead in the game?

I Jn 5:4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world-- our faith.

Which are you playing?
ALL FOR YOU

football? really?

What we do for football?

I have been thinking a lot about the way our society celebrates football. Not that it is a bad thing. I love football. It is a great game and brings our communities together. It creates teams and allegiances, forces healthy competition. It gives us something to root for and to identify with. Our team….whatever that may be, is something we will do crazy things for.
Let’s think for a minute; what we will do for football.
We will stay up late or get up early.
We will let our kids miss school, stay up past bed time and skip homework.
We will miss yell and scream, stand to our feet and cheer.
We will subject ourselves to less sleep and deprive ourselves of other things and people we love for it.
We will watch and rewatch the game or play on dvr.
We will drive great distances, pay outrageous prices for tickets and buy food that is way overpriced.
We will plan to be gone all day and sometimes all night.
We will pack food for all day, so we don’t have to leave.
We will sit in uncomfortable seats, eat outside out of our trunks and plan for weeks what our schedules look like around the game.
We will sit through unbearable heat, freezing rain and blistering winds.
We will be sure that our friends are going and that we are not alone.
We will go early for good seats, stay late to visit with the players.
We will study the teams and their plays.
We will get worked up when a bad call is made and defend, yell and stomp our feet at the injustice.
We will cheer for the players, encourage them and when it is time to rally, we don’t hesitate to make a stand.

And these are just a few things we will do. And this is if we aren’t even PLAYING in the game. These are things we as spectators do for a game we call football.
I guess my question today is…have you, will you do any and all these things for Jesus? And not just for a season, but a lifetime?
Will you stay up late or get up early? Let your kids miss school, stay up past bed time and skip homework. Will you yell and scream, stand to your feet and cheer. Will you subject yourself to less sleep and deprive yourself of other things and people we love for Him.
Will you watch and rewatch the teaching and listen to podcost?
Will you drive great distances, pay outrageous prices for tickets and buy food that is way overpriced? Will you plan to be gone all day and sometimes all night, pack food for all day, so you don’t have to leave?
Will you sit for hours in uncomfortable seats, eat outside out of your trunks and plan for weeks what our schedules look like around church.
Would you sit through unbearable heat, freezing rain and blistering winds.
Will you be sure that your friends are going? Would you go early for good seats, stay late to visit with the people? Would you study and get worked up when a bad call is made and defend, yell and stomp your feet at the injustice.
Do you cheer for the players, encourage them and when it is time to rally, don’t hesitate to make a stand?

What is it you say that you love? Football…..Jesus….
Your feet speak loudly….
ALL FOR YOU

known

Gal 4:9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again?
I have read this verse a million times. And it has convicted my heart a million times about returning to the very things that I have been freed from. God has been most gracious to free us from the weak and worthless things of this life and yet, I seem to somehow enslave myself to the very things He has freed me from.
But today, something fresh has torn open my heart from this verse. Often we teach people that they need to know God. We tell them to study the Word and to seek Him. We develop classes, plan services, orchestrate settings so that people can know more about God. And this is of God. It is His desire that we know Him.
And yet, the thing that has struck my heart is even deeper than that. Is it more important that we know God, or that we are known by God. At the end of this life, what we know of God and our confession of knowing God will be of little value if our God doesn’t know us.
One of the scariest verses of Scripture in the Bible is Matt 7:21-23
21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.
22 "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?'
23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'
Many will SAY that they know God, but that is not the most important thing. The ONLY thing that matters is that you are KNOWN BY GOD. For on that day, your confession will not be what gets you in. It will be the fact that HE KNOWS YOU. It is not nearly as important that you know God as it is that you are known by God.
I can say all day long that I know people. But the true test of knowing is do they know you? And not just your name. We can say we know people by name dropping, but the truth is can they call yours and is there relationship to back it up, because that is what true knowing is all about.
You may know His name and profess to know Him, but the only thing that matters is does He know your name and does God have relationship with you that backs that up?


ALL FOR YOU

well done

My Memama was quite the cook. In fact, we ALL loved going to her house for 2 reasons-which were actually the same. We always knew we would get fed. Not just physically, but spiritually. In fact, my Memama is where I learned to drink coffee and why when I am talking about Jesus, I usually have a cup in my hand. We would all gather around her table and feast on Ham, Roast, Turkey, dressing, squash casserole, green beans, mac and cheese, rice and gravy, deviled eggs, pasta salad and more. You never left her table feeling anything but miserably stuffed. If that weren't enough, there was desert. Memamas famous strawberry cake, just dripping with icing and melt in your mouth delicious. And with that cake, came a cup of coffee. With that cup of coffee came conversation of what Jesus was teaching or what she was studying. She spent hours preparing a meal and spreading a table, just so we could get filled up, but not just on food.

I will never forget visiting at her house about a year before she went to see Jesus. She had her friends for lunch and I dropped in on the tail end of their lunch. Pulling up a stool for me at the table, they were having desert and she began to ask me what Jesus was teaching me. Sitting with 9 women in their 80's, I was blessed to share but also to have coffee and Jesus with them. Memoma was always cooking up something, but not just fill our bellies, but our hearts.

I was visiting with my Mom this past weekend and she was sharing with me about Memamas oven. Apparently it had a thermometer attached to the inside of her oven and you could place it in the middle of your meat. This helped it read whether it was the right temp on inside, not just the outside of the pot, making perfection in her cooking. The last setting that her oven was set on is indicative of her journey, not just her cooking. It read..."well done".

Isn't that our goal? To get to the end of our days and for our life to read well done. Not over done. Some days, I am pretty sure mine might read, burnt, over done, scorched. Still other days, it probably reads raw or rare, undone. Instead the goal is to get to the end and say Well done. This doesn't come by dealing with what is on the outside, but by what is on the inside. God searches and knows our hearts, (Jer 17:10) and is will put us in the oven and bring us to the point of WELL DONE.


ALL FOR YOU

wisdom

been writing the past few days on wisdom....while preparing to start writing on something new.
so wisdom is finding out what you should do and then doing it.
wisdom is not mere knowledge, but applied knowledge.
so in thinking that thru and running the new thoughts I have thru that filter. If we can discover HOW to live life in the PRESENCE of God...(which is a huge task in and of itself) what are we going to do with it once we know? Will God reveal how, if we are not willing to do something with it...because He who knows what is right to do and doesn't do it...it is sin.
So why would He reveal how...if we are not going to do it.
The question that lingers today is if HE is reaveals, will you do it?
Because wisdom is finding it out AND doing it.
Sin is knowing it and Not.

ALL FOR YOU

Over my head

OVER OUR HEADS

While at the beach, the tide went out and it became evident to me that if I was careful, I could swim out to the second sand bar. As a kid, living in Florida, that was a great place to find sand dollars and to float in peace to the rhythm of the sea. So a friend and I (never do this alone), dove in and began to swim through the surf out to the second sand bar. The water was beautiful and the waves were perfect. It was shallow for a really long way and it was cool to be able to look back from the depths to the shore and see life from a different perspective.
But it only took a few minutes for some others to discover what we were doing and follow behind. Realizing we had company, we decided to start swimming back towards the shore because we didn’t want anyone to be unsafe. I could touch bottom, but knew the tide would shift and the current would be an issue for those who were not familiar with that kind of water. As the tide was changing and we were swimming in, it often felt like we were swimming, but going no where because of the current. It was not a riptide, just the tide going out, but it meant we were going to have put our heads down and swim in, instead of just the casual swimming that most of us do. So, I put my head down and started to shore, only to look back and realize that was not the case for those behind me. I swam back out and instructed them to just put their feet down, to touch bottom. Not being as tall as I was, it was over their head. So, I reached out my arm and said, “come on, we’ll do it together.” Easy enough, we swam together towards shore, a ride on my back til they could touch and then instruction to put head down and swim.
We were out over our heads, in the deep. The perspective was awesome… It is always good to realize that being over your head is not a bad place to be, as long as there is another to help you along.
Sometimes, I think we are afraid to dive into the deep in with God because we are afraid we will bite off more than we can chew or find ourselves over our heads, unable to touch. But not touching isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it is in those moments that you have to reach out, lean in and rely on another-not just be independent and rely on your own strength or ability.
Brian Littrell has a song called “Over My Head”. The lyrics say that being over my head is where I want to be so that I am lost within His love, a love that covers and is strong and cleansing like the tide. That in the place where I am over my head, I can find a place to rest. And to let the current pull you deeper into Him. That Jesus was the hand that reached out to us, when we were over our heads. The words are nothing more than my experience in the surf.
So dive in deep with Him and find yourself over you head, go with another-never alone, but know that His current will pull you deeper into Him and you fill find rest in being over your head.
Ps 42:7-8 Deep calls to deep at the sound of Thy waterfalls; all Thy breakers and Thy waves have rolled over me.The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime; and His song will be with me in the night, a prayer to the God of my life.
Doxa


ALL FOR YOU

Markers

MARKERS

On a recent trip to Atlanta, we encountered a little excitement. We were moving swiftly down Interstate 85 when the white Denali, 2 cars in front of us began to slow down drastically. The van in front of us swerved off into the median and all the traffic behind us began to slam on brakes, including the tractor trailer truck on our right. The Denali slowed to almost 10 miles an hour and was swerving from lane to lane, blocking both lanes of traffic. It crossed to one side and then the other and then back. We finally got to a place where we could pull up beside it and discovered the man traveling alone in his car was having a seizure and was not conscious. His vehicle was basically unmanned and wrecking havoc on I-85. It finally swerved across all lanes of traffic and climbed up an embankment and stopped. The car was still running and the man was still seizing when my husband and I parked the car and jumped out and ran to help him. The car was locked and there was no way in. I called 911 and asked for help. The operator immediately asked me where we were. To which, I had no answer. We had not been paying attention. We were driving and talking and all I knew was we were someplace on I-85 passed the wine place and before we entered Atlanta. The woman asked me what the mile marker was on the road. I couldn’t see it. It was too far away. So she asked me to run towards it and to tell her. So, I started to run down the interstate with my phone to my ear, while my husband tried to get the man to wake up and unlock the door. Meanwhile, he looked up and saw me running down the interstate and thought I had lost my mind. He didn’t much like the idea of his wife running in flip flops down the interstate. When I got within eye shot of the mile marker, I told the woman and she dispatched help. A few minutes later the fire truck arrived and help came to rescue the man, who was very lucky not to have killed himself or anyone else.
However, the whole chasing after the mile marker episode got me to thinking. Markers are very important. If it had not been for the marker, no one would have known where to come for help. It gave direction and marked the road so that rescue could happen. It also helped us to see where we were when we didn’t know where we were.
Markers are important on the roads we travel, on the journey of life. They mark the way and show us where we are, how far we have come and help us to know where we are going. This is not a new thing. God instructed His people wherever they were to leave markers, altars, memorials or signs to mark the way, so that those who came behind would remember the way and walk in it.
Markers have become a VERY important part of my life. I was glad that there were markers on the road to help rescue that man, but I am all the more thankful for markers, memorials and altars that have marked my road, my journey and keep me on track, show me the way and help me to remember where I have been and where I am going.
What kind of markers do you have in your life? Perhaps you need to begin to lay some mile markers so that you can find your way. I can look back at my markers and say….wow, look how far we have come…or remember when. And know that the Lord has been with us every step of the way.

Doxa
ALL FOR YOU

Been spending time thinking about Jesus...no, I don't mean Jesus...like yeah, I know Him, I mean like the kind of thinking that goes on when you are obsessed, possessed, in love, can't stop thinking about, dying to be with and see kind of thinking.
Honestly, the last couple of days have found me kind of drifting. Not really DOING or thinking about anything. Many would tell me we all need the down time and I am good with down time when it sends me to rest in His embrace, listen to His Words or relish His Presence, but I am not okay with veging on a couch or just doing nothing-wasting time or whatever.
I think that there are times when we miss Him simply because we don't want to see Him. We are tired of Him. We need a break. It has been too much. Can you believe I am saying this? It should not be. And He lets us...so that we will miss Him and want to come back...to the place where we find him waiting.
So been thinking about Jesus. I think we take Him for granted. I think I take Him for granted. Instead of being totally obsessed with Him, we just love Him and leave Him. Thinking He will be there when we get ready to come back. Even if it isn't some dire sin we walk into, isn't it worse that we can just choose to spend time elsewhere and not even realize we miss Him til we are already away. I want my heart to miss Him the minute we are apart so I will come back running. I want to be so possessed by Him that I can't be away a minute before my heart feels estranged and alone, wanting Him...
That is the Love i want with My Jesus...
so today, Jesus, take me, possess me, obsess me and captivate me with You...so that no drifting is possible...I don't want to miss...cause I want us always to be together.
ALL FOR YOU

RIDING ON THE RIMS

Ever had a Bubble Gum Day? You know, one of those days when everything goes wrong and then you step in gum and it is just the last straw that makes you lose it. It’s not that the gum is really that big of a deal, but that everything prior to it exacerbated the situation until that one thing just sent you over the edge.
I had one of those days this week. Not to whine or even share all of my problems, but yesterday started out to be a Bubble Gum day. It started with a phone call saying Noah had forgotten something he had to have for his testing. As I was headed to take him what was needed, I got a text saying Micah had forgotten his lunch and I needed to take care of that. Already, my morning was on tilt.
Trying to redeem the time, I choose to ride my bike to the school to make the delivery, thinking I could exercise, worship with His praises in my ears and make the delivery. I ride quite often, so this should have been an easy task.
The wind was blowing and it felt as though I was towing a boat behind my bike. Climbing every hill got harder and harder. My phone kept shutting off every five minutes and I would have to stop as it would vibrate and see what the issue was. Every mile seemed like ten. I was huffing and puffing and could not believe what should have been an easy task was so difficult. I was tired, sweaty and aggravated with myself, thinking this is ridiculous.
I arrived at the school, made my delivery and went to get back on the bike when my phone freaked again. When I stopped to deal with the issue and looked down, I realized I had a problem. A bigger problem. I had 2 flat tires. I had been riding on my rims for 6 miles. No wonder I was tired.
It is one thing to ride and go the distance, it is another thing to try to do it on the rims. You just need air in the tires to keep the journey from being insufferable. So, I called Jim and asked him if he could meet me at a gas station to give me some money to pump my tires up. I pedaled on my rims another half mile and thought to myself…this is just a Bubble Gum day. Jim met me, only he didn’t have any money…so riding home was not an option. He took one look at my tires and said, “you haven’t been pumping them up, have you.” Well, duh…apparently not. (not what I said…lol) So, we loaded up the bike and he gave me a lift to the house.
All of us have Bubble Gum days. And all of us have times in our lives when we realize we are riding on the rims. Times when we haven’t been putting air in our tires . We start out with good intentions, but life feels like we are towing a boat behind us. Days where we struggle because there is no air, no breath, no wind beneath our wings. Just pedaling on the rims. And in those moments, we don’t need someone to say, “you haven’t been putting air in your tires.” We need someone to help us put air in our tires so we stop riding on our rims.
Riding on the rims is dangerous. It can damage the whole wheel. It is also costly because it requires that you exert twice the energy to make the same journey. Riding on the rims can cause you to not finish because you can’t go the distance without the air, the pump up. It wears you out. Life on the edge, riding on the rims isn’t the way we were designed to make the journey.
But Jim was right in asking me about the air in my tires. Maintenance is a vital part of being able to continue on the journey, so you don’t end up not finishing, on the edge, working double, and being frustrated. We need moments to put air in our tires. Moments where God can breathe fresh wind into our dry bones. (Ez 37) Where the Spirit can cause us to mount up on wings like eagles. (Isa 40) When Jesus can call us aside and say come away with me and find rest. (Mark 6)
Riding on the rims can cause you to have blow out, a crash and burn. So perhaps, we need to step aside and let Him breathe on us so that when those Bubble Gum days come we don’t end up losing it.
My bike still sits in the garage, in need of air. But today, I am letting the Spirit breathe on me so that I don’t live life on the edge or ride on the rims. How about You? Do you have someone that can help blow your tires up and get you going again? Someone encouraging you to take time for maintenance? Someone who won’t let you just live life on the edge, but wants you to have the fullness of God’s breath on you so that you don’t crash?
Or are you just riding on the rims?

Isa 40:28-31
28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable.
29 He gives strength to the weary, and to {him who} lacks might He increases power.
30 Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly,
31 Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up {with} wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.
(NAS)

ALL FOR YOU

It’s that time of year. Where the sun comes out and bud’s spring forth, bringing with them the beautiful signs of Spring and the promise of warm weather. Winter is over and the warmth from the sun creates Spring fever, bringing yard work, spring cleaning, open windows, flowers and warm breezes.
Air conditioners will soon be running, as will lawn mowers, weed wackers and blowers.
But my favorite part about this time of year has nothing to do with any of the above. Instead, I love that the sunshines down and with it comes the chance to just lay in it. I LOVE to lay out in the sun. Sometimes, I lay in the middle of the street on the warm asphalt. Other times, in a chair by the pool. I love that just by getting still in the sun-that it changes you. Yes, I am talking about getting a tan. And I am NOT the only one who loves to tan…I know I am not alone.
I was sitting by the pool yesterday, soaking in the rays, knowing that I probably was sitting a little too long and would be red, but loving it too much to stop. As I was basking in the warmth of the sun, the Lord was quick to awaken a desire in my heart. Not for the sun, but for the SON. Suddenly, a word picture began to develop in my heart. Would it not be nice to find time to just bask in the SON?
Moses knew that time in the Presence of God changes you. His face glowed as a result of being in the SON, to the point that they asked him to veil His face. His glow was apparent. He had been marked as a result of His time with the Lord. Physically marked. His countenance changed, His face shone bright and people knew where He had been. Acts tells us that it was apparent that Peter and John had been with Jesus. You could just SEE it all over them.
Would it not be nice to get still, in the SON, and find ourselves changed and marked, glowing as a result of just being with Him? Would it not be awesome to find space and place to be just linger in His Light and to let His radiance be reflected from our faces because we took the time to let Him change us. Spring is often a time for busy activity. Ball games, cleaning, yards and more. But it also brings with it a desire to play in the sun, to enjoy the warm weather and yes, even get a tan. But perhaps, we should be just as motivated to lean in and linger in the SON and find our lives marked by His Light. You may have a really good tan this summer….but how’s your heart reflecting Jesus? Will everyone know you have been with Jesus just by the reflection of your face? We will spend time and even money to be sure our skin looks as if we have been in the sun. But will we spend the same time and money to be sure our lives reflect someone living in the Presence of the Son?
Doxa….Christy
ALL FOR YOU

God is not our maid

Have you ever cleaned up a mess, only to have someone come behind you and dirty it up as fast as you clean it up? I have 3 sons and it seems that as quickly as clean up, they mess up. It is so frustrating. To spend all that time cleaning, only to have it dirtied is an aggravation. But also to have those you love not care about the time and energy it took to clean it up, makes you feel unappreciated. Not to mention, the carelessness of just making a mess and thinking someone else will take care of it. And why is it that we think it is okay to mess up what someone else has cleaned up without any concern for what it cost them to do so?
It was in the thinking through of these things that I began to get more and more aggravated. That is, until the Lord convicted me of doing the same things. Perhaps not with the house, but certainly with my heart. God, in His grace, sent Jesus to clean up my mess. And as quickly as He cleans me up, I seem to dirty myself up again. Careless and with lack of concern of what it cost Him, I choose to step into the muck and mire and track it around, assuming that God will come again and clean it up, forgive and make it right. After all, that is what He does.
Don’t you know that it grieves His heart to see the lack of gratefulness and the bulk of carelessness that comes out of us. He cleans us up and we just dirty us up again-assuming He will just be the maid and clean us up again. While He is a God that cleanses, restores and redeems. Do we really want to be children that just assume God is our maid. That assume that we deserve the right to do as we please, mess up and then have Him come behind had clean us up over and over again…making light of His sacrifice and the gift of His Son. We trample His gift of grace when we just continue in sin so that grace may abound (Romans 6). He sent Christ to restore and cleanse and we should do all we can to keep ourselves from the stain of sin, not track it up all the more. God is not our maid. He is our Savior.
ALL FOR YOU

cheating Jesus

I have begun to take a fresh look at the truth that God is a Jealous God. That from the beginning, He has been clear that there would be no other God’s but Him and that He will ask for the very things that threaten that….our loves, what we worship and serve. (gen 12) We also looked at what He would do if we do forsake Him as our ONLY love…that He will visit that iniquity on 3 and 4 generations behind us. And that if we do love Him like that-that He will bless by the thousands.
The question is…do we believe what He says is true? Do we believe that the best, most loving thing and the thing we can do to most bless God and those things we love is LOVE HIM ONLY, so we can love other rightly. Do we believe He IS jealous and will do what HE said?
I have been thinking about the friction we feel and how it feels wrong to cheat on our families with Jesus. We struggle with the idea of letting go because HE gave it. And yet the very thing HE gave we have worshipped, served, obeyed and loved more than Him. We somehow justify that it is okay to cheat Jesus, particularly if it is with something He blessed and gave.
And the Lord took me to the verse that is rocking my world.
2 Cor 11:2-4
2 For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, that to Christ I might present you {as} a pure virgin.
3 But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity {of devotion} to Christ.
4 For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear {this} beautifully.

Wow….we have been betrothed, married to and given/taken to One, that is Christ. And yet, we think it is okay to step out on Him. Much like Eve, we have been led astray by the craftiness of the serpent who deceived us into thinking it is okay to LOVE something other than God with ALL and have been led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to CHRIST-our husband.
Simplicity. I love that word…it means singleness. Our SINGLE simple devotion is CHRIST.

We were betrothed and given to CHRIST. He is our single, simple, pure devotion.
He says, that if we do not embrace this, then we have accepted, received and listened to a different gospel than that of Jesus. We will have trusted in something that is not real.

Perhaps it is time to reevaluate and to ask if we have been deceived. God is a jealous God and will not share, will not accept our leftovers. He was clear…He wants ALL and there is both blessing and cursing that comes if we obey or don’t. But the crux of it is that if we do not live as if we understand His jealousy and are betrothed to HIM, we have embraced a false gospel.

So while we struggle with the friction, but perhaps our lives look more like us cheating on Him with the things He has given, than us cheating on them with Him. And perhaps, He is just coming back to claim what is rightfully His-His bride. Where are we stepping out on HIM? Isn’t that the real question?
ALL FOR YOU

sinday

I was texting a friend recently about what had happened at church that morning. I didn’t realize til later that a texting typo error had occurred. RE-looking at my typo, I was struck by the significance of that error. Not because of the letters being wrong, but that it perhaps held more truth that I wanted to admit.
I am all about words being a word picture. And this one was just that. A word picture. In trying to type the word SUNDAY, my text instead read sinday. Do you see the problem. Sunday is usually a day where we spend time focused on the Son-Jesus Christ. It is a day created by God to totally set our hearts and minds on Him alone.
But for many of us, it is more sinday than SONday. I get that we go to church on that day, but that doesn’t really make the day all about the SON. We call it a day of rest, thinking it is a day we should relax, focus on what we would like to do and kick back from a hard week’s work. But that is not what Scripture says. Scripture is clear that Sunday, Sabbath, SONday is to be a day where make much of Him, set our hearts and passions to listen and to serve Him. In fact, the Word says we are to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy-set apart, distinct, in use for HIM.
Instead we use SONday to indulge our desires, to entertain family, to catch up, to rest, to be lazy, to do what we want…instead of asking the question-if this is YOUR day…what do YOU want me to do with it that will honor You, make much of You and cause others to see the greatness of You. In some ways, what was intended to be SONday, then becomes sinday. A day where we take what the Lord has given and use it for our own pleasures instead of our pursuit of Him.
I think we need to be careful. We will stay up late for ballgames and keep our kids out late for plays, dances, sporting events and dinner out with friends-but we will use them as an excuse not to gather with other believers because the “need to be in bed’. We will spend money on high dollar tickets to events, games, movies and plays-but will not offer the same sacrifice to the Lord. We will rise early and be on time to work, but be late to the House of God for worship. We will require that our children be at school and have homework done, but let them skip time with the Lord because they are tired or need to get their homework done. We will ground our kids from church, instead requiring them to go. We will choose to spend our afternoons doing yardwork or sitting by a pool, playing golf or with our kids and then find we are too tired to focus on the Lord. We will stay up late watching TV, surfing the net or doing chores, but we will not sacrifice for time with other believers or time in the Word. It is so easy to see how SONday could easily become sinday, just by the simple choices that we make.
Perhaps it is time…for us to reevaluate and makes some different choices. God wants us to SET apart time JUST for Him. Not fifteen minutes…he wants the equal of a WHOLE day every week. 24 hours….Is this happening in our lives. Can you say God got a full on…dedicated 24 hours this week? We will make that effort for our families….what about God? Is it possible that Somedays are just sindays because there was no SON in the day. Or perhaps there was some Son in the day, but has God gotten a set apart day from you?

Exod 20:8 "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.


ALL FOR YOU

I never want it to appear as thought I worship the words or the life of my Memom. However, I do know that I could follow her footsteps all the way to Jesus and so when I sit to read her journal; there are days when the Lord uses her words to pierce my soul. Today, was one of those day.
Jan 7 echoes in my soul;
I always want to give you thanks EVERY morning for EVERY blessing you give me. Lord, I WANT to do YOUR WILL in ALL that I do. Help me to put FEET to my prayers.

She was in such pain and struggling so. She was discouraged and wanting answers-for at this point had not yet been diagnosed. And yet, her prayer was EVERY morning, EVERY blessing. Eph 1 reminds us that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies. She understood this. And wanted to embrace the blessing of life-even suffering-doing HIS will in All. Certainly there were days that she asked for “this cup to pass” from her. For healing and deliverance. But in the end, she wanted His Will and she wanted that in ALL-even death. What a picture of Christ. And then as if knowing the difficulty that lied ahead….help me…to put feet to my heart. Her heart belonged to another. But she knew her flesh would be weak and she would need HIM to enable her to live out what her heart longed for.

I may not have cancer (today), but what an example of how to live and die for Christ. Do we long to live the will of God in all things-and then beg Him to help us to do it?
Perhaps our prayer today is much like hers…I want to do your Will in all things…help me put feet to my prayers.
Embrace the cross…
ALL FOR YOU

owned

“There’s a piece of tape on your back.” That is what the little girl said to me during TREEHOUSE yesterday morning. Apparently, sometime during the course of the morning, one of our youth thought to put a label on my back with a word on it. I had no idea he had done that, nor what it said. However, once TREEHOUSE was over, there was a little girl kind enough to enlighten me to the prank.
I had had a really tough week. Circumstances and people were sucking life out of me and I felt pulled in many directions and a failure at most of it. I was discouraged and hurt, tired and ready to just say enough. However, the Spiritual disciplines of my life had kicked in and I was pushing through-but only just doing the “deal”. I was a little better by Sunday, but had asked the Lord to make Himself evident in the course of the morning, to just speak and remind ME of what He had done and to affirm a journey that I had been on.
So, when I pulled the tape off my shirt, I had no idea it was God’s way of marking me for the day-that is until I read what it said.
OWNED.
I am sure the teenager was being funny, but in essence He was God’s hand on my back. In an instance, He reached down and marked me. I didn’t even know it. But as I sat on the edge of the stage looking at this label…the Lord whispered…in that beautiful way that He does. “you are mine. I have directed your steps. I have called you my own. No one else gets to determine your course.” The words to Isaiah 43 ran through my mind. You are precious, beloved, called, honored and I love you. I formed you. I made you and you were created for my glory. You are mine. Do not fear, I am with you. You are OWNED.
Then, I remembered the lesson the Lord had taught me months ago. He is my Kurios. My Lord, My master. The one to whom I belong. I am HIS beloved and He is mine. I am OWNED. I am not my own, but His. And those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, but He also pursues. He guides, speaks and doesn’t let wander, but instead instructs with His Spirit.
I hung my head and looked at what was meant to be a prank, but became God’s Word to me. I am OWNED. I belong to someone. And only the one to whom I belong gets to have me. And He will not lead me in a path that is wrong, but will lead me in paths of righteousness and truth.
I smiled and took that label and proudly put it back on the front of my shirt, unashamed of the fact that I am not my own, but OWNED by Him. And that HE determines every step.
In a world, where many others want to determine your steps, I can rest in the fact that I belong to HIM.

Isa 43:1 But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!

Doxa-zugos
ALL FOR YOU

We parked our car in the downtown parking lot. It only took a few minutes for the parking attendant to head our way. He didn’t like the way we parked and was trying to be sure he got his money. Settling up with him and unloading from the car, we started our brief trek across the parking lot to where he was now standing. Stopping briefly, he began to ask questions.
“are you guys going to that Christian event?”
“yes, we are.”
“so you guys are Christians?”
“yes, we are.”
“Well, I guess that has value, but…”
“It has a ton of value…eternal value.”
“yeah, but there is a difference between just being part of a religious event.”
There it was….the opening in the conversation I was waiting on. It was apparent he had parked cars of many going to the same place I was going. Who knows how many conversations he had with them, but this one was not going to be about an event or about “church”. He was right. There is a difference in just being a part of a religious event.

“you are right, there is a difference between having a religion and having an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.”

We waited, not knowing how the words might fall. With his hands in his pockets, a smile crossed his face. He looked at us and said…”now that’s what I’m talking about. You and I, we are on the same page.”
Right on…the guy was just looking for some real authentic conversation about the event that was going to happen. Not saying others weren’t or aren’t authentic, but I am saying that it was obvious this guy was looking to see if we were just nominal Christians coming to an event or the real deal.

People are watching. They are looking to see if we are the real deal or just doing the deal. They are looking to see if we are passionately in love with Him or just talk about loving Him. They are watching to see if we just go to church or are the church. They are looking for something real and authentic, not just people who go on Sunday morning, but people who will have conversation with the parking attendant about a relationship with Christ-not an event or a religion, but about Jesus.
Not saying that I am all that. Believe me, I fall short…and there is no shortage of people to point that out in my world. However, people are watching. And if they had to judge your walk based on your talk, we all might do pretty good. But it isn’t. It is based on the authenticity of your pursuit of Him. It is based on whether you Love Him with all. What if the only Jesus people ever saw….was YOU. Would they see HIM? Or could they not get to Him because of what they see in you?

2 Cor 5:20-21 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin {to be} sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

ALL FOR YOU

tabernacle

Last night, I attended the start of Passion City Church in Atlanta. It is a church that is being established on the vision of being FOR GOD, FOR PEOPLE, FOR THE CITY and FOR THE WORLD. And for now, they are meeting in different venues all across the city, until the Lord reveals where they are to plant their feet for the duration. Last night, we met at the TABERNACLE in downtown Atlanta. The TABERNACLE is now a night club/music venue and is currently operated by the world’s largest live music company..
But last night, it returned to being a church. Let me explain. In 1909, Len Broughton had a vision to bring the church to the hub of Atlanta’s activity, near the train depot downtown. In 1897, Third Baptist Church, a small congregation of 300, moved into downtown Atlanta and began to minister to the people there. By 1909, they realized they needed a bigger place to meet and with a vision unrivaled a 100 years ago, they set out to build the largest church in the southern United States. Sept 3rd, 1911, they opened the doors and within 15 min the place was filled. They turned away over 3000 that day.
And here we were, almost 100 years later, using a building that has since been used to promote the worship of the world, doing what it was intended to do. Yes, there were signs of the world all over the building…but there was still something sacred about that place. It’s original intention was to be used as a place to draw people to worship the Living God. And though it has been used along the way to do something other than that on this night, it returned to being a TABERNACLE for the LIVING GOD. A place where His glory dwelt and a place where He dwelt among us. We were doing exactly what had been done 100 years previously…packing the place out for the purpose of exalting the Father.
A Tabernacle is a dwelling place. The question on most days is WHO dwells here? Not in that building. But within us. We are the Tabernacle of the living God, but quite honestly, we are quick to be judgmental about having church in a place that has housed such wickedness along the way. And yet, we are no different. God’s original intent for us was to be His dwelling place. But we too, deviated from that and allowed our lives to be marked by the evil of this world. However, in HIS grace, we have the opportunity to return to the original intent and to make this place a House of prayer and worship, a place He can dwell.
Pretty cool that we got to be a part of returning a place to it’s original intent. To use what has been used for evil as good. There is more to this story. But for now, perhaps we should not look at the building we worship in but our own hearts and see how we have allowed the world into it. Somehow we want our buildings pure, but are okay with mediocre, half hearted, lukewarm followship…we are no longer a sacred tabernacle for our God. Let’s start from the inside out.
ALL FOR YOU

budlight2

Okay, I am still stuck on the Bud Light sign. You remember, the Bud Light sign in the night club where I attended church. But this time, I am stuck on it for a different reason. When Jesus called us to come follow Him, He declared that He was the Light in the darkness and that we were to follow the Light-Him. And when He told us to make Disciples, He gave us a plan for doing so.
When Jesus gave us the plan for making disciples, He said that it was to be life on life, one at a time, doing life together. He gave no instruction or plan for mass reproduction. Instead, He instructed them to love among themselves (John 16-17) and to spend life doing life everyday together so that as long as there is day, they do not fall away from the faith, but instead stir one another up by way of reminder (Heb 3, 2 Peter 1).
So perhaps the thought of calling people to follow a BUD Light might be exactly what is needed. NO! not the drink. But a call that says, get your Buddy, you know…the one God has entrusted to you, and walk in the Light together. Follow the Light together. Follow the Light in Your Bud and find more of Him together. Be a BUD LIGHT-a light for you Buddy.
God’s plan from the beginning was that we walk in the Light, not in darkness. But it was also His plan that we do life together with another. Not with a ton of people. Go back and read John 13-17 and see for yourselves. He was all about telling His disciples to stick together as 11 and to show the world they are His by how they love and serve each other. In fact, He says that by loving another this way, washing their feet and clinging to the Word, that the whole world will come to know Him. Pretty backwards thinking…that by loving a few, the many might know. But it was His plan. That buds…walking in the Light together, might lead others to know the Light.
So maybe a BUD LIGHT sign might be just the sign we need in church. Not to draw us to drink, but instead to be reminder that we are to make disciples, by finding one, focusing on the one and reproducing the Light in that one. A Bud…a Light.

John 17:9-10
"I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom Thou hast given Me; for they are Thine; and all things that are Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine; and I have been glorified in them.

Doxa
ALL FOR YOU

worship in a night club

Recently, I attended a church service in a night club. Kind of a different environment to have church in, but pretty cool. It wasn’t a Christian concert or an event of some sort, it was a “church service”. But because it was in a night club, there wasn’t the normal icons of church around us.
One of the many things that caught my eye was the BUD LIGHT signs that hung everywhere. Not your usual sign that is seen in a church. They weren’t lit up, nor were they selling drinks, but it was a little odd to walk in for “church” and see that on the wall.
Towards the end of the night, there was a time of response offered for those who wanted to receive Christ or perhaps talk to someone for some help. The person who was giving instructions as to where people could go to respond said, “just go to the Bud Light sign.” And then she realized what she said and we all laughed. Just follow the light, it will lead you to Jesus-the Bud Light sign will lead you to Him.
Quite sure, Bud Light won’t lead you to Jesus, however, it made me stop and think. Here I sat in a night club, worshipping Jesus with all I have and when given the opportunity to respond, the call was to follow the Light. And although it was a Bud Light sign, that in and of itself made me stop. Many would have been offended. But not me. Instead, I began to think that perhaps the Light that many think are leading them on is not really the Light they should be following at all.
Jesus was different. He was not full of religion and regulations. But He was not merely full of love and tolerance either. He is both Love and Sacrifice. Light and Life. Grace and Mercy. But also, Justice and Wrath. Jealous and God exalting. He did not tolerate half hearted followship, nor did He approve of those who wanted only to obey the Law. He wanted us to have a heart to fully know Him and obey Him. He called us to follow the Light (John 1, 14). But His ways were not the traditional ways of the day. He might have stood on a stage and said follow the Bud Light. Not the drink, but the unconventional way of the cross.
So, while I laughed at the response being offered to follow the Bud Light, I think I am way down with that idea…
John 1:9-10 There was the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
Doxa
ALL FOR YOU

walking in the dark

I ALWAYS have to get up in the night and go to the bathroom. And I HATE turning on the lights. So, most nights, with eyes closed and no lights, I make my way to the bathroom, shuffling my feet and walking thru the darkness. Because I am familiar with my surroundings and know where the furniture sits, most nights I can make it there and back with out stumping my toe, hitting my knee or falling down. Last week, I had to go downstairs in the middle of the night and much like my treks to the bathroom, I made the journey down the stairs in the dark. About halfway down the stairs, it hit me. The reason I can wander around in the darkness is because I am so familiar with it. And then, I realized that this is NOT a good thing.
The Word is so clear about darkness.
1 Peter 2:9 says “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”
We are not called to walk in darkness and we are not to be so familiar with darkness that we could walk around in it with our eyes closed, knowing our way. We NEED to be of those who walk in His marvelous Light.
1 John 1:6 “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;”
How many of us are walking around in darkness and liking it because we know our way around despite the lack of light? But sooner or later we will fall. We might can manage life apart from light for a short while, but we can not live in darkness. We need to understand that in order to have fellowship with the Lord that we can not be walking in darkness, but must instead learn to live in the Light. And yet, we often live our lives like I go to the bathroom, shuffling our feet thru the darkness and hoping we don’t hurt ourselves.
Maybe it is time to turn the LIGHT on and let is SHINE, piercing the darkness. In Him there is NO darkness. So quit walking around into the dark. Step into the Light and fellowship with the God who wants you to see Him.

ALL FOR YOU

Intimacy with God 5
The word repentance means a complete turn around, both inside and out. Repentance is a lot more than simply feeling guilty. It means moving beyond guilt to transformation. It means turning from going your own, independent, self centered way to embracing God’s will for your life. You put one foot in front of the other and go back the way you came. That is the only path back to God.
How many Christians come to the aching awareness of being self exiled from our dear father. (Is 5:13) Exiled because of sin. But how do we deal with the tension between being a believer and continuing in sin. Troubled by the observation that so many after receiving Christ live in defeat to sin, struggling with their own sins and shortcomings. IF we do good at converting people to Christ, we fail at the continuance in the faith. That is because there has to be more than just accepting Christ. How can we help new believers maintain their first love for Christ and mature in their faith, love and fruitfulness for Him?
SPIRITUAL BREATHING:
God’s loving presence is much like the air I breathe. This one concept has enriched my life like no other. I discovered a way for me to take my sins and lay them before God even as I struggle with them. It brings freedom and liberation. It will help you deal with sin. Every breath is precious. We have to watch EVERY breath and what comes into our system. We live in a polluted world and breathe unhealthy things everyday. You need to exhale the pollution of sin and inhale the goodness of God. Spiritual breathing restores the fullness of God’s HS in your life. It keeps you from holding in the pollution and makes you more sensitive to what you breathe.
We simply exhale, expel the impure and inhale the pure.
EXHALE: Confess that sin, name each sin, agree with God and then change attitude AND ACTION. Failure here is not in attitude often…but in action. We agree and name, but don’t change our actions…we keep doing the same thing.
INHALE: surrender the control of your life to Christ and appropriate the fullness of the HS. Spiritual breathing for daily, immediate confession of sin and for appropriating the fullness of the HS by faith as a way of life. Your spiritual lungs are choking on foul air and don’t even realize it. You must remember the height from where you have fallen-up on that spiritual mountaintop, where the air is pure and clean. Take a deep breath and BREATHE.
FASTING AND PRAYER:
To confront the deeper spiritual issues, the most stubborn strongholds of sin, we need to embark on a journey of intense prayer and fasting. Prayer brings us directly into God’s presence; fasting heightens our dependence and desires and sensitivity to what He wants to say to us.
Fasting and prayer bring greater intimacy with Him. Brings unprecedented clarity. To exhale the impure influences that have taken hold…thru dedicated prayer and disciplined fasting, you are ready to repent. IN order to recapture your first love, you will certainly find it necessary to commit yourself more deeply to prayer. When you find a lack of motivation to change, you may find it necessary to seek the transforming presence of God thru fasting. It will jump start your process of repentance.
Repentance may involve a moment of pain and certainly grief. But no repentance ensures that there will be no relief.
Love the LORD with ALL
MIND=remember thinking
HEART=grief/remorse feel
SOUL=repentance change
STRENGTH=return do
ALL FOR YOU

Intimacy with God 4

Bill Bright
As you remember what your first love was like, you gain perspective, the height from which you have fallen. Rev 2:5 describes the forsaking of your first love as a height from which you have fallen.
2 Cor 7:9-10
I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.
When you hurt deeply as you realize that the love has gone out of your faith, that is godly sorro. The right kind of sorrow leads to repentance-a hating of sin.
God is not hiding from you. If you feel separated from Him, that is a good pain, the unmistakable sign of His presence drawing you back to Him. As you feel the ache in your Spirit, you know God is near, the discomfort is His way of telling you that your relationship needs special care. You may feel dry, but it is not the dryness of death-it is a yearning for life.

Sometimes it is necessary to move through a period of sorrow to reach the destination of joy. Remembering from where you have fallen. You once basked in the warm safe and secure presence of your Father. But with the ignorance of a child, you stayed from His warm, loving arms and wandered farther and farther away.
If you can no longer see Him , it may well be that you’re simply facing the wrong way. Nobody likes to stop to ask for directions, but isn’t it so much worse to be lost? God is near, just turn. Sometimes it takes a good bit of resolve to make that turn. You become comfortable in your sin. Your lungs because accustomed to bad air.
ALL FOR YOU

Intimacy w God 3

Intimacy with God
Bill Bright Remembrance
God calls His people to cling to their history and draw strength from it. Remembrance is the work of the mind. If you heart has grown cold, you must rely upon your mind. You may stop feeling, but never stop thinking. Remembering shocks you into realization; things have changed. IN remembering, you feel deep remorse that you have deliberately left home, your first love. The reflection of the mind will lead to the sorrow of heart. In the worst of times, when you cannot seem to hear His voice or feel His touch, you still have an amazing resource. You can consult those incredible filing cabinets in the human mind- your memories.
In talking of his wife….Together we committed ourselves to Christ and to our relationship, and we’ve never left that love for God or for each other. I can remember eagerly anticipating the time when we could actually be united in marriage, never to be separated. I was experiencing these same feelings toward God. I wanted Him to be with me for the rest of my life, too. I did everything I could to please Him and devoted much time to prayer and study of His Word.
IN His Word, Jesus frequently calls the Church, you and me, His bride. The joy of a perfect marriage, great as it may be, is only a dim reflection of the deepest and most intense pleasure of all; knowing God in an intimate, loving, personal way.
Begin by taking the time to reflect. When you do this, you may see evidence of slow EROSION-wearing down-small, seemingly insignificant compromises in your original commitment to God. These may not be obvious, consequential matters. Certainly you may still be serving God faithfully, just as those in Ephesus did. You may have excellent church attendance. You may be reading your Bible daily. But do no be surprised if you find that the marks of your early passion have slowly faded and disappeared, often without your noticing.
After you reflect, I invited you to talk to God about your observations.
ALL FOR YOU

intimacy w God 2

Intimacy with God
Bill Bright
“The Love of God took me totally by surprise.”
It was as if Jesus stepped right out of that Holy Book and commanded my full and complete devotion. Christ Pursued me. I determined that I would not stray from the love of God but strive to see it grow “more perfect”. It would be reflected in my selfless devotion to God and others. Joined by a few others, we established a small group that called themselves the Fellowship of the Burning Heart and pledged to make ourselves totally expendable for God. (wow…what a thought)
One afternoon in 1951, I signed away my life, my future, and everything we owned or would ever own to Christ. Next to the moment of my salvation, this was the most important and liberating day of my life. We unconditionally turned over to our loving Father, every possession, goal or concern of our present or future. It was a contract with God to be a bondslave to the only Master who could ever love and care for us.
Most true believers can point to a time when their hearts were on fire for Him. They loved Christ with a passion that no one could help but notice. Their hearts were on fire for Him. His love had transformed them from the inside out. But somehow, for many reasons and without intending to, many Christians let the flames of love and devotion to God die down to glowing embers, a wisp of smoke and ashes.
How does this manifest. In DOING work for God, we often avoid God Himself. True disciples find themselves at His feet, much like Mary. Jesus replied to Martha by saying there is only ONE THING worth being concerned about and Mary has discovered it. I won’t ask her to stop. Martha had a good heart but a busy heart. The temptation to become so busy with the whirlwind of service that you take leave of the passion that first inspired that service. Jesus is NOT saying you should neglect the everyday responsibilities. But you cannot let those things become diversions from the ONE THING worth being concerned about. SEEK FIRST His kingdom AND Righteousness AND all else is added. If you do anything, it should be an expression of your love for Him. But if what you do is not an expression of that love, it’s far worse than if you did nothing at all.
You may forget the ONE THING about which you are to be concerned. But when you can focus on the ONE THING, then your love for Him will linger. What about you? Have you become busy with the details of life and left your passion somewhere along the way? Rev 2:2-5 You have forsake your first love. Look how far you have fallen. To leave or forsake is an act of will. You have chosen…other things to love and FORSAKEN your first love. You do not lose your love for a spouse or a friend or Jesus. You walk away from it. If you say you’ve lost something, it almost sounds as if it just an unfortunate occurrence that is nobody’s fault-something you can lose in the same way you would misplace your car keys. But YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE to take hold of the love of God and to cling to up and never let it go.
HOW do we do this.
REMEMBER Your first love.
He wants all of you and wants you to have all of Him. If you are struggling with relationships in your family, in your workplace or in your established friendship, the first place you should check is how you’re getting along with God…or how they are. One or the other has probably stepped away from the pursuit. We are to abide and remain in Christ. Abiding in Christ is the deepest meaning of maintaining your first love. As you remain in Him you are fully dependent upon Him.
PRAY- nothing can accelerate your return to first love like fasting and prayer.
To maintain and advance our love relationship with God, fasting and prayer must be an integral part of that pursuit. And doing that together with another adds accountability to that formula and brings accelerated pursuit and causes you to move closer and not drift away.
ALL FOR YOU

intimacy w God 1

The Bible tells us that the greatest of all commandments is this; “you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength.”
But to love God wholeheartedly is a real challenge. That kind of love doesn’t come very easily. How, then , are you to obey God’s greatest commandment? How can you ever hope to accomplish that? The answer is simultaneously challenging and simple; Rely on God, who is love. He is the source of all love, even the love with which you love Him back, so to love Him you have abide in Him and receive His love for you.
According to God’s Word, the Christian life is not what you do for Christ but what He does in and through you. So if Jesus who is the distilled essence of love, lives in and through you as you are surrendered to His will and empowered by His Spirit, you are able to love others, including Him, with that same divine love-and loving becomes His responsibility.
The only way you can be separated from God is by your own choice. If you feel that you’ve lost the love you once had for God, or if you’ve never found it, it’s not because He doesn’t care for you; it’s only because you’ve turned away from Him.
Quite often people ask how they can pray for me. I always answer the same…that in whatever I do, wherever I go, I will never leave my first love. Ever since I was a young Christian, astounded by the powere of God’s presence and overwhelmed with His love, I have made it my first priority to hold on for dear life to my intimate, personal, relationship with Him. I longed to possess a heart overflowing with love and praise for my Lord. If I failed to maintain my first love, my disobedience would undermine all I hold dear. I know that in time I would distintegrate as a believer, a husband, a father, a person and a businessman. My first love for God, is everything to me.
For me the price of maintaining that devotion has been daily submission. All day long I seek to walk and talk with my Savior no matter what the business of the day might be. If I can cling to His love from one moment to the next, I know I will never leave it. I pray continually as I practice the presence of God. God has given me so much, but the greatest gift of all is a heart that can be tuned to sing his praise. God has left me with the one thing that I treasure most; the ability to love Him with my first love and to praise Him with my mind and emotions every moment that I live on this earth. By the grace of God I will never take leave of my first love for Him.
Do not think that I am perfect. Daily my flesh wars against my spirit. My heart is prone to wander just as your is. It requires daily vigilance to protect my spirit from leaving my first love. But it is more than worth the struggle and daily discipline. God’s love is so strengthening and so refreshing. I can face any medical problem that may lie before me. I can face the prospect of death itself with joy. But I could never face the possibility of separation from the perfect love of God that sustains my spirit.
How’s your Spirit today? Have you wandered? Have you left your first love? How would you describe the state of your affection for Him today? Can you remember how it felt on the day you first met Him? How far have you wandered from the place where He wants you to be? What will it take for you to return to that first love that He wants you to experience as a way of life?
Bill Bright….
ALL FOR YOU

While standing in the convention center at Myrtle Beach, I was approached an elderly woman, who by her own confession was 70 years old. She was a little disshoveled and acted a little disoriented. It was after 10pm and we were the only ones in the convention hallway. She had parked her suitcase beside a table and apparently was going to wait all night to leave to go to Hawaii the next morning-or so her story went. It didn’t take long for her to engage in conversation, conversation that quite honestly I could have avoided and done without. But there was something inside me that said to listen. She wore an old scarf and hat, with a green sweatshirt that had Vail on it. Recently, the Lord and I have been talking a lot about what happens behind the ‘veil’ in the holy place. So, while it was a play on words, it caught my attention that she was marked by the word that God had been pricking my soul with.
She talked a little crazy and out of her mind at times. But in sharing her story, I picked up on that she had been a kindergarten teacher in churches along the way. Her opinion was that those were the worst, because they were the richest. I laughed and said I hope not…cause I was one of those kids. She called me naïve and continued to talk of her experiences of trying to grow and change kids. I tried to look for an opportunity to share Jesus with her, but could hardly get a word in edgewise. Talk of living up near my hometown led to discussion about where she was headed. Since she had mentioned she was waiting on her flight to Hawaii, I asked if she was headed back to Hawaii, to which she quickly informed me that I should never speak of going back. That she never goes back, she always goes forward. And that I should never speak of going back but what I am going towards. I nodded in agreement and thought about the words the Lord had impressed on my heart this passed year-no turning back. I quickly interjected that, I too, understood what she meant. That there should be no turning back or going back, but moving towards what the Lord has for you.
By the time we got to this point in the conversation, the work that had to be accomplished was done and it was time to move on. I quickly told her thank you and that it was time for me to head out and left. But on the way to the car, it didn’t take long for me to surmise that this was not a chance meeting. But perhaps a messenger sent to meet me. I know you may think I have lost my cotton picking mind. A random meeting with a ranting old woman who was camping out in the lobby of a hotel waiting to go to Hawaii and talking to strangers about her kindergarten adventures. But it only took a few seconds for the Lord to say to me…
“She is right. No turning back, no going back…only forward and towards me. So what are you headed towards, Christy? Are you coming towards me? Lingering in where you are or moving back? I sent her to remind you, if you want to live life behind the veil, in the holy place, you have to keep coming towards me and there is no turning back.”
My heart was stunned by the words of this elderly woman, who challenged my heart and questioned my direction. The Lord used her to show remind me not to look back, turn back or go back, but instead go forward with Him and find Presence with Him within the veil.
I think I am thankful for that old woman….ranting and all. She pointed me to Jesus. Sometimes, He shows up in the most unexpected places. Don’t miss Him because of the packaging…

ALL FOR YOU

Precious Friends,

At 3:48 this afternoon, with family surrounding her bed….my beloved Memom met Jesus Face to Face. The past few days have been precious moments of caring for, sharing with and being with her. Words were not left unsaid and there are no regrets. We spent many hours in worship around her bed, reading Scripture, singing, praising and praying blessing the Lord. They were priceless moments of heaven here-she bringing it here for us before she went to be with Him. She is where I want to be….with my Jesus.

My Paken is struggling, as He wanted to go with her and is saying he will be there soon. Please continue to remember him in prayer. Memom was the epitome of a Prov 31 woman and she died just like she lived-surrounded by family and as a woman of great faith. The myriads of people from young to old that came to testify of her passion for Jesus and the impact she had on their lives was great. She was a “praiser” and she is doing what she spent a lifetime practicing, praising Him in her new body.

I am certain there will be words of tribute that I will write…but for now, these words from HIS WORD are our heart.

1Thes 4:13-18

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope.

14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.

15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep.

16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of {the} archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first.

17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.

18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.



Much like I shared with our church Sunday night, live like you are dying…and do not grieve as if we do not have hope. For He is coming for us quickly and together we will see Him. Where do you want to be found and how do you want Him to find you when He returns?



I have a hope….and praise the Lord. Glory is seen best when we amplify our praise in the difficulty. So today….we amp it up. So would you join me tonight in worshipping like never before, and joining with the angels and my Memom as she stands around the throne and says worthy is the Lamb. My last words to her today were….go home RUNNING….I will see you on the otherside
ALL FOR YOU

I sit today in a waiting area at a hospice house, awaiting Jesus to come and take my Beloved Grandmother home. She has been struggling with cancer and her war torn body has been struggling against this dreaded disease for the past year. Her body is but a mere shadow of who she is, but I must say, she has never been more beautiful. A bride made ready to meet her Jesus.
And today, we are counting minutes as we await the Deliverer to come and bring her to glory. I could certainly share stories of her faithfulness to the Lord and how she served Him well. I could recite the many stories that made us laugh and cry, making memories for us that bring smiles to our hearts even now. Or I could share with you the blessing of a love story between her and my grandfather, having been married 65 years, that would make you want to run and find your spouse and hold them tight.
But today, instead of sharing the details of life. I think I feel the necessity to share the details of death.
Standing in a hospice room, watching a stream of friends and family come to say goodbye, I couldn’t help but smile at the life well lived. Not because she was a good Mom, grandmother, wife or friend, although she is all those things. But instead, because she has been Jesus to all these. And even in her dying…Jesus has been made real, has been seen and is magnified. Even in her struggle, she never lost her praise and continued to thank God for His benefits.
I sang over her yesterday and read Scripture to her today. And this morning, as we gathered in her room, we paused and played Chris Tomlin’s song I WILL RISE. We stood in her room and the words rang out, “ I will Rise when He calls my name, no more sorrow, no more pain. Jesus has overcome and the grave is overwhelmed. The victory is won. He is risen from the dead….I will rise”. In those moments, the glory of the Lord descended upon her room and the Presence of our DADDY encompassed us all. With hands raised to heaven, tears flowed and voices began to sing. And yet, the beauty of the voices of angels singing Worthy is the Lamb gave us a glimpse of where my Memom will soon be. The cry of every longing heart, including hers, was singing Worthy is the Lamb. Church took place in that room. With both death and life circling, the glory of the Lord and the Presence a God that calls us to ‘Come away with Him’ enveloped our hearts. Death lingers and Eternity awaits. In death and life, Jesus is being revealed. No longer had the music stopped that prayers began to be lifted up and cries to our Father of praise and thanksgiving began to flow from the lips of those who love her. And the Father, was pleased to hear the cries of His children.
As I read to her today from Psalm 121; that HE never slumbers and is the keeper of my soul, her eyes opened and she raised those precious brows as if to say, I know…
I have spent many hours thinking about life and death and have come to the conclusion that Memom must feel much like Paul….Hard pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ for that is very much better, yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. (Phil 1:22-23) I have contemplated the longing to finish well and to hear “well done” from my Father, as I have watched myriads of people that my Grandmother has impacted, pouring her life out as a drink offering. And have decided that I want to live a life worth dying for.
I share these words, probably because I needed the therapy of writing what I was feeling and the solace to know that others might care, understand and need to be encouraged by them. But the ultimate thought for me today is what the Lord has been swirling in my head for the last 2 weeks.
Why do we wait until we are dying to live like it? What would happen if we lived like we were dying everyday. With no regret, with a boldness and an intention of heart to please our Heavenly Father in all things? What if we chose to store up treasure in heaven instead of earth because we knew this world is not our home and that our time here is short? We are so distracted with life…and life is a gift, precious and to be lived, but to be lived as if we were dying…with the intention of investing life in those who come behind so that the legacy of Christ-the hope of Glory, lives on in another.
If I have learned one lesson from my precious Memom (and believe me, there have been many), today the lesson would be….live like you are dying, being hard pressed with a desire to be with Christ, but remaining for the sake of others, convinced that if you remain and continue it will be for the progress and joy of others in the faith. And yet our earnest desire should be to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Shortly my Memom will GAIN, because her life lived has been Christ. So while we could certainly talk about a life well lived, perhaps, our hearts should be challenged to live like we are dying from now until the Deliverer comes to take us Home.
Jesus has overcome and the grave is overwhelmed. The victory is won. He is risen from the dead….Now live like it.


ALL FOR YOU