snow

I spent Christmas at my Mom and Dad’s. They live in North Georgia, where it snowed almost 10 inches over Christmas. We woke about 7:30am Christmas morning to dry ground. But by 8:30 there was an inch on the ground and it just got deeper and deeper. I was able to play in the snow with my boys, build a snow man and just enjoy the beauty of the pure white blanket that God had sent to cover the earth.
However, after an hour, I was done. It was time to go in. But my precious 8 year old, just couldn’t get enough. He spent hours playing in it, rolling in it, wallering in it. He jumped and rolled in it like it was the delight of his soul. When it was time to go home, I had to literally pull the snow balls out of his pants.
My mom shared later that as she looked at the pristine, pure blanket of snow, that she almost didn’t want anyone to wreck it by trampling through it. It is just such a word picture of what we do to God’s perfection. Our steps can wreck it with our trampling of His courts.
While that thought is true…I had a totally opposite one. I couldn’t get past my son playing in it non stop. So many of us are like me, we get a taste and enjoy it for a few, but then retreat to the safe, risk free environment that we are comfortable in. But he…no, he didn’t just taste it…it was ALL OVER HIM. It was stuffed up his pants, in his shoes, down his shirt, in his ears. He wallered in it. Few of us are like my son. Few of us will choose to enjoy Jesus like he did the snow. We will enjoy for an hour or two, but then we want to retreat to what is comfortable. However, we need to be like my Micah. We need to have a WANT to-to just waller in and get Jesus all over us. Not just for a few minutes. To let the white, pristine, purity of God stick to us because we have just jumped, rolled and lingered in it.
I want to be 8 again…not an 8 year old, but to never lose that childlike faith and wonder to wallering in Jesus and finding a few minutes is just not enough. I want Him to be all over me, in my ears, my mouth, stuck to me. Don’t you?
ALL FOR YOU

whats wrong with this picture

So what is wrong with this picture? I was sitting in my car this week and saw this and couldn’t believe what I saw. Do you see it?
Yep, it’s true. They even advertise it this way. You can get mouth cancer for $1.59. What a bargain.
Isn’t that crazy? And yet, even with the advertising, people will purchase the product. Now, please don’t misunderstand, I am not for or against this product. I am actually just amazed that we are a people who will knowingly pay $1.59 for something that says right on the package that it can cause mouth cancer. Why am I intrigued by this? Because it is indicative of who we are as a people.
God Himself tells us in His Word what will bring long life and blessings from Him and yet we choose to disobey. God tells us what will bring cursing and destruction to our lives and yet we choose our own way. We are a people who will knowingly walk into destruction for a cheap price and cheap thrill.
As crazy as it seems to pay $1.59 for mouth cancer is the fact that we knowingly disobey a God who gives us just as clear a warning about what we should or shouldn’t do in order to avoid destruction and discipline in our own lives-and yet we walk our own way.
Perhaps, we ought to choose differently.
ALL FOR YOU

exodus 1

AI am starting a new series of thoughts with the blog. Recently, I got a new Bible. I am funny about my Bible. It is one of, if not my prized possession. When I had my three sons, I made a commitment to one day have studied the Bible, to write in my margins and to mark it with all God teaches. Not in just one Bible, but three of them. One for each of my sons. It’s funny though, as much as this is one of my goals, I always have a hard time letting go of the previous Bible for the new one. However, I looked at the pages of this one and was excited about the opportunity to start afresh. New Words from the Lord, fresh pages and new lessons to learn.
So, I started on those new pages this week in the book of Exodus. And honestly, as I read I couldn’t help myself. It was like I was starved and had this insatiable desire for the Words on those pages all over again. I did all 40 chapters of Exodus in five days. Studied, marked, listed and smoldering in my heart. It is because of these past 5 days, that I will write lessons from the Exodus.
Perhaps this sounds boring, but I can tell you the story of God’s deliverance is far from boring. I found myself so intrigued with the fact that Pharaoh was afraid that the people of God would multiply and become more powerful than he. Therefore, he chose to afflict them in hopes of discouraging them. Ironically, life today isn’t much different. God has called us to go and make disciples, to multiply. Due to a fear that we might actually do that and in an effort to discourage, many afflict those who are trying to multiply in order to stop that process. There will always be those who stand against the multiplication process. Those who are threatened by the process and those who will work diligently to stop it. Why? Because they fear the loss of control that will bring for them.
Multiplication has always been God’s plan. And God multiplies by addition. One on one, life on life to multiply His Kingdom. Perhaps you are facing opposition. Then rejoice, that is a good thing. If you aren’t multiplying then you are not a threat to the enemies kingdom. It is only when you threaten the power and control of those who want you to stop influencing and multiplying that you can rest assured you are living in the book of Exodus. With a Pharaoh whose heart is hard coming down on a child of God merely trying to multiply for the Kingdom.
Don’t let the affliction stop you. My favorite verse in chapter 1 is verse 12. It says, “but the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out , so that they were in dread of the sons of Israel.”
So, multiply and spread out, become the dread of all. Don’t let whatever you are facing stop you.
LL FOR YOU

exodus 2

Have you ever heard the expression “you need to stop and smell the roses.” We miss so much because we don’t stop to listen, look and learn. We rush right past. I am the world’s worst at this. However, the Lord is teaching me the art of just coming aside and looking for Him. Whether in a field, on a beach, in the backyard, HE always speaks in the moments where I pause.
Recently, I took 17 middle school girls into the field on quilts just to play look up. Look up is a game I play, where we simply get still, quiet and look up, wait for Him to speak and then share what He says. It is amazing to hear what the Spirit of God says in the silence, when we turn down the noise, come aside and listen.
Moses was a great picture of this. Many of us know the story of the burning bush from Exodus 3, however, we have probably missed the life principle found in that story. While the burning bush is incredibly fascinating, the beauty to me in the story comes before the revelation of the Great I Am, the holy ground He stood on or the fact that Moses got to talk to God.
Exodus 3 says that Moses saw the burning bush and that it wasn’t consumed. After seeing the bush, Moses said, “I MUST TURN ASIDE NOW and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.”(emphasis mine)
It was in the turning aside that Moses got to have an encounter with God that is beyond what most of us could ever imagine. He saw it, but it was because he chose to TURN ASIDE NOW to see the marvelous sight that he got more. I am wondering if the reason we don’t see more and hear more from God is simply because we don’t turn aside to see and hear from Him?
There is such a life lesson in Moses’ act of turning aside. Just like my girls in the field, when we stop and listen, He speaks. Perhaps, it is time that we stop and smell the roses, play look up or turn aside… whatever words you want to use, there is a marvelous sight waiting, don’t miss it.
ALL FOR YOU

exodus 3

Have you ever spoken what is right and true only to find out that it made things worse instead of better? It kind of makes you not want to do what is right or true. However, just because it doesn’t make things better, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have spoken it. How do I know this to be true?
When Moses was sent by God to deliver the children of Israel, Pharaoh did not choose to listen. In fact, not only did he not listen, but because Moses spoke what God said, when he said it, to the person he was to say it to and it didn’t make things better for ANYONE. Reality is that it made it MUCH worse. As a result of what Moses did, Pharaoh chose to batten down the hatches and make things much harder on the children of Israel. He had the taskmasters increase the labor, remove extra help and discipline them when they didn’t accomplish the work.
Consequently, the children of Israel were not at all grateful for Moses showing up. Exodus 5:21 tells us that when Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh, that they were waiting on them to say “may the Lord look upon you and judge you, for you have made us odious in Pharaoh’s sight and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.”
The people were mad at Moses and asking God to judge him for making it harder, when in fact it was God who sent Moses with the words that brought the harsh treatment. How’s that for irony?
So, what’s the point? There is a great lesson for life in this passage. Sometimes speaking the truth makes things harder for a while before the Lord delivers. Before things got better, things got worse. Reality is that just because we speak truth, doesn’t mean freedom will come automatically. Sometimes we have to fight for it. Or better yet, watch God fight for us in it.
Maybe you have spoken words of truth and it only made things worse. Perhaps you have backed away from truth for fear that it would get worse. Odds are that it might. But deliverance will only come when we do as He commanded. It may not get better right away, but hang on, help is on the way. The point is that for better or worse, speak the truth of what God says and trust Him to deliver in His time. Hang on though, it could be a bumpy ride.
ALL FOR YOU

exodus 4

Have you ever felt like the weight of what you are called to or supposed to do was so heavy that you weren’t sure you could do it? Or maybe you are struggling with feeling inadequate, ill-equipped or not good enough to accomplish what lies in front of you.
Well, you are not alone. I am quite sure that all of us, everyday, struggle at some point with insecurity, inadequacy and feeling undeserving. If you say you don’t, you are not very self aware or perhaps you are just arrogant. Our insecurities and inadequacies cause us to respond, over react or mask our true feelings, our fears and our failures. The fear in that often causes us to hesitate and shrink back from what God may be asking us to do.
Moses is a great example of this. In Exodus chapter 4, God has called Moses to go to Pharaoh and command him to let the children of Israel go. Context would be important here. In this day and time, the Pharaoh had absolute power and was considered a god who owned the land and the people. He was also the high priest of all the religions. Therefore, for Moses to walk in and to command not only the ruler but the “god” of Egypt to let go what he owned because another god-the TRUE GOD commanded it was not only frightening, but fiercely overwhelming.
Moses had already confessed to the Lord his insecurities and inadequacies in chapter 4:10, stating that he was not eloquent, slow of speech and tongue. He even suggested to God that He should choose another. God quickly reminded him that HE made Moses and his tongue. That He was quite aware of his shortcomings-HE made him that way.
Even with those assurances and a friend to go with him and help him in his weakness, Moses asked the question TO GOD…the question we all want to ask and have asked at some point or another. In Exodus 6, he asks “how then will Pharaoh listen to me, for I am unskilled of speech?”
I absolutely love that! Why? Because that is so me! God calls us and equips us and then when it is time to speak, we doubt because we are relying on our own abilities. We are trusting on what we think we can do instead of relying on what God has said HE will do. We are leaning on our own understanding, instead of leaning into the calling and equipping of God. We are looking at our smallness instead of God’s bigness. We rely on our flesh instead of trusting His Spirit.
Moses was so concerned with what he thought he was unable to do, that he forgot to look at and focus on what God can do. I don’t know about you, but I so sit in that seat. But today, I am so convicted about trusting in my own abilities instead of fixating on the truth that NOTHING is impossible with GOD. He is our HOPE. He is our STRENGTH. He is…what we are not. And that is everything. It isn’t God AND you, it is Christ IN you. Moses forgot the same thing I do…that my God is bigger and stronger than ME. I know that sounds crazy. But I can’t limit God to what I can do and accomplish in my flesh. I can’t say to pick someone else because I am ill-equipped. I must trust the calling and equipping of a very Big God who made me and will make glory in my weakness.
What is the life lesson? Don’t lean on your own ability or skill, trust in the greatness of a big God who doesn’t need you, but chooses you to make Himself look big in something so small. God reminded Moses and He is remind you.
ALL FOR YOU

children lead

At a recent church event, (Piedmont Baptist Association) Jr. Hill gave a powerful invitation for “church” people to get saved. He preached and was clear to point out that many are sitting in pews, still lost and then presented the opportunity for the lost, but churched to get saved. I stood in the balcony, praying and asking the Lord if it could be me. Having settled that years ago, I began to pray for the others in the room. When I looked up, I was amazed at the sight I saw. The altar was filled with children. Children walking past the preachers and laying on the stairs of the altar. Children not coming to get saved, but coming to pray-for the lost in the room. There were probably 50 or more children laid across the front of that church, on their faces praying-then going back to their seats. It was evident they were praying for the lost adults in the room.
It was then, I was reminded of a verse of Scripture that says-“and a child shall lead them.” I am quite certain many in that place were praying. And not condemning or judging anyone-just amazed that it was the children who led out with the freedom to entreat the Lord from the altar, on their faces, while all of us adults stood respectfully in our places. (me being one of them.) It was a beautiful word picture. It is the faith of a child that God is looking for and honors. Sometimes, I am just too proud. But they led the way.
So, perhaps the next time I hesitate to respond, I will remember what I saw. Not the leaders, men and women-but the leaders, being children paving the way to the throne and the altar as they covered it in prayer. May we follow in their footsteps to Jesus.
ALL FOR YOU

jelly fish sting

Have you ever been stung by a Jelly Fish? Well, this weekend was a first for me. My family and I were at the beach, all swimming together, when the worst instant pain I have ever felt hit my leg. I was up to my neck in water, when all of a sudden it felt like a branding iron hit the back of my leg and was just left there. I started screaming and immediately left to get out of the water, the back of my leg began to swell instantly and turned purple and red, whelped up and hurt like crazy.
My immediate thought was that I needed someone to pee on my leg, to help with the hurt. I had seen on Survivor that doing that was supposed to help and because we were on the beach with no quick fixes to ease the harsh pain, I looked at the boys in my family and asked them to pee on my leg. I know, it sounds gross, but when you are hurting like that, you will do ANYTHING to get relief-and I mean anything.
While I have 4 boys in my family, none of them at that moment had to go to the bathroom. I am thinking “you have got to be kidding me!” Limping back to my chair, my husband grabbed a bottle of water, handed it to my eldest son and told him to go with me and pee on my leg. We arrived at the bathrooms, only to find there was NO family bathroom. I can’t go in the men’s room. He can’t go in the ladies room. Dilemna….hmmmm….what to do? I am dying and looking for any available solution. So, we head into a deserted parking deck, where I hope he can help me.
I lean up against the wall and tell my son to hurry up because I can’t stand the pain- just do it. To which he looks at me and says “Mom, I just can’t pee on you.” After fussing with him for a few seconds and trying to explain that it is okay, we finally decided for him to go in the bathroom, pee in the bottle and we would pour it on my leg. (probably a better plan anyway!) And yes, I think I am relieved to know my son can’t and won’t pee on his mother, even when given the chance to!
Minutes later, I am standing on the edge of the beach and he is pouring that on my leg. It didn’t stop the pain, but it did help a little. (I later discovered that HOT water is much better. Wish I had known that BEFORE I had urine poured on me!) I called a friend and asked her to look up what you could do for a sting and that is when I learned that hot water seemed to be the recommended treatment. But I am on the beach-no HOT water. I finally found a tide pool that had been heated by the sun, sat in that, took some pain reliever and found some more relief. But I can’t tell you, how quickly that pain came and stayed. How I would have done anything to relieve it. It was crazy.
While processing all of those crazy events, the Lord was clear to reveal truth to my heart. Standing in the midst of the ocean, minding my own business, I got stung. It is so easy to be caught in the drift of life, doing your own thing and to be stung-not on the surface, but deep down, underneath-where no one can see. And for that hurt to be so deep that you would be willing to do anything to find relief. The drift is a crazy a place…where deep hurt and pain can make you choose to do things you would never dream of.
Not in a million years would I have ever thought I would have begged my guys to pee on me. But the things you will do to find relief from the sting that is found in the moments of drifting is crazy. I am living proof of this. For many of us, we have been drifting and we have been stung. The pain from that may lie deep under the surface, but the reality is we have chosen some crazy things to try to get relief from the sting of that pain.
However, the remedy isn’t what we think. It isn’t what the world tells us. And though we try it, it doesn’t fix the pain.
I don’t know what has stung you or what you have done to try to bring relief to that pain. Maybe you didn’t even realize you were drifting and got stung. Maybe you have tried some crazy remedies and are looking not for relief but a way to make it go away totally. If that is true…get out of the water. Stop the drift. Don’t listen to the crazy remedies this life tells us about and know that JESUS alone fixes us from the inside out. STOP the drift…so you don’t get stung. And then run to the HEALER of all.
So, yes…I am sure you are all laughing that I got stung and peed on, but mine was just a jelly fish sting issue. Where have you drifted, gotten stung and tried a crazy relief idea that didn’t work because you chose something other than Jesus?
ALL FOR YOU

We got up today and just on a random whim decided to take the boys to the beach. My youngest had been asking all summer to go and so we took him to play in the sand and waves. When we got to the beach there was a beautiful sandcastle right in front of where we chose to sit. The tide was coming in and it threatened to destroy the cool sand edifice and my boys decided to make it their mission to build a HUGE wall around the sandcastle in order to protect it, keeping it from being destroyed. For the better part of an hour, they worked and built. It was funny to see them work so hard to protect a castle that wasn’t even theirs. As I sat watching, I was proud of their efforts, but knew in the end it would be futile. The tide would take it.

That got me to thinking…

So many of us are like my boys. Trying to defend a KINGDOME, a castle bound for destruction because it is made of sand. We work hard to build walls, protect our “stuff” and to work diligently to spend our lives shielding the “beautiful edifices”. But it is inevitable. We can spend our days doing that, but IT IS COMING DOWN. We work so hard to put our money in purses with holes, build houses made of sand and invest in what will never last. We are just making castles out of sand and trying to protect it from the tide.

The wise man builds upon the rock. The catch to that passage of Scripture is that the wise man HEARS and ACTS, building his house on the rock so that when the rains come, it is not swept away.

Matt 7:24-27

24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock.

25 "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and {yet} it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock.

26 "And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act upon them, will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand.

27 "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall."

The key to not being swept away is THREE FOLD.

HEARING, ACTING and WHERE YOU BUILD. So, the question for us is three fold.

Have you heard the Words of the Lord? Have you acted on them? And where are you building, sand or rock? Perhaps we are just building on sand and trying to build walls around what will inevitably fall? Perhaps we have heard, but haven’t acted?

This afternoon was a good word picture of what building in the wrong place, not listening to the Lord or acting on His Words can do for us.

ALL FOR YOU

parenting

I was in the grocery store today and got REALLY frustrated with a Mom that was in front of me in line. She had a small 2 year old with her that she continually called to come to her. The little girl continually ran from the Mother. The Mom stood in line and talked about how bad the little girl was and how she never comes when she calls. She called and fussed the entire time, until the sentence she dropped absolutely stunned me.
Let me first preface this by saying, my thoughts were-quit yelling at the girl to come and GO GET HER. Quit griping about how she isn’t doing what you said and DISCIPLINE her. The little girl needed a spanking and a reminder of who she was to obey-NOT HERSELF!
It was in the midst of those thoughts that the Mom blurted out, “come here, or I am not giving you a quarter.” Oh Man, I almost scolded the Mom. Now, she was trying to bribe the little girl to obey. No wonder the little girl was rotten; the Mom was doing a horrible job of parenting.
We don’t teach our children to obey because there is reward. We teach them to obey out of honor, respect and love. What happens when we tell them to get out of the street because a truck is coming and there is no “reward”-no quarter waiting to get them to move? This young girl totally disregarded the Mom because she didn’t care about the reward and knew there would be no discipline, consequently giving her no respect, love or honor.
My greater concern is that by parenting this way, we give our children a wrong view of God as well. That we only have to obey when it benefits us. That we can disregard His voice and there be no discipline. The young girl needed discipline so she could learn to love and honor. Without it, she will be rotten, for sure, but she will also end up never understanding the joy of obedience.
After the woman left, (by the way she told the girl to listen to her 12 times on the way out the door.) the girl checking me out talked of how that woman was going to have a hard time with that little girl if she acted like that at 2. I agreed. But more than that, I thought if she acts like this at 2, what is she going to bribe her with at 15?
Delayed obedience is Disobedience. We don’t bribe, count or reward such, we discipline, so that our children will know the joys of obeying out of love and honor to a heavenly Father that will discipline because He loves.
ALL FOR YOU

inoculated 2

Ok, so this preacher is killing me. Not literally, but REALLY making me think. (love that, by the way. I want my thinking challenged not placated.)

So, not 10 min later in the same sermon where inoculated thoughts got stirred, he begins talking about an old preacher named Barnhouse. He was a pioneer in radio preaching in his day. In one of his sermons, he asked the question, “what would America look like if the devil took over?”
His answer was that there would be no swearing, all the children would say yes mam and no sir, all the bars would close, pornography would be banished and the churches would be full every Sunday where Christ IS NOT preached.
What is scary about that is that most of us would be satisfied if our lives and cities looked just like this. Jesus or no Jesus we just want to be safe. Jesus or no Jesus, we just want our kids to turn out okay. Jesus or no Jesus we want our marriages to be easy. Jesus or no Jesus we want our churches full. Is it really about wanting Jesus or wanting life to be what we want?
For wanting Jesus does not include safe, okay, easy or full churches.

Though we would never say it out loud, most of us would say we are more concerned with our kids turning out okay, our marriages being simple, our churches being full and the bars being closed, than we are with Jesus. So a world in which the devil has taken over is simply a world where we can have what we want, but without Jesus. The question remains, is that really what we want? Do we really want what we WANT, regardless of whether we get Jesus or not? Or do we want Jesus regardless?

Wow, this has sparked conviction in my own heart. Are we willing to give up Jesus so that our marriages will be easy and our children okay and our churches full? Wouldn’t that be the way the enemy works? To gain the whole world, but forfeit our soul? We can have the easy life, but without Jesus? It would be like entering the Promised land without God.
Isn’t that what God told Moses? You can go in, but without me. And Moses’ response was what good is a promised land without you. If you don’t go, we don’t go!

Wouldn’t it be just like the enemy to convince us that we know better and can achieve better without God. Wasn’t that what happened in the garden with Eve? Are we not just as deceived?
Is our concern that people, family, friends and ourselves GET JESUS and LIVE JESUS and LOVE JESUS-or that Jesus or no Jesus life happens the way we want?

Isn’t the enemies goal to merely convince us that this life is better than all that Jesus could offer us? To make us love the world and forfeit our soul? To convince us to live for now instead of eternity? To cause us to want the creature comforts of this world over the lovingkindness of a Savior? To get us to a place where Jesus or no Jesus it is all about achieving life as we want it?

What if the goal is to just get us NOT to preach or teach Christ. To not make Him first and only? What if the enemies goal is not to make us wicked as we so often think, but to make us separated from Jesus? What if the enemies goal is to slyly and deceptively cause us to love the good things of this life and to cling to them, so that we don’t even care if Jesus is in them or not?

What if the enemy let life be SO good, so that we don’t care if Jesus is a part of it or not? What if we began to understand that following Jesus is a life of suffering, persecution and hardship, while NOT following is easy, safe and comfortable?
Oh wait…that is what the enemy is doing. Man…
Just thinking…
ALL FOR YOU

inoculated

So, I am listening to a sermon today, by Billy Grahams grandson. He was speaking on the power of the gospel. However, the word he used was that we in the South have been inoculated against the gospel and that he has to spend more time convincing people that they are not saved so that they can truly meet Jesus, instead of embracing the religious ideas they have been brought up under.
It kind of stunned me. So, I have been processing the thought…

Okay, so the concept of being inoculated is that they give you a little bit of the real thing so that you miss out on the true full thing altogether. They give you a little bit of the flu in an inoculation so that you miss out on the full blown thing. They give you a little bit of the chicken pox, so that you miss out on the true thing.
The thought was we have inoculated people against the gospel. We have given them a little bit of it and that has kept most from the true, full thing. We have spent our time trying to get them “saved”, instead of making disciples. Jesus is clear in the GREAT COMMISION. We are to MAKE DISCIPLES, not merely give people an ABC gospel that brings them to a mental ascent of truth. We are to walk and talk the WORD alongside them, until it marinades and resonates in them. We are to call them not to merely confess to truth, but to be obsessed and possessed by truth, compelling them to follow HIM. The gospel is not merely about salvation, but about sanctification, justification, glorification-from sins penalty, power and presence in our lives. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation, but that salvation creates Christ followers.
As Francis Chan so adequately describes, we have made following Jesus something it isn’t. Even kids know that when you play follow the leader, you DO what the leader does. When you play Simon says, you do exactly what Simon says or you lose at both games. However, we have made the gospel something altogether different. Instead of making followers who DO what Christ did or obey exactly what Christ said, we convey a message that says you don’t have to do that because He is forgiving and loving-full of grace. (which is TRUE-by the way, but the very inoculation we are talking about.) Just memorize it, study about it and pray for it, but you don’t really have to DO those things. It would be absurd to really count it all as loss, know nothing but Christ crucified, find your treasure in heaven and follow Him, be crucified with Christ, Forget what lies behind, keep the Sabbath, come away with Him, Love Him with ALL, worship Him alone, grind our idols to dust, love our enemies, stop pleasing people and please Him, not lean on our own understanding, not seek wisdom of man, walk by the Spirit of God, let Him be the voice we listen to, wash people’s feet, pray without ceasing, enter into Covenant, love one another, MAKE DISCIPLES. After all, He didn’t really mean these things to be LIVED? Did HE?

We study these truths and then justify why we don’t live them. Inoculated against gospel. We give people just enough truth that they say yes to the inoculation, but never experience the full thing. All the while thinking they are “safe” from the dreaded consequence of sin. But the truth is the inoculation doesn’t work.

In fact, we have sold the true gospel short. We have not communicated the full gospel, the full truth. We have given just enough to get “saved”, but not what was needed to be a follower. And yes, it is OUR FAULT, for communicating poorly. Yet, the truth remains. People feel inoculated. Like they have what they need, while missing what they must possess. And the deception in this is that they are still lost.

I have been thinking all day about the inoculation concept. Could it be that the reason so many are not FOLLOWING, but believe they are His is because we have deceived them by not giving them the full dose of the gospel, but only just enough to ward off what the real thing might be?

It seems to be a conversation circling among pastors these days. Men like Matt Chandler, Andy Stanley, David Platt, Francis Chan, Tullian Tchividijan, John McArthur, Ravi Zacharias, Paul Washer, Louie Giglio, Craig Groeschel, John Piper and many more are addressing the issue of the watered down gospel. While I am not looking for the validation of man on these thoughts, it seems to be a running theme in Christendom right now. Even at the Southern Baptist Convention this year, many addressed our easy believism and watered down faith that is not reproducing followers of Christ.

Could the reason for this be inoculation? I don’t have an answer…but it is food for thought. And has made me evaluate my communication of the gospel. Are we inoculating or MAKING DISCIPLES? Look at those following you and you will have a pretty good idea of which. Do they look more like Jesus? Or more like your opinions, desires and preferences? Or maybe they do look like you and the better question is how much do YOU Look like Jesus? Does your following look like the full experience or just a shot of Jesus? Is it just about being saved or about chasing and following Jesus as if your life depends on it….because it does.

Are we just trying to inoculate people against the behaviors we don’t like or are we trying to give them the full experience of ALL JESUS desires? Are we settling for just a small portion, instead of giving them the Full Deal? Or perhaps, we are the ones inoculated. Maybe we have settled into the idea that we have gotten “saved” and that is enough. Does our life look like we are FOLLOWING JESUS or that we just got “saved” via our inoculation.

Not saying I have the answers to any of this…but it is something for us all to think about.
ALL FOR YOU

Covenant 10 fyi

We are not to follow our human reasoning or understanding, but the teaching of our Covenant God. Too often we lean on our own understanding instead of studying to know and live in ways that God can approve of because they line up with His heart. We often baulk at and reject teaching that makes us feel uncomfortable because it defies human reasoning or understanding. However, the things of the Spirit are not naturally discerned, but are revealed by the Spirit of God. Too often we do what SEEMS right, which leads to destruction instead of embracing truth.
So the question in context of Covenant, IS DO WE BELIEVE WHAT THE BIBLE says and will we obey it? Or will we try to justify our responses because they make us uncomfortable?

When Jesus said “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood” He was saying those who enter into Covenant with me. His Words…”He who eats my flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life and I will raise Him up on the last day.” John 6:54
Christianity is not about a commitment or an acceptance of the gospel, but a Covenant with Christ. When covenant partners walked between the pieces of flesh it was a walk into death that led to life-the life of another besides yourself. Thus, as well as becoming friends through covenant, you and your partner now embrace common enemies.
Covenant is a 2 way street. Many embrace Jesus and/or covenant on their own terms, thinking that Jesus/Covenant exists for their own benefit and forget that they are bound by covenant to live for another.

Because you are bound to Jesus, people will hate you. The Word is clear that they hated Jesus and they will hate you. (John 15:18-19) The world hates Jesus because He takes away the excuse for sin. They hated Him because of His righteous life. Those who are NOT in Covenant with Jesus do not like righteousness and are opposed to the truth of the Word. They set their standards and philosophies towards things that are opposed to God. They may even call themselves Christians, but they have crawled in bed with world and have united themselves with it’s likeness and not taken on the identity of Christ.

For do you not know that friendship (covenant term) with the world is hostility towards God. Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an ENEMY of God. (James 4:4)

This would be the equivalent of having an affair with our spouse or betraying our Covenant friend. To love the world and adopt it’s standards is to say “Jesus, I know I belong to you, but before you return, I want to have an affair with your arch enemy”. And so we crawl into the world’s bed to sleep with the enemy of God-commiting spiritual adultery in our Covenant. (This is the Scriptures analogy…not mine.)
Few of us would tolerate this in our marriages or even from a friend, but we expect God to continually accept our half hearted commitment, while His expectation is Covenant. A reciprocal, two way Covenant that offers an exchange of life…and demonstrated by how we live. Would we remain in a relationship that was half hearted? I think not….we expect our spouses and Covenant friends to be ALL IN…and it is what the Father expects from us. The question is….are we? Or are we deceiving ourselves into thinking our commitment not a covenant will save us because that is what we are comfortable with? Or will we embrace what the Word says about Covenant….ALL of them?
ALL FOR YOU

focus error

I was walking on the beach this morning...thinking that my calves were hurting from the exercise...while that is not comfortable, I do love that. It proves progress and proves that strength, change and work is happening from the inside out. I bent over to write in the sand, when lens popped out of my sunglasses. I have these sunglasses with interchangeable lenses. It is a pretty cool thing most days, but today…it was bad news. About the time the lens hit the sand, a wave came in and grabbed the lens and washed it out with the wave. So I stooped over to grab it quickly and when I did, my camera strap slipped off my shoulder and my camera fell into the wave that had just crashed at my feet. I jerked up the camera, which had been submerged only a few seconds and it was dripping with sand and salt water. Meanwhile, I am still looking for my lens. I spotted it in the wave and grabbed it up as well.
Oh, and did I mention I had my phone in my other hand the whole time all of this was happening. I messed up my sunglasses and my camera, but my linkage via my phone was still in tact. The only thing I didn’t mess up was that.
A little irritated with myself for being so irresponsible, I found a set of chairs (which were not mine…you know those rental ones) and decided to sit my tail down under the umbrella and focus. Multitasking this morning was costing me big time. Sitting in that chair, I laid my camera down, fixed my lens and just leaned back to pray. After saying amen, I flipped the camera on to see if it worked…and it came on, but there was a message on the screen. It read…Focus Error. No duh…If that wasn’t a word picture for me. I should not have been multitasking, but should have been focusing on the one. Instead, I was letting my heart wander around and it cost me.
God’s heart is that we focus not wander. All of us have hearts that are prone to wander, because we have a focus error. We are not focused on the one, but on the details of life. And when that happens, it costs us. Without focus, we will wander like we lost, entertained by every whim and fancy instead of leaning into the moment and hearing with clarity the voice that stirs us to walk together.
The problem is not that we can’t focus….it is that we don’t…
Why? Why do we have a focus problem?
One of our greatest problems is that we try to focus on too many things.
You sit down to pray and the next thing you know you mind has wandered off to thinking about the surgery your friend is having. And with questions about what happens, you decided to google the surgery and get some info. While looking at the info, a pop up comes on your computer and it reminds you that you haven’t checked your email yet today. So you, check your mail, knowing you ought to be praying, but deciding that the people’s names in your in box will now become your prayer list of those you will pray for. Skimming the list, you skip a few, and then respond to those who are important. You get an email that encourages your heart and so you decide you want to be an encourager too, so you decide to go out facebook and post so that everyone can hear what you have heard. After all, that is the point of facebook, right? While posting, you see a video posted by a friend that says you must watch, so you click on it and it makes you laugh and so you decide that you need to tweet all your friends to tell them to check out the link so that they can have a joyful heart also. About that time, a text message hits your phone and your kids forgot their lunch and your husband wants you to leave whatever you are doing to run it up to them so they don’t starve. Feeding the hungry is a big part of serving God you know. So you leave your prayer time…and wonder why you never feel like you truly talked to God and wondered if He talked back.
There are so many distractions…and we have a hard time shutting all that down long enough to focus on the ONE THING that is important.
It is like we live in a world where we think there is automatic focus like our cameras....but instead...it isn't automatic. Just like there is intentional engagement, there is an intentional focus on the one. But sometimes we live life with the main thing...all blurry, while focused on the objects in the background. who wants to live life pictured like that.
Focus is NOT automatic. And depending on the distance, the more intention it takes to bring into focus…to be able to see.
Ps 16:8-11
8 I have set the LORD continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely.
10 For Thou wilt not abandon my soul to Sheol; neither wilt Thou allow Thy Holy One to undergo decay.
11 Thou wilt make known to me the path of life; in Thy presence is fulness of joy; in Thy right hand there are pleasures forever.
David shared with us words that remind us WHY we should focus.
These words were David’s, but they were also a foreshadowing of Christ’s…before He endured the Cross. In John 10:18 and John 14:31, Jesus demonstrated that HE SET HIS EYES on what the Father said. He focused….He set the Lord continually before Him despite the struggles of life. In view of death, He looked up and focused.
He is at my right Hand-his hand is mighty to save. His arm is not too short…will not be shaken by distraction.
Isa 59:1 Behold, the LORD'S hand is not so short that it cannot save; neither is His ear so dull that it cannot hear.
Heb 12:2 for the joy SET before, he endured the cross.
His heart was glad, his glory rejoices and his flesh was secure….Knowing he would not be abandoned. HE TRUSTED….
And then knew the result….will make known the path…
There is fullness of joy in His Presence
In His hand, pleasures forever
Jesus endured the biggest distraction….was it a struggle…certainly…
How was He able to do this?
He didn’t live life on automatic….He worked on the intentional focus on the one…while letting the many be blessed as a result…
We have believed a lie. That the world can’t go on without us for a few minutes while we focus.
And so we focus on the background instead of the main thing…which is not the important part of the picture…
Ps 101:3 I will set no worthless thing before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not fasten its grip on me.
HOW DID HE DO THIS?
His eyes were set on things above….He was focused.
Eccl 3:11 He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.
Our problem is our mindset is on life here instead of on eternity.
Need to refocus….we have a focus error….
Don’t know if my camera will work or not. My sunglasses seem okay for the minute. He restored one lens, I am praying for the other. But regardless, He got my attention. Focus Error. Focus on the One…not the many. It is what Jesus did. Remember the parable of the sheep, leaving the many to retrieve the one. The lost coin, looking for the one. It is a principle of life…focus on the one, not the many things that distract.

ALL FOR YOU

gym

Going to the gym always seem to get my mind thinking while my blood is pumping. I was on the bike listening to preaching on my ipod, when a thought struck me.
Why are we on treadmills or bikes going nowhere, while watching TV’s and shows that communicate nothing. In front of every piece of equipment is a TV. That just seemed crazy to me. How ironic. I had written earlier about being on equipment that went nowhere, but today my thought is while going nowhere we are watching things that communicate nothing and then wonder why our souls do not feel better.
We go to the gym and work on our “flesh”, but does our soul feel any better? We have spent an hour or so trying to burn off fat, build muscle on machines that go nowhere, while watching and feeding our souls nothing. I looked around at the numerous people who were locked into a Oprah, a soap opera, an entertainment show or even CNN and thought to myself “why?”. What would it take for us to get off the machines and unplug from the worthless pleasures and plug up to that which feeds our soul?
Don’t misunderstand, I am still going to the gym and not knocking on that. However, it is such a word picture for our culture. We are so placated by the idea of going nowhere and communicating nothing that we actually think we are doing something and taking in mass amounts of something, simply because we think activity denotes progress.
Just because we are busy and taking in information doesn’t mean it is productive. We spend an enormous amount of time listening to and repeating things that mean nothing but make us feel important because we think we know something because we heard something. We spend a ton of time in activity thinking it is getting us where we want, but instead is getting us no where.
Ecclesiastes addresses these thoughts. Solomon writes that striving after such things is like striving after the wind and will gain us nothing in the long run, because there is no enjoyment without Him. (2:25) Solomon describes life for those who are pursuing this life as vanity of vanities and states that thinking that “what the eyes see is better than what the soul desires. This too is futility and striving after the wind.”
We spend our days full of activity that is merely striving after the wind, on treadmills going nowhere and gaining knowledge that communicates nothing. Perhaps we should not set our minds to know the things of this life (1:13), but instead set our hearts on eternity (3:11). Do you think we are striving after the wrong things…and need to change what we fear and pursue? Solomon ends with “the conclusion, when all has been heard is: “fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether good or evil.” (12:14)
If we spent as much time determined to know Christ and Him crucified, perhaps our souls would be in better shape than our bodies.
ALL FOR YOU

covenant more

Covenant 7 fyi…

“below the surface of one of the most beautiful and meaningful instances of covenant in all the Scriptures; the bond between Jonathon and David. This event is introduced simply, but profoundly, “Then Jonathon made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.” (Our Covenant God, book)

In our culture, we are quick to jump to some sort of odd perversion instead of embracing what the Scripture deems as one of the most precious of relationships. While we often want to equate Covenant ONLY with marriage, the Word is clear to explain that Covenant friendship is a relationship God establishes and longs for us to partake in. Often we reject this notion, due to perversion or simply because we are uncomfortable with letting another this close, or perhaps even because it just seems odd to us. But whether we like it or not, it is defined in Scripture and is a sacred part of the journey God calls us to.
Kay Arthur describes this relationship as “a way of life that ordered your steps and altered your lifestyle, from your relationships with others to the way you conducted your affairs, all under the watchful eye of an omnipresent God.”
Part of our rejection to the idea of Covenant friendship has been our lack of Biblical knowledge about Covenant. We MUST return to the WORD for our insights on Covenant and how God views. If we refuse to do so, we will face the wrath of God for not viewing Covenant as HE does. From friendships like David and Jonathon, Ruth and Naomi or Jesus and His inner circle, the Word is clear to define Covenant Friendship as something God valued and expected to be kept. It is why Jesus called us friends and described the greatest of all love in the context of friendship. (Greater love hath no man than that he would lay down his life for his friend-John 15:13-14)
The Word defines the Covenant of Friendship as souls being KNIT together, loving as oneself. That is how Jonathon loved David. (1 Sam 18:1-3) Covenant was not just a commitment made, but was also sealed, therefore accompanied by a sign that came with it that sealed the covenant and kept it-a reminder that it is to never be broken. (it is why we wear wedding bands-a sign and seal of marital Covenant). All Covenants come with a sign and seal. The Rainbow, the cross-from God are such examples. But sometimes it was a well dug, a meal shared, a tree planted. Circumcision was a HUGE sign of Covenant. (hence the shedding of blood AND the issues with the seed.)
In the Covenant of Friendship of David and Jonathon, they not only exchanged lives, but signs and symbols of that Covenant. We find in 1 Sam 18, that they exchanged robes, weapons and belts.

David and Jonathon understood covenant friendship as the exchange of life.
“Jonathon stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, including his sword and his bow and his belt.” 1 Sam 18:4

The Word is clear to say that Jonathon made a Covenant with David. The word in the Hebrew reads, he CUT Covenant with David, therefore it is understood by the reader that there was a blood exchange, making them blood brothers.

Before we go into the exchange, perhaps we should just read what scholars greater than I have to say about covenant friendship.

[Jonathan loved him as his own soul] The most intimate friendship subsisted between them; and they loved each other with pure hearts fervently. No love was lost between them; each was worthy of the other. They had a friendship which could not be affected with changes or chances, and which exemplified all that the ancients have said on the subject; "Friendship produces an entire sameness; it is one soul in two bodies: a friend is another self."
(from Adam Clarke Commentary)

Kay Arthur: “Speaking volumes of the breadth and depth of Covenant they had just cut, the new relationship they had just entered into, the Covenant made them one. A relationship that would supersede all others except their relationship with their God.”

For example, David and Jonathan entered into a covenant because of their love for each other. This agreement bound each of them to certain responsibilites <1 Sam. 18:3>. (from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary)
(Copyright (C) 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

Disciplines of a Godly Man- describes the relationship between David and Jonathon as a relationship that though in Scripture has fallen by the wayside, simply because we lack roots. He goes on to say that even the most intimate of friends for men will never approach the depth of friendship that women share because men do not value friendship like they do. He goes on to state that such thinking is to ignore the wisdom of Scripture and life. (R. Kent Hughes) Jesus ministry was centered and rooted in DEEP friendship with a few-3, particularly 1. He goes on to describe the friendship of Jonathon and David as the Mutuality of soul. It is a supernatural mutuality of soul where two are one (knit together) because of the Spirit of God that has drawn them into a Covenant friendship.

According to Hughes, The mutuality of soul is followed by an unselfish love and accompanies a mutuality of love and commitment to one another. The deepest of friendships have the desire to make the other royalty. (as Jonathon did for David.) They work for and rejoice in the other’s elevation. There are no hooks, no desires to manipulate, or control and no jealousy. With such a Covenant friendship comes deep loyalty. When Saul spoke evil of David, Jonathon did not receive the evil report but instead spoke well of David. (1 Sam 19:4)
Repeated (Jonathon and David affirmed and cut Covenant twice, not just once) commitments to covenant bound their lives and their children’s lives to one another. (1 Sam 20:14-17)
Hughes alludes to the fact that many men never experience such Biblical friendship and are confounded by the women who do. He states that such friendship is a discipline we must exercise and engage in, that it takes work and a willingness to be transparent and challenges us all to look at Scripture and to cultivate such a friendship.


ALL FOR YOU

Covenant

I am putting on you and you me. Exchange of robes. Each removing their robes and giving them to the other demonstrating I am clothed in your garment.

Your enemies are my enemies. Handing over their sword and bow, they agreed to not fight each other, but to make enemies of one another’s enemies, constantly defending and fighting for one another.

When you are weak, I will be there for you. They exchanged belts, because that was the center of all life being held together.

I am dying to my independent living and to my rights. In a figure eight pattern they both walked thru the pieces of flesh…a walk into death, swearing by covenant oath and asking God to do so to them if they broke.

Then they cut the wrist, rubbed salt in the wound to scar so a MARK would be left and clasped hands, so the blood mingled and they became blood brothers, a bind deeper than any other. Demonstrating that the 2 become one.

What is mine is yours. What they owned and what they owed became shared resources for life.

Whenever would see the scar on their hand, when they would be reminded of a covenant partner. And because of covenant, they have a NEW IDENTITY. They sat and partook of a covenant meal. One broke bread and fed to another demonstrating you are eating me and I you. And finally a memorial of stones were set, a planted tree, a written contract, as a testimony of the covenant.

Now I call you Friend, a friend that sticks closer than a brother.

These are the customs of Covenant, each portraying truth that applies to our walks.

Covenant was a pledge to death. A pledge in love. Can you imagine being loved that much, so much that someone would pledge unto death for your security and well being? Covenant does not allow for abandonment, at least not without horrible consequences. And that is why we need to understand covenant. We think we have God and eternal life and all the blessings that go with it on our own terms. Our logic is dangerously skewed. It is why our Christianity isn’t working. Why our family and friends are falling apart. Why churches are failing.

Covenant is often misunderstood in thinking of it ONLY in context of marriage. And our view of that is skewed, for so many walk away from that. It is easily and simply dissolved. But Scripture is clear to show that Covenant between God, between spouses and between friends is for life and only in death dissolved kind of agreement.

From OUR COVENANT GOD….Kay Arthur
ALL FOR YOU

awaken

I went knowing that I needed to just hear from the Lord, to sense His Presence and to experience the release of being among others who are pressing to knock down the doors of heaven. I was not disappointed.
I went to the release of the new PASSION CD, AWAKENING. The title is appropriate. A call to be AWAKENED.

I am not one that really likes the WAKING UP part of life. In fact, most days I would prefer to sleep and not wake up, simply because I don't like waking up. No one likes the sound of an alarm, a nudge that says move or a voice that is calling you from the slumber. In fact, we fight it.

But we all HAVE to wake up. We can't stay in the slumber state forever. We have to shake off the sleep and step into reality. Been thinking a lot about awakening this week. And how so often, we like to just remain in our spiritual sleep and how we don't like to be prodded to wake up and move. We would prefer to stay under the covers and just slumber. We don't want to have to open our eyes to the Light and let HIS LIGHT pierce our darkness.

I hate getting up. But once I get moving...I realize it the waking I hate, not the doing. For many of us, we just need to wake up. The work God has called us to isn't the worst part…it is letting the Light pierce the darkness, the awakening. The opening of our eyes.

So WAKE UP O SLEEPER and rise from the dead. Let the light of Christ shine on You. Eph 5:14

It is time that we stop the slumber…and let the LIGHT PIERCE THE DARKNESS.
ALL FOR YOU

moving forward?

We know if we keep doing church like we are doing it, it will probably only grow more irrelevant to today’s culture. but if moving forward feels, looks, or sounds like this...maybe we should just try to survive as long as we can and let the next generation figure it out.
from Tangible Kingdom

So, I am reading this book that a friend gave me and I am being blown away. I am convicted, convinced and compelled...not by the words of an author, but by the thoughts of my own heart that are CRAZY and don't line up with the Word.
If there is a word that defines my heart it is simply found in the word MORE. I want more. I am not a settler. I don't settle. I am an all or nothing, full on or not all kind of girl. There is little grey, little in between and little that I don't go mock 90 doing. I want more from my life, more from my relationships and more of God. And I want more out of church. I don't want the status quo, religious jargon of our day. I don't want to be entertained and I don't want to go so far chasing more that I lose what is right. If anyone spends much time with me, they will see my pursuit of more, my push for more in others and my heart to bring more of God's presence to wherever and whomever. It is the very thing that people love me for...but also the same thing others hate.
I say all of that to simply state...that sometimes in order to get more, you have to press through and let go of some really hard stuff. And there are moments when you wonder if it is worth the fight. Moments when all of may want to say...let's just settle and let someone else, the next generation...figure it out. Moments when you say, I have done enough. I am done.
That is where WHO I am kicks in. I am not a settler and I am rarely done. I have NO interest in surviving. I want MORE than just surviving life, surviving the day to day, surviving church, surviving relationships...I want the abundant, supernatural, MORE that God promises to those who seek Him. I don't want to be bound in rules, but to long to please HIM so much that I choose the right thing because I love HIM, not because I am forced to. I don't want to keep doing what we have always done simply because it is easier than change. I don't want to give up because it doesn't seem worth it. I Won't let go of the promise of more.
What if Joshua had done that? It was hard. Every where his foot stepped there was another battle. And people who stood against him, people who were lazy, who didn't follow directions and who tried to turn back. This is why God's Word to Joshua was BE STRONG and COURAGEOUS. DO NOT FEAR. I am with YOU. Don't turn to the right or the left.
Christy's interpretation: Don't be afraid of people, places, circumstances, giants or threats. Hang on to me because I have my grip on you. I AM WITH YOU. Don't look at the distractions to the right or left...you walk into battle and fight, knowing I am on your side.
Because of Joshua's tenacity in not settling, because he didn't listen to the people who wanted to go back, because he was bold an entire generation got to enter the promised land...the MORE. But only because HE was willing to fight the battles to get them there.
So the quote above hits me where it hurts. Will we merely survive and let someone else fight the battle. Or will we be the JOSHUA who doesn't settle on the outskirts of the more, but instead fights for it.
ALL FOR YOU

passion

How do we make glorifying Jesus the passion, the desire of our souls?
Can life really have purpose? Can work, play, relationships, eating and ministry all flow out of ONE PASSION? You see, when you come to the place where you are not satisfied and you realize that you can be satisfied…and you realize that satisfaction comes only in delighting in God, His renown an HIs glory…you come to the place where you find a single passion for your life.
1 Cor 2:2 says "I am determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and HIM crucified."
Why would Paul say such a thing? Because he found the answer. He realized that the only way to be satisfied was to do what he was created to do-bring glory to God. And that is done by delighting in Him and knowing Him more. God wants us to see our lives with a single focus and for the cross of Christ to be that focus..to know Christ and HIM crucified.
What is your passion? What is it that you eat and sleep for? Maybe it is sports, music, education, movies, a relationship. But you will never be satisfied by those passions. God wants you to know that the only way you will be satisfied is by making HIM your passion, which is how HE is most glorified.
Phil 3 says it this way:
"Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ as my master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant-dog poo. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by Him. I didn't want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ. I gave up all the inferior stuff so I could KNOW Christ personally, experience His resurrection power and be a partner in His suffering and go all the way with Him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it.
This is the picture of a man whose passion is Christ and Him crucified.
What is the ONE PASSION of your life that makes everything else look like dog poo in comparison? If it is not Christ, then your passion is not God's passion. Knowing Him must be the single most driving force in our lives.
Some of you don't know Him. Some know OF Him. Some know ABOUT Him. Some think you know Him…but if you knew Him…truly, you would be passionate about Him, for KNOWING breeds passion.
John 16:3 These things they will do (making those who live like this feel as outcasts in the church) because they have not known the Father, or me….Jesus.
ALL FOR YOU

wasted words

This week I was doing some writing on my new book. I need to finish the last chapter, so I can do some editing. I had worked for several hours and closed up for the day. Later, when I went back to re-open the file to read what I had written, I couldn’t find the words anywhere. The file was there. It opened, but I guess in my haste to close down, I had not saved my work. I was so disappointed. All that work and none of the words saved. Don’t you just HATE THAT?
I got to thinking about what the Lord might be trying to teach me through all of that and came to the conclusion that perhaps HE had different words for me to write or perhaps I needed to re-learn what I had written before He would let me put them to paper. However, I have since been thinking about how often our words are lost.
So, often in our haste, we miss the message God is trying to say and the Word is lost. It is not saved or hidden in our hearts, as it should be so that it can be recalled. It isn’t stored in the correct file, so that we can open it up and let it be read and re-read in the way we live our lives. Words are often lost, because they aren’t saved.
Words need to be saved. Whether you journal them, read them, write them or memorize them-words lost are wasted. Don’t waste your words…or HIS.

Ps 119:11-16
11 Thy word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee.
12 Blessed art Thou, O LORD; teach me Thy statutes.
13 With my lips I have told of all the ordinances of Thy mouth.
14 I have rejoiced in the way of Thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on Thy precepts, and regard Thy ways.
16 I shall delight in Thy statutes; I shall not forget Thy word.
ALL FOR YOU

ANew year…New goals…but perhaps, we need to return and not just look for the New. Let me clarify. Do you remember a time when your relationship with God was better than it is now? Do you remember when you were perhaps studying the Word, going to Bible study and engaged in discipleship or accountability? While those days may not have always seemed easier, you must admit, you were closer to God.
Sometimes we abandon what is hard for what SEEMS easier. But there is a way that SEEMS right that leads to destruction. (Prov 14:12) We tend to live in what we “think” or understand to be better. And easier SEEMS better…but that is a road that leads to destruction. If you really think about, although those days when you were pursuing God were hard, they were better. Why? Because your greatest joy is not found in the easiness of life, but in the pursuit of God Himself, who is our greatest joy.
You have to admit that while things might be easier when you don’t pursue, there is great loss in that for you. Less God, Less Jesus, Less Holy Spirit…Less guidance, less satisfaction, less in your relationships, less in your heart. It is just less apart from Him.
Jesus looks at us and says….
Rev 2:4-5
4 'But I have {this} against you, that you have left your first love.
5 'Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you, and will remove your lampstand out of its place-- unless you repent.
Perhaps New year and New goals look a lot like what you did at first or previously, when you were chasing Him and loving Him and not this life. We can choose what easy, but it is not better and the cost is great…He will remove your lampstand…the Light…unless you repent.

ALL FOR YOU

somebody else?

Somebody Else?
Can’t somebody else do it? I don’t want to get involved. Let someone else do get in the middle of it, serve, fill the gap, help out, get involved. It’s none of my business, let someone else do it. I have too much to do, let someone else.
OMG….will somebody please tell me who “else’s” name is? Because I am so tired of hearing about this anonymous person named “else”.
I realize that we are busy people. But the truth is we are selfish people. We make time for what we want to do. We don’t want to get involved, get in the middle of it, serve, help out, etc. Why? Because it will cost us something, it will keep us from what we want to do, it will force us to lay aside self and serve another.
But at the people of God, isn’t this at the very core of who we should be. We should be people involved in one another’s lives, helping, serving, standing in the gap, getting in each other’s business so that they are accountable and kept from falling. We KNOW this to be true…because we say…Let someone ELSE do it. We know SOMEONE needs to do it? But who is the someone ELSE?
The someone else is YOU. The someone else is Me. If God has allowed us to see a need, a problem, a place to serve, a place that is lacking…then WE are the people to fill. But in our selfishness and in our laziness, we just want to talk about the someone ELSE who should, making ourselves feel better cause we have talked about it, but we never do anything.
Will you be the SOMEONE ELSE everybody is talking about it? That was the question they asked Jesus.
Matt 11:3 and said to Him, "Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?"
He was the Expected ONE….and they didn’t need to look for someone else. Jesus lives IN YOU and you are the ONE He expects and HE is not looking for another.
So, will you be the someone else God is looking for…or will you continue in the laziness and selfishness and just talk about the someone else who should do something?


ALL FOR YOU

Big God

What would happen if we defied the odds, didn’t focus on our disadvantages, didn’t make excuses or try to avoid hard situations? What if we could actually believe that God is bigger and more powerful than anything we face? We could thrive in tough situations and know that despite impossible odds that amazing miracles were possible. This is how God reveals glory and blesses us at the same time.
Sometimes God chooses not to intervene until we are at a place where the supernatural is necessary. He is not merely looking to equip us to answer and fill our own needs, but to bring us to the brink of brokenness and desperation so that we NEED Him, depend on Him and not ourselves. Why would we need God, if we can provide for, fix and depend on ourselves. He lets us go our own way, try to find satisfaction in this life and leave us to ourselves to discover that nothing compares to His way and His provision.
Too often we try to reduce God to our plans, our desires and what we can comprehend or understand. What we like or what makes sense to us. But when God does something it is indescribable, undeniable and often unexplainable….so that it can only be explained by HIS doing. This is where we learn what true faith is…trusting Him with those we love even when we don’t understand. Awaiting a divine intervention so that HIS glory is seen and not our demands.
Tozer says, the most important thing about any man is what comes to mind when you think about God.
“the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at any given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like…were we able to extract from any man a complete answer to this question, we might predict with certainty the spiritual future of that man.”
Most of our problems are perceptual. In other words, they can be traced back to an inadequate understanding of who God is. We THINK we know, we are satisfied with what we THINK we know, we are comfortable with what we THINK we understand, but our biggest issues and problems stem from the fact that our view of God and what we THINK about HIM has given us a perception of life that is inadequate and inaccurate. We reduce God to what we can see, understand, like, comprehend, explain and justify.
We are not okay with the unexplainable. We constantly are looking for ways to make it all “fit” into what we can understand. We do not have a HIGH VIEW of God. We THINK we do, but it is evidenced by how we live that we continually want to reduce and reproduce faith into what we can manage.
“a low view of God is the cause of a hundred lesser evils.” (tozer)
The greatest tragedy in life is that as we grow older our God gets smaller and smaller with each passing day, instead of unfathomable. We are not okay with a God that is so big and His ways are so not ours, that we could not fathom or grasp the depth and height of what He might do. When we begin to be okay with NOT understanding…God gets bigger and bigger and what He can do become indescribable and indestructible, inconceivable and incomprehensible…and we glory in that…not trying to reduce Him to what we can see, manage, justify, understand, put into a comfortable box. We miss so much of God because we are trying to “fit” Him into what we can fathom instead of embracing how big He really is.

ALL FOR YOU

12 words

I am struck today by 12 words that I think will both define and determine the journey from this point forward. I am not sure why I missed them previously…and I am not sure why I didn’t clue into their meaning. But even after studying Daniel for a month, I missed it. Yet, Last night, minutes after the New Year came in, sitting in the tub, praying, reading and setting my heart….these words came to my attention. These words spoke volumes of where we have been and where we are going. They ring with truth and determination, depth and a confidence of both where they are going and what they know. They ring with evidence of people who are holding the rope, steadfast immovable.

They have reminded me that people will NEVER understand. And even those with the “authority” over us will try to exercise it and cause us to bow to other things, particularly their desires. Much like Nehemiah…there will be those who try to keep you from doing the good work…and our answer has had and will continue to be…we are doing a good work, we will not come down.

These words….

“O King, WE DO NOT NEED TO DEFEND OURSELVES BEFORE YOU IN THIS MATTER.”

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednigo stood before the ultimate of earthly authority in their lives. They stood when the King wanted them to bow, to cower to his demands, desires and threats. They stood despite what it could cost, dependent on a God that would deliver, confident He would save them-but even if didn’t, trusting that they would not be deterred or bow. And when the authority pushed, tried to cause them to bow….their words RANG out. When the King tried to pull the authority card, the cost card, the power card, the death card, the threat card….When he didn’t understand and tried to force them…their words brought clarity…..

WE DO NOT NEED TO DEFEND OURSELVES BEFORE YOU IN THIS MATTER.

Throw us in the fire if you must, for our God will meet us there….but we don’t need to defend our choice.

Heat it up 7 times hotter…but we don’t need to defend why we choose what we choose…not even to the ultimate earthly authority.

For God RULES over all and we do not choose to bow….Clearly…this is more important that pleasing you.

WE DO NOT NEED TO DEFEND OURSELVES BEFORE YOU IN THIS MATTER.



I don’t need a reason. I don’t need to convince. I don’t need for them to understand. I don’t need to talk them into it. I don’t need words or actions that demonstrate why. I don’t need to defend, justify, compromise or even delay in hopes of understanding. I don’t need to explain or make plain. WE DO NOT NEED TO DEFEND OURSELVES BEFORE YOU IN THIS MATTER.

It is what it is…there is no explanation that will make you understand…except to watch me choose despite the threat…so that you might briefly glimpse the power, love and depth I am willing to face-and not defend…just keep on…

NO RESPONSE>…will not change, stop, defend or delay.



WE DO NOT NEED TO DEFEND OURSELVES BEFORE YOU IN THIS MATTER>…..12 words that will define and determine.

ALL FOR YOU