"And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise." -Hebrews 6:15
What should my life look like if I actually believe day in and day out that God is faithful to his promises? Trust in God's word and his faithfulness destroys fear, insecurity, and doubt.
While I'm Waiting-John Waller
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Ruin Satan's Day
"'I saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you." -Luke 10:18-19
What have you done today to make yourself an enemy of Satan's? I want to be on his hit list so that I may boast in Christ alone and watch the power of victory over the grave defeat Satan in my life and in the lives of others.
A little bit of encouragement in going out boldly...Courageous-Casting Crowns
What have you done today to make yourself an enemy of Satan's? I want to be on his hit list so that I may boast in Christ alone and watch the power of victory over the grave defeat Satan in my life and in the lives of others.
A little bit of encouragement in going out boldly...Courageous-Casting Crowns
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Rainstorm
"'Shower , O heaven, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness'"-Isaiah 45:8a
Yesterday it poured, and I had the privilege of being on the field when it did. Standing on the sidelines, drenched through the couple of layers that I had on, I looked up in awe of the shear amount of rain dumping down on us. I had to squint to keep my contacts from floating away and spout water off my lips to prevent my mouth from filling. I began to notice a slight flavor to the water leaving my mouth. I don't mean the naturally refreshing taste of water, but rather a familiar hint of something more...something almost chemical. Indeed, the little bit of conditioner I had in my hair was being washed out by the rain and was now streaming over my lips. Eww.
It got me thinking that if we get caught in a rainstorm of righteousness, something will be removed from us. Righteousness is not just something you slap on over the filth of sin. If it rains down, it washes that sin away. And as always, there in lies the challenge, because sometimes the process of having sin washed away leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
Praise the Lord that he loves us too much not to change us!
Yesterday it poured, and I had the privilege of being on the field when it did. Standing on the sidelines, drenched through the couple of layers that I had on, I looked up in awe of the shear amount of rain dumping down on us. I had to squint to keep my contacts from floating away and spout water off my lips to prevent my mouth from filling. I began to notice a slight flavor to the water leaving my mouth. I don't mean the naturally refreshing taste of water, but rather a familiar hint of something more...something almost chemical. Indeed, the little bit of conditioner I had in my hair was being washed out by the rain and was now streaming over my lips. Eww.
It got me thinking that if we get caught in a rainstorm of righteousness, something will be removed from us. Righteousness is not just something you slap on over the filth of sin. If it rains down, it washes that sin away. And as always, there in lies the challenge, because sometimes the process of having sin washed away leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
Praise the Lord that he loves us too much not to change us!
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Great Adventure
"A man's steps are from the LORD; how then can man understand his way?" -Proverbs 20:24
Maybe the best response to this scripture is sweet surrender.
Maybe the best response to this scripture is sweet surrender.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Laughing at the Future
"Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come."-Proverbs 31:25
As I sat in a small lecture room with forty of my fellow nursing classmates, anxiously anticipating our first exam, there was a sense that everyone realized that the thinking (or lack there of) that we would do over the next hour and a half could have a profound impact on our futures.
I absolutely love the picture of the Proverbs 31 woman who has the strength and dignity of the Lord so bound in her heart that it is as if she is wearing it, and that it affects and enables her to be secure in her future to come, to the point of laughter or in the NASB "smiling". Just like a beautiful woman in a stunning outfit, it is apparent that she is empowered by Jesus.
In the words of the wonderful hymn...
From life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny
In Christ Alone
Regardless of how uncertain life seems, that's worth smiling about:)
As I sat in a small lecture room with forty of my fellow nursing classmates, anxiously anticipating our first exam, there was a sense that everyone realized that the thinking (or lack there of) that we would do over the next hour and a half could have a profound impact on our futures.
I absolutely love the picture of the Proverbs 31 woman who has the strength and dignity of the Lord so bound in her heart that it is as if she is wearing it, and that it affects and enables her to be secure in her future to come, to the point of laughter or in the NASB "smiling". Just like a beautiful woman in a stunning outfit, it is apparent that she is empowered by Jesus.
In the words of the wonderful hymn...
From life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny
In Christ Alone
Regardless of how uncertain life seems, that's worth smiling about:)
Saturday, September 17, 2011
What Shape is Your Cross?
"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and come follow me." - Mark 8:34
There is not a task too menial, nor a feat too lofty once we pick up that cross. Sometimes it's frustrating to continue to share the gospel with people, yet fail to see a harvest...but that's carrying the cross. Sometimes we're drained of energy from pouring out and scant being poured into....but that's carrying the cross. Sometimes it's downright painful to be worked on by the Lord through situations and circumstances that arise through the entrance of sin into this world....but that's carrying the cross. The cross may take different forms in different stages of life, but be encouraged, never walk without it, for in the absence of the cross there is nothing to lean on and no one worth following. Most of all, if we fail to pick up the cross, we can't point others to the empty tomb.
There is not a task too menial, nor a feat too lofty once we pick up that cross. Sometimes it's frustrating to continue to share the gospel with people, yet fail to see a harvest...but that's carrying the cross. Sometimes we're drained of energy from pouring out and scant being poured into....but that's carrying the cross. Sometimes it's downright painful to be worked on by the Lord through situations and circumstances that arise through the entrance of sin into this world....but that's carrying the cross. The cross may take different forms in different stages of life, but be encouraged, never walk without it, for in the absence of the cross there is nothing to lean on and no one worth following. Most of all, if we fail to pick up the cross, we can't point others to the empty tomb.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Useless
"The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever, Do not forsake the work of your hands."-Psalm 138:8
Do you ever feel useless to God? I do. Sometimes I think about his majesty and sovereignty, and in viewing myself in light of that, I wonder how in the world I am ever valued as a tool of the living God. Then I think about all of the amazing heroes of the Bible who were common men and women and in some cases, criminals, prostitutes, and persecutes, yet God used them. So when life feels stagnated or I feel like I'm not being effective for the gospel, this scripture is pretty amazing. He will not forget about the work that he is doing IN us or THROUGH us!
Do you ever feel useless to God? I do. Sometimes I think about his majesty and sovereignty, and in viewing myself in light of that, I wonder how in the world I am ever valued as a tool of the living God. Then I think about all of the amazing heroes of the Bible who were common men and women and in some cases, criminals, prostitutes, and persecutes, yet God used them. So when life feels stagnated or I feel like I'm not being effective for the gospel, this scripture is pretty amazing. He will not forget about the work that he is doing IN us or THROUGH us!
Monday, September 5, 2011
Delightful Fright
" The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom"-Proverbs 9:10
It is all over scripture! Proverbs 31 is a famous passage describing the godly woman and the highlighted conclusion is that she would fear the Lord. What is that? For so long I was very confused. My perception of fear is not what I want to apply to my relationship with the one who holds my heart. We avoid things that we fear and I know we don't want to avoid the Lord. I've been through seasons of my life when I did avoid the Lord and it's horrible. My life falls apart. So what is it to fear the Lord? I did some digging and check this out.....
John Piper- "if you are running from God because you are afraid of him, then you are not yet as afraid as you ought to be. In fact, your very flight is a mockery of God, presuming to think that you could outrun [him]. The fear of the Lord is fear of fleeing out of his fellowship into the way of sin. Therefore the fear of the Lord is full of peace and security and hope. It keeps us near to the merciful heart of God, our fortress, our refuge, our sanctuary, our shield, our sun."
That makes sense! It's paradoxical that the fear we should experience towards the Lord is in fact delightful to partake in!
It is all over scripture! Proverbs 31 is a famous passage describing the godly woman and the highlighted conclusion is that she would fear the Lord. What is that? For so long I was very confused. My perception of fear is not what I want to apply to my relationship with the one who holds my heart. We avoid things that we fear and I know we don't want to avoid the Lord. I've been through seasons of my life when I did avoid the Lord and it's horrible. My life falls apart. So what is it to fear the Lord? I did some digging and check this out.....
John Piper- "if you are running from God because you are afraid of him, then you are not yet as afraid as you ought to be. In fact, your very flight is a mockery of God, presuming to think that you could outrun [him]. The fear of the Lord is fear of fleeing out of his fellowship into the way of sin. Therefore the fear of the Lord is full of peace and security and hope. It keeps us near to the merciful heart of God, our fortress, our refuge, our sanctuary, our shield, our sun."
That makes sense! It's paradoxical that the fear we should experience towards the Lord is in fact delightful to partake in!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Did you See That?
"And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead."-Acts 10:39-41
Have we seen the glory of Jesus in our lives? Have you and I witnessed his power and love? Not everyone has had the privilege of experiencing and actually more truthfully, not everyone has recognized Jesus in their lives. So what are we standing around for? We should consider ourselves chosen witnesses to carry the name of Christ! A small nuance here at the end of the passage is key to effective witnessing. Peter notes that the witnesses that he is talking to ate and drank with Jesus after he rose from the dead. We will never experience the fullness of Christ and we'll never want to share that fullness unless we eat and drink with him on a daily basis. Only then will our lives be radically redirected towards the mission of the gospel.
Mark Driscoll puts his life's mission like this, he is simply a "nobody trying to tell everybody about Somebody"
Have we seen the glory of Jesus in our lives? Have you and I witnessed his power and love? Not everyone has had the privilege of experiencing and actually more truthfully, not everyone has recognized Jesus in their lives. So what are we standing around for? We should consider ourselves chosen witnesses to carry the name of Christ! A small nuance here at the end of the passage is key to effective witnessing. Peter notes that the witnesses that he is talking to ate and drank with Jesus after he rose from the dead. We will never experience the fullness of Christ and we'll never want to share that fullness unless we eat and drink with him on a daily basis. Only then will our lives be radically redirected towards the mission of the gospel.
Mark Driscoll puts his life's mission like this, he is simply a "nobody trying to tell everybody about Somebody"
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