Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Combo meal... do you want fries with that?

I think we get stuck sometimes, stuck in sin and it seems like we just can't get out of our own way. We know that God is there, but He seems so far away and really why would He want to bother? We are sinning, by choice or circumstance, and to give up that for redemption becomes too much to bear. When we get mired down in our life, we get to a point where we know our pain so well that we can't imagine living life without it. And that shameful knowledge blinds us to the simple truth that it is possible to survive without that all encompassing isolating pain.

The enemy comes in and feeds on our sin and covers our eyes from this truth. Without us feeding him, he will not survive. He doesn't want you to know how easy it is to turn to God. There is no obstacle, no hurdle, no canyon too wide for God. The enemy tries to trip you up and keep you isolated so that he can continue to feast. Like some sort of convenient drive-through, he orders a combo meal that consists of your joy, passion and vigor for life... maybe with a side of fries. For him, it is so easy.

Consciously, would you really choose to submit these things, knowing that it will impact you everyday... that somehow your life will really be fine without joy? Stop enabling the enemy to run over and through you, he is weak unless we encourage him. He has no real strength or power but that which we give him. And when we turn our eyes back to God, baby-step or seek him slightly... He is there, waiting in the wings for you, just for you to even dare to ask.

Jesus is the bridge between us and God. One gloriously simple bond that connects us forever. No matter how far away we feel like we are removed from God - the truth is that because of the Jesus connection, God is no further away than our fingertips or our next breath. God is not the elusive 'seek Me on the highest mountains' because of Jesus, we can find Him in the everyday moments, the moments between the miracles. All we need do is turn our hearts to Him, and He is there.

We are connected, He sacrificed His only Son, just for you to live life in the fullness of His glory, His freedom. His joy for you is not that you be oppressed and afflicted, do not surrender, embrace His love for you. There are more miracles waiting for you to experience, ushered in by His faithfulness in the face of our infinite weakness and ineptitude. You do not have to be the most spiritual, the most Christian, the most anything to receive this gift. Unlike everything else in this world, your lack of credentials make you that much more desirable to Him. Your shortcoming pull on God's heartstrings more than all the overachieving machinations of mankind combined. You don't need a fancy endorsement or resume, you can show up in your jammies with every hair out of place and He will reveal His majesty. Be underqualified, because He is the only qualification you will ever need.

Isaiah 40:29 He gives power to those who are tired and worn out; he offers strength to the weak.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Longing for more

What is my portion? What do I have a right to expect and what is beyond my graps? Am I too much, too lacking for redemption? How can God call me out with all my fleshly ways standing between us? Rhetorical questions, I know.

Nothing is impossible for God. My hardened heart, the shell of my old self that I carry in a secret compartment of my soul, these are not beyond the merciful healing of my God. He is more than all the shortcomings of my nature. He is beyond all my natural understanding.

My portion is not my past, not my sins of today. There is a promised wholeness hanging before me, a path of more than where I stand now or where I have been. A greater destiny than what I have ever dreamed possible. More healing, more signs, more wonders, more joy, more love, more revelation.... more, more, more!

I say bring it on, Your right to rule in my life and my heart, be unleashed. Whatever tethers I have restrained You with, be undone. Let there be no corner concealed, it is past time for Your glory to be poured out vigorously. More of You God, here and now.


Psalms 73:26
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Picked Off

So, it's like this... somebody is getting on your nerves, somebody you love in Christ and in the natural, how much do you let it interfere with your relationship? How much do you jump up onto your moral high horse and let them know all the ways they are living their life wrong?

STOP! Dismount that horse. Are you really in a position to correct anyone? How's your glass house today? You may want to rethink your strategy and put down the stone of loving correction and listen.

The enemy seeks to divide us from one another and each one of from Christ. When we let petty differences abide in our heart and bear grudges in our hearts, we are not allowing Christ to dwell in our hearts. Christ in a box doesn't do anyone much good, you or your 'somebody'. If you are truly letting Christ be the mediator and mighty counselor of your life, don't hold Him back from healing some one else's wounds by putting your foot in your mouth. Before you speak, PRAY.

I am no less guilty of feeling the draw of offering loving correction to all those around me, I think it's my mama nature, I want everyone to be healthy and happy, and I am sure that I know the best way to 'help' them achieve that. But I am afraid that my way isn't God's way and that I will do more harm than good. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and I don't want to be helping that road any more than I already have.

So sit back and zip it. If you are not talking, you might be able to hear God's heart for the person that you want to fix. AND maybe, just maybe.... if you aren't trying to fix the world with your own strength, God will be released to heal those wounds.... yours and theirs. Maybe nothing, sit back and watch it happen... believe in the miracle that will happen.


Ecclesiastes 4:12
A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.