This jumped out at me this morning and filled my heart with faith. It's in Lamentations 3. That's after Jeremiah (def had to use the table of contense ;) Last night I was asking the Lord, who are you? Do I even know you? Coming from a place of bitterness, even when things aren't even terribly bad. I don't want to be bitter, I want to be excited about the Lord. Because first of all I am nothing without God. (love Galations 2:20...it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me..) He has saved me and continues to save me from sin and death and fills my heart with overwhelming joy so faithfully. Def not deserved, but to know he thinks I'm worth it is unreal. Maybe that is why people have such a hard time recieving grace sometimes? They know how ugly sin has made them and it's just too good to be true. I say "grace, YES PLEASE!" Or maybe no one has over loved them with the love of Christ? Scared from religion and rules and regulations, wounded and surpressed hurt beyond measure. You just can't fully love without Jesus and his forgiveness in your heart. Without forgivness, there's conditions. Deep down I know he has a good plan. But really... 'THIS', this is what it looks like??? The Lord def cares the most about the condition of my heart. I just Love him and how he answers....
It starts out to say:
18. Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!...
19. Bitter beyond words...
With his love, he will calm all your fears. Zephaniah3:17
This song came on my Pandora yesterday and I'm in love! When we don't even realize it the Lord is delighting in us. Our thoughts might not line up, but God. But God is there and I'm not even going to try and tell you how he loves ...He's better at it than I am :)
Sitting and being vulnerable in his presence. The walls come down and it's messy, and totally cool. I have had a relationship with the Lord for a handful of years, and honestly it's still new. I didn't even realize it but I have not sat and opened up my heart to the Lord in, well, long enough. Hence, facebook hiatus. I need to hear the Lord. More than anything I need to hear the Lord. Even if its quiet and I'm waiting, I need to hear the Lord. I'm so lost without God. Facebook was becoming such a suction cup to negative fruit in my thoughts and time. I got sick of it. Basically. Yeah.
Lord, Free us from the unhealthy habbit of only thinking about ourselves! There is only one place where we are right with God, and that is IN Christ Jesus. We are perfect only in Christ, not in the best we have done. God did it for us. I know no greater love. Step into those shoes and begin to pray for whoever God puts in your path. hmmm. the inner life of prayer. That quiet place with the Lord is the BEST!
Are we prepared to purposely disregard ourselves and to laung out into the priestly work of prayer? The continual inner-searching we do in an effort to see if we are what we ought to be generates a self-centered, sickly type of Christianity, not the vigorous and simply life of a child of God. -Oswald Chambers
But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness and into his wonderful light. 1peter2:9
For the past couple years I have followed a reading that a church in Chicago sends out via email. Here is the link if you are interested. It continues to ground me in the word and I'm beyond thankful and in awe of the Lord working in my life, AT ALL TIMES! I started writing this post back in January, and it has been on my heart to wrap up the thoughts. Fitting seeing as the past week I have decided to lay off the workouts and rest. I want to walk and not run... that dixie chicks song 'Cowboy Take Me Away' seems to be my heart beat the past couple weeks. Being in the fitness industry I find myself getting easily wrapped up in serving an image. Forming the physique can easily take priority over anything else in my life. Yes it's about being fit and the rest will follow, but lets be honest... most of us care about our image and looks to some degree. Not to say that being healthy and working toward fitness achievements is right/wrong, it's not about that. I can tell I'm getting burnt out and overtraining is about to set in. Our body is the temple of the holy spirit and we are called to honor God with our body, not honor our body as God. Time to rest, recover and spend time at the Lords feet. Put others before myself. Pour out not of myself and my strength but out of overflow received from the Father. Then just maybe my dixie chicks tune will change and I'll be 'Ready to Run' ;) Seeing as I have already gone off on a different avenue it would be a good time to dive into the original topic...
This teaching I believe reveals the contrast between what the world grabs for us to walk in and what walking in the fullness/wholeness/whatever of Christ is. (enter whatever super spiritual word works best there) Yes, I am being super spiritual...deal with it! The point is, our culture is grabbing for our attention into a fantasy world. We can so easily give our hearts to other 'lovers' and indulge in temporary satisfaction to fill the desires of our hearts. I'm def guilty of getting sucked into all the 'virtual life' that can take the place of real living and real relationships. How much time do we really spend on facebook, following or favorite twitter stars, and trying to make our own story appear exciting and glorious to the cyber community? I want to share how extremely challenged and encouraged I am by this concept. Seems like the deeper I get in His word the more it reveals the contrast of how I live and what I seek does not always match what it looks like to truly seek and live in His kingdom. The scripture after all says; seek His kingdom above all else...
Some QUESTIONS and A TRUTH that made me evaluate my walk:
1. How important is it for you to have the majority on your side?
2. Would you still follow even if there weren't many people in the crowd?
3. Why do you believe some people feel you have to be on TV, on the radio, have a massive twitter following, be published, etc to have a legitimate voice?
4. How does the life of Christ contrast with a culture that seeks to make a name for themselves?
*That is a tough question!
5. Jesus is not impressed with the number of followers.
*That is a tough truth!
For reference sake, the scriptures:
John 7:1-24 (NLT)
After this, Jesus traveled around Galilee. He wanted to stay out of Judea, where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death. But soon it was time for the Jewish Festival of Shelters and Jesus' brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, where your followers can see your miracles! You can't become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world! For even his brothers didn't believe in him
Jesus replied, “Now is no the time for me to go, but you can go anytime. The world can't hate you, but it does hate me because I accuse it of doing evil. You go on. I'm not going to this festival, because my time has not yet come.” After saying these things, Jesus remained in Galilee.
But after his brothers left for the festival, Jesus also went, through secretly, staying out of public view. The Jewish leaders tried to find him at the festival and kept asking if anyone had seen him. There was a lot of grumbling about him among the crowds. Some argued, “He's a good man, but others said, He's nothing but a fraud who deceives the people. But no one had the courage to speak favorably about him in public, for they were afraid of getting in trouble with the Jewish leaders.
Then, midway through the festival, Jesus went up to the Temple and began to teach. The people were surprised when they heard him. “How does he know so much when he hasn't been trained?” they asked.
So Jesus told them, “My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me. Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own. Those who speak from themselves want glory only for themselves, but a person who seeks to honor the one who sent him speaks truth, not lies. Moses gave you the law, but none of you obeys it! In fact, you are trying to kill me.”
The crowd replied, “You're demon possessed! Who's trying to kill you?”
Jesus replied, “I did one miracle on the Sabbath, and you were amazed. But you work on the Sabbath, too, when you obey Moses' law of circumcision. (Actually, this tradition of circumcision began with the patriarchs, long before the law of Moses.) For if the correct time for circumcising your son falls on the Sabbath, you go ahead and do it so as not to break the law of Moses. So why should you be angry with me for healing a man on the Sabbath? Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.”
More Scripture:
So Jesus said, When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will understand that I AM he. I do nothing on my own but say only what the Father taught me. And the one who sent me is with me-he has not deserted me. For I always do what pleases him.” Then many who heard him say these things believed in him. Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:28-32
“No,” Jesus said, “I have no demon in me. For I honor my Father – and you dishonor me. And though I have no wish to glorify myself, God is going to glorify me. He is the true judge. I tell you the truth, anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!” John8:49-50
Jesus answered, “If I want glory for myself, it doesn't count. But it is my Father who will glorify me. You say, 'He is our God,' but you don't even know him, I know him. If I said otherwise, I would be as great a liar as you! But I do know him and obey him. Your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad. The people said, “You aren't even fifty years old. How can you say you have seen Abraham?” Jesus answered, “ I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM!” At that point they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden from them and left the Temple. John8:54-59
SO WHAT IS THIS SAYING? Well, it's safe to say God was not impressed with just the number of followers. Despite what happened Jesus didn't flinch. The crowd who followed Jesus thinned out. The fickle followers of Jesus were sifted out by some difficult teaching, yet the 12 decided to stay (John 6:66) Jesus had to deal with some of the stuff that we do walking with Christ. One would be fading crowds. The second is serious misunderstandings from his own brothers! From their perspective they saw Jesus as a public servant and thought since the crowd left maybe he could save the situation and gain some followers. There seems to be a difference between being a fan and being a disciple. The scripture says you are truly a disciple if you remain faithful to the teaching. It's one thing to be a fan of Jesus, press the “like” button for Jesus on facebook and another to become a disciple. Jesus wants us to stand for the truth, live in the truth, his sons and daughters to be set free by HIS GRACE, and not worry about the number of the crowd.
PRAYER
Then they suggest to pray this. Honestly I had to take a step back and ask myself, can I pray that from my heart? Not to say you have to have a script to talk to God. Learning to pray in His will is what counts I would say. And being real with God, let him handle the ugly. He really does turn the bitterness into something sweet. So yeah, could you honestly pray something along these lines? Dear Father, we recognize that we live in a culture that is more concerned with the praise of men rather than the praise of God. Help us not to shrink back from proclaiming and demonstrating new life in Christ. May you and your truth be our majority. Continue your great work of weakening all the desires we have to make a name for ourselves. May we know the joys of being your servants and give you all the glory. Most importantly, give us a desire to know you better. We believe that Jesus is the Christ and that we have true life in his name. Amen.
WHAT I TAKE FROM ALL THIS is to be confident in the Lord. What I have to offer and what anyone that is seeking the will of God has to offer is of IMMEASURABLE VALUE! Don't shrink back, but let the light shine. Even in weakness, most of all in weakness. That is where His strength is made perfect. No matter what the number of the following and who is watching, stand for the truth. He will guide me and lift me up, no need to strive to make a name for myself. Be humble, get low to end up high. Seek to exalt His name. He alone is worthy. Walking in humility is glorious, and somehow does attract attention. (John8:50) It's not just something that works for you or doesn't work for you. It's a gift to receive life in Christ and you chose to receive it or ignore it. Or watch as others receive theirs and be envious of it, or even mock it. We are given this glorious gift of life from God and we get to watch as it all unfolds. There is a cost though. It costs giving up your life to receive true life. I have seen people with so little have so much more joy and happiness than those with fame and fortune. Each day we can choose to seek Christ or seek our own fame and fortune. As we follow Jesus every promise He has made us will come to pass. Gosh, that makes me thankful. My business is His business.
The Lord has a forgiving, loving, passionate heart toward us, with an amazing love story waiting to be told. I am going to start calling myself a hopeful romantic, just decided!
Writing this made me want to listen to an old fave! Seriously..i wanna walk and not run...
SO I love my new shoes! Brooks PureCanence running shoes. I have super flat feet and decided to stop using my orthotics and find a shoe that was lightweight and good support. My feet have been happy during and after runs, def recommend.
Reminded:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2
per-sev-ere: to continue steadfastly stead-fast:firm in belief, determination, or adherence : loyal
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Isaiah 26:3
Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out proverbs10:9. His walk may be slow but it is sure. Filled with steady perseverance. It searches for peace rather than prosperity. This is contrary in almost every way our world works today. One day at a time... PERSEVERE
The past couple weeks I have been having a hard time with surrender. As much as I wanted to lay everything down at the altar, I just couldn't let go. As much as it sounds good to say “yeah, I trust the Lord” I knew I couldn't make that statement in complete honesty. What it comes down to is I might not trust Gods heart towards me. That if I really surrender I might not like what comes next.
So maybe if I get down on my knees, then I'll feel it. Nope. I got up and wondered why did it used to be so easy just to give it all. Then I got a text from a friend (who btw has no idea what is going on in my life). The text says...have you surrendered every part of you? Literally right after I got up. One of those moments that you know God is totally in all this. So I'm like great, God's totally letting me know he's there and I'm still fighting letting go.
In worship the following day I started to realize that surrender sometimes is like forgiveness. You might not feel it, but it is a choice. Yield your heart to surrender even though there are no warm fuzzy feelings to go along with it. Choose to surrender even when there is a pull that is saying no the other way is better. Choose to surrender even if you don't feel like it. Choose to surrender even if what comes next might be uncomfortable. Choose to surrender your will and your dreams and your desires and experience PEACE THAT SURPASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING.
He leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Psalm23
Take delight in the lord, and he will give you your heart's desires. Psalm37
For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. Zephaniah3:17
Perf song! Thanks Judy! Love kari and her sweet anointing!
