I was listening to a favorite song the other day by Phil Wickham called "Heaven Song" and the recurring phrase that played over and over in my head was "my soul is getting restless for the place where I belong". The tension within my heart recently is much like that Paul shares with the Philippian church when he says (1:22-24) "If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body." This is the truth for us believers! There is a burden and a desire to spread the Gospel, to see the unsaved come to the Truth and respond rightly, but there is a longing within our hearts, within my soul to be home, where I belong, where I will see HIM face to face.
My heart has been burdened, so burdened and hurting lately over the lack of "results" I see in the spreading of the Gospel. Although my job is merely to plant as 1 Corinthians 3 talks about, I still am disheartened and often times discouraged that there is not the right response immediately. But then I was thinking about the reality of the power of God transforming someones life, that it is a death to life experience and that it is miraculous and it humbled me and reminded me that it is all Him, He has to transform them, completely. To be quite honest there was a day last week where I was broken to tears asking God to take me home where I belong, I was so restless with this world, so restless with sin, and just wanted to be glorified and wholly made new. I realized it that moment the selfishness in my attitude, although we should desire to be with our Creator in heaven, we need to remember that God saved us to be the tools to share the Truth with the lost and He wants to use us for that. We should pray maranatha but we should pray it with the heart of Paul that was desiring to labor until the end. That is the realization I had, that we are restless yet need to be laboring until the end. It reminds us of our sole dependence on Him and that He is in control and sovereign over all. May we all be encouraged that although our souls are restless to be home where we belong, we have been sent out as laborers into the field to fulfill the command of our Father who in but a moment we will get to spend our eternity with!!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Walk on the Water too!
" "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" -Matthew 14:29-31
I was reading this story the other day and God opened my eyes to so much; it was one of those lightbulb moments. I am reading this story of how here is Peter, this man after God's own heart, this man who was Jesus' right hand man here on earth, someone who stood for everything He did, and who was used in incredible ways for him. So Jesus and His disciples have just got done ministering to the people in the land and He (Jesus) goes off to pray on land and the boat begins to drift from the shore with all the disciples aboard. And in the middle of the night here comes Jesus towards the boat to the disciples and He is walking on water. I can't even imagine what was going through their heads at this moment in time. Here is Peter, being himself, and he asks the Lord to command Him to come to him. Now remember He is in the boat and Jesus is on the water, so Peter knows that at this point the only way he is going to reach Jesus is if he too walks on water. So Jesus responds with "Come", and Peter gets out of the boat and begins to walk on water! Imagine the thoughts that must have been going through his head at this point. But as he is walking on the water, with his eyes fixed on Jesus, he doubts in his heart and he begins to sink. And Jesus' response? "O you have little faith!"
How often are we like Peter? I know myself, I am going strong with my eyes fixed ever on Jesus' faith like Hebrews 12 commands and then something happens, a bad day, a terrible tragedy, a trial, something that makes my heart doubt (aka sin) and I take my eyes off of His face and I begin to sink and cry out for the Lord to save me. But why? He has been there all along, He is the one who has enabled me to walk on water in the first place, and gosh if He can do that, why would I doubt that He couldn't continue to do so? Or maybe He has called me to do something, to take a "step of faith" as we like to call it but in that moment there is doubt and fear that floods my heart and I don't want to take that first step, I have forgotten, I have taken my eyes off of Him and I have stopped trusting the perfect one. What this story has taught me, and what really the Lord I believe is teaching me this year is that He has called us to walk on water! He wants us to take the steps that He has planned for us even though we don't see the end of the path; the key to keeping us from falling? Keeping our eyes fixed on Him. He is the Lord, He is the one who is enabling us and as long as we are seeking His face first there is no fear of sinking, He has us! We must remember, remember that HE IS GOD and walk on the water too!
I was reading this story the other day and God opened my eyes to so much; it was one of those lightbulb moments. I am reading this story of how here is Peter, this man after God's own heart, this man who was Jesus' right hand man here on earth, someone who stood for everything He did, and who was used in incredible ways for him. So Jesus and His disciples have just got done ministering to the people in the land and He (Jesus) goes off to pray on land and the boat begins to drift from the shore with all the disciples aboard. And in the middle of the night here comes Jesus towards the boat to the disciples and He is walking on water. I can't even imagine what was going through their heads at this moment in time. Here is Peter, being himself, and he asks the Lord to command Him to come to him. Now remember He is in the boat and Jesus is on the water, so Peter knows that at this point the only way he is going to reach Jesus is if he too walks on water. So Jesus responds with "Come", and Peter gets out of the boat and begins to walk on water! Imagine the thoughts that must have been going through his head at this point. But as he is walking on the water, with his eyes fixed on Jesus, he doubts in his heart and he begins to sink. And Jesus' response? "O you have little faith!"
How often are we like Peter? I know myself, I am going strong with my eyes fixed ever on Jesus' faith like Hebrews 12 commands and then something happens, a bad day, a terrible tragedy, a trial, something that makes my heart doubt (aka sin) and I take my eyes off of His face and I begin to sink and cry out for the Lord to save me. But why? He has been there all along, He is the one who has enabled me to walk on water in the first place, and gosh if He can do that, why would I doubt that He couldn't continue to do so? Or maybe He has called me to do something, to take a "step of faith" as we like to call it but in that moment there is doubt and fear that floods my heart and I don't want to take that first step, I have forgotten, I have taken my eyes off of Him and I have stopped trusting the perfect one. What this story has taught me, and what really the Lord I believe is teaching me this year is that He has called us to walk on water! He wants us to take the steps that He has planned for us even though we don't see the end of the path; the key to keeping us from falling? Keeping our eyes fixed on Him. He is the Lord, He is the one who is enabling us and as long as we are seeking His face first there is no fear of sinking, He has us! We must remember, remember that HE IS GOD and walk on the water too!
Friday, January 08, 2010
The Lord IS my STRENGTH
Starting a new season in life comes with a lot of changes: exciting and challenging. Although I just jumped into this new season of life and things haven't even begun to start yet I have realized more than ever the reality that I am totally dependent on the Lord even for the strength and energy to get through my day. In "spiritual" weakness it is easy to notice the reality of verses like Psalm 28:8 that says "The Lord is the strength of His people...", but when you are forced to work hard physically, you notice the FACT that He is also your strength physically. I guess in Bible times physical strength was more evident because of war or maybe the manual labor performed in may of the tasks of everyday life, but here in our comfortable 21st century lives many of us don't even recognize our dependence on God just to get through the day, we take it for granted because whether we realize it or not, WE ARE DEPENDENT, wholly!
I knew going into this next season of life that I was going to learn new lessons and be reminded of old truths and within the first few days of 2010 God lovingly refocused my mind onto the reality that I am dependent. I love that I am dependent on the Lord, and that I have to acknowledge that. He is the source of my energy, He is the fuel of my life, He is EVERYTHING. Exodus 15:2 says, "Exodus 15:2 The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him", what a precious reminder of the all powerful God who enables us to live lives for Him.
My encouragement to you and what has become an encouragement daily to me is that we must fill our minds and hearts with the Truth so that we can be strengthened both spiritually and physically for the day that He has blessed us with, for it is only by HIS strength that we can even wake up in the morning and it will be by His grace that we will rise tomorrow!
I knew going into this next season of life that I was going to learn new lessons and be reminded of old truths and within the first few days of 2010 God lovingly refocused my mind onto the reality that I am dependent. I love that I am dependent on the Lord, and that I have to acknowledge that. He is the source of my energy, He is the fuel of my life, He is EVERYTHING. Exodus 15:2 says, "Exodus 15:2 The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him", what a precious reminder of the all powerful God who enables us to live lives for Him.
My encouragement to you and what has become an encouragement daily to me is that we must fill our minds and hearts with the Truth so that we can be strengthened both spiritually and physically for the day that He has blessed us with, for it is only by HIS strength that we can even wake up in the morning and it will be by His grace that we will rise tomorrow!
Sunday, January 03, 2010
2010: A Year of FAITH
" Put simply, faith is believing in something you haven't seen. If you're a Christian, that means believing that what God has said is true and then acting in accordance with that conviction, regardless of what everyone else believes and how the world expects you to act. It means you'll probably act in ways that defy reason. It may mean giving up your ambition, and it may cost you your comfort. It may even cost you your life." -John MacArthur
Wow, I can't believe it's a new year, a new decade, a whole new season; it feels like just yesterday we were celebrating the much anticipated and very "unknown" Y2K aka the millenium and here we are 10 years later a-ok! I have been doing a lot of thinking about a lot of things, something I think most of us do as new years come and for some reason or another we think that it is only at the beginning of a "new" year that we can start afresh, although as Lamentations promises us, His mercies are new everyday. The reality is, everyday is a fresh start! That is an encouraging promise I sooo love to cling tightly to. But nonetheless it is a new year and a time to really think about priorities and goals and how to pursue our Lord with more spiritual fervor!
I have a sweet friend of mine who every year comes up with a word that sort of defines her year, the word is something that she prays about and desires to unfold in her life to the glory of God. Anyways, she has inspired me to do the same thing, to pick a word for 2010 that will define every part of this year and that will motivate me to live a life that is wholly set-apart for Him. So after some thinking and prayer it came to me, my word for 2010 is FAITH. Why you might ask? Well let me explain. Over the past 8 years as a follower of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ He has proven Himself faithful time and time again and has taught me time and time again what it means to boldly trust Him. I have learned that with Him ALL THINGS are possible and apart from Him nothing is possible (Philippians 4:13). The kind of faith He requires us to have, He demands from us, is the kind of faith that trusts wholeheartdly in Him. The kind of faith that is willing to trust their Lord no matter where He leads or when He leads, the kind of faith that has surrendered their dreams, hopes and desires to the will of the sovereign Father knowing that His plans are far better and that all things will work out together for good. The kind of faith that as William Carey once said expects great things from God and attempts great things for Him! I want that kind of faith, I want to be empowered for His glory by that kind of faith and I want to live a life that exemplifies that faith in everything I do.
So as 2010 begins my faith is increasing, my prayers are being laid before His throne with newfound boldness and I am so excited to see all HE does! And Mark 11:22-24 is my theme verse for this year, "Have[a] faith in God," Jesus answered. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." May your faith this year be increased too!!
Wow, I can't believe it's a new year, a new decade, a whole new season; it feels like just yesterday we were celebrating the much anticipated and very "unknown" Y2K aka the millenium and here we are 10 years later a-ok! I have been doing a lot of thinking about a lot of things, something I think most of us do as new years come and for some reason or another we think that it is only at the beginning of a "new" year that we can start afresh, although as Lamentations promises us, His mercies are new everyday. The reality is, everyday is a fresh start! That is an encouraging promise I sooo love to cling tightly to. But nonetheless it is a new year and a time to really think about priorities and goals and how to pursue our Lord with more spiritual fervor!
I have a sweet friend of mine who every year comes up with a word that sort of defines her year, the word is something that she prays about and desires to unfold in her life to the glory of God. Anyways, she has inspired me to do the same thing, to pick a word for 2010 that will define every part of this year and that will motivate me to live a life that is wholly set-apart for Him. So after some thinking and prayer it came to me, my word for 2010 is FAITH. Why you might ask? Well let me explain. Over the past 8 years as a follower of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ He has proven Himself faithful time and time again and has taught me time and time again what it means to boldly trust Him. I have learned that with Him ALL THINGS are possible and apart from Him nothing is possible (Philippians 4:13). The kind of faith He requires us to have, He demands from us, is the kind of faith that trusts wholeheartdly in Him. The kind of faith that is willing to trust their Lord no matter where He leads or when He leads, the kind of faith that has surrendered their dreams, hopes and desires to the will of the sovereign Father knowing that His plans are far better and that all things will work out together for good. The kind of faith that as William Carey once said expects great things from God and attempts great things for Him! I want that kind of faith, I want to be empowered for His glory by that kind of faith and I want to live a life that exemplifies that faith in everything I do.
So as 2010 begins my faith is increasing, my prayers are being laid before His throne with newfound boldness and I am so excited to see all HE does! And Mark 11:22-24 is my theme verse for this year, "Have[a] faith in God," Jesus answered. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." May your faith this year be increased too!!
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