amazing video you should watch and be inspired like i was...to HOPE. to LOVE...UNCONDITIONALLY. to see people as God would see them. like caterpillars who don't know that they are meant to fly.
http://www.thedoorpost.com/hope/film/?film=4dd298f102c77b625cf37a9e7744ac68
notice:
the look in the maistro's eye when he says, "you are magnificent."
the look in the maistro's eye when will accomplishes his great feat.
the fact that twice, at least, some kid wants to be just like one of the people in the circus and their parent says, "you can do anything."
among other things. what pops out to you?
my favorite quote from this is, "yes, you are at an advantage. The greater the struggle, the more glorious the triumph!"
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
embracing accusation
EMBRACING ACCUSATION
The father of lies
Coming to steal
Kill and destroy
All my hopes of being good enough
I hear him saying cursed are the ones
Who can’t abide
He’s right
Alleluia he’s right!
The devil is preaching
The song of the redeemed
That I am cursed and gone astray
I cannot gain salvation
Embracing accusation
Could the father of lies
Be telling the truth
Of God to me tonight?
If the penalty of sin is death
Then death is mine
I hear him saying cursed are the ones
Who can’t abide
He’s right
Alleluia he’s right!
Oh the devil’s singing over me
An age old song
That I am cursed and gone astray
Singing the first verse so conveniently
He’s forgotten the refrain
Jesus saves!
BEFORE THE THRONE
Before the throne of God above
I have a strong, a perfect plea:
A great High Priest, whose name is Love,
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on his hands,
My name is written on his heart;
I know that while in heaven he stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart
No tongue can bid me thence depart.
When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look, and see him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because a sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free;
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Praise the One,
Risen Son of God!
Behold him there, the risen Lamb
My perfect, spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace!
One in himself, I cannot die
My soul is purchased by his blood
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ, my Savior and my God
With Christ, my Savior and my God
The father of lies
Coming to steal
Kill and destroy
All my hopes of being good enough
I hear him saying cursed are the ones
Who can’t abide
He’s right
Alleluia he’s right!
The devil is preaching
The song of the redeemed
That I am cursed and gone astray
I cannot gain salvation
Embracing accusation
Could the father of lies
Be telling the truth
Of God to me tonight?
If the penalty of sin is death
Then death is mine
I hear him saying cursed are the ones
Who can’t abide
He’s right
Alleluia he’s right!
Oh the devil’s singing over me
An age old song
That I am cursed and gone astray
Singing the first verse so conveniently
He’s forgotten the refrain
Jesus saves!
BEFORE THE THRONE
Before the throne of God above
I have a strong, a perfect plea:
A great High Priest, whose name is Love,
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on his hands,
My name is written on his heart;
I know that while in heaven he stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart
No tongue can bid me thence depart.
When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look, and see him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because a sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free;
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Praise the One,
Risen Son of God!
Behold him there, the risen Lamb
My perfect, spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace!
One in himself, I cannot die
My soul is purchased by his blood
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ, my Savior and my God
With Christ, my Savior and my God
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Holy Spirit
Some recent revelations
Just getting caught up here=]
So the little devotion book that I spoke of previously (in the long entry about Micah…). It has a turn now =] It is called Experiencing Life by Mark Dowds and Jason Boucher and it is one in a little series of small group devo books. But that’s beside the point
The first section is about loving. And that’s what I’ll talk about-ish…
The first story in the section was about the prodigal son. I reflected on it, “it’s not just that the son sinned—or how he sinned, rather…but the father gave his son his full inheritance—everything he needed…and the son wasted it…” in every essence spitting in his father’s face. To have such a great inheritance and waste it in things that do not matter…this is where I found a new truth applicable to my life. God has blessed me with much—yes, talents, abilities, opportunity, a great family, and friends…but more, he gave me his son…who’s spirit now lives in me.
Today I read from a book that I actually bought for a friend…=] and on the back it paraphrases it well, “POWERFUL. When is the last time someone used that word to describe you?
It doesn’t make sense that Almighty God would have children characterized by fear and insecurity. He put His Spirit in us so we could be known for our power (Acts 1:8, 2 Timothy 1:7). Sadly, most believers and churches are known for talent of intellect rather than supernatural power. What’s worse is that we’re okay with it.
Could it be that we’ve forgotten the One who distinguishes us from every religion and cult in the world?
…we were not created and saved merely to survive our time on earth. ..we’ve ignored the Spirit and are reaping the disastrous results.
It’s time for the beloved church of Jesus Christ to reverse the trend of neglect. Let’s pursue the Spirit-filled life of effectiveness God desires and we desire.”
It is a tragedy to have God in me and not act like it. To live in fear and in struggle…rather than living by the Holy Spirit—rather than letting Him live through me. That is why Christ said to his disciples, “It is good for you that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you: but if I go, I will send him to you” and another time “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever”—‘another’ in the Greek in this verse means another just like, as opposed to another unlike…I cannot count the times I’ve longed for Jesus to be this physical person I can touch and talk to and get a verbal reply and have as a counselor…but that, I realize is the Holy Spirit—who already lives in me! “…none of us could deny the benefit of having Jesus here physically, guiding and enabling us every step of the way. Yet why do we assume that this would be any better than the literal presence of the Holy Spirit? Those of us who believe in Jesus would never deny the truth that we have the Spirit of the living God, the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead, living inside of us. I’m just not convinced we’ve internalized this truth and enjoyed His blessings as He intends. It seems like this is mostly head knowledge to us, and that we have not owned it. It has not really made much of a difference in our lives, to the degree that if we woke up tomorrow and discovered that it is not true the Holy Spirit lives inside of us, most likely our lives wouldn’t look much different.”—Forgotten God, page 34-35.
As I read that again…I’m convinced that the unsettled-ness within me this past week or so has not been me…but the Holy Spirit within me…and reading the first chapter of this book and reading over my old journal and seeing how the HS has worked in and through my life in the past…shows me how much I’m starving him now. I am convinced he is leading me back to him. Every little detail points to Him. To the relationship he wants with me. To the things he wants to do in and through me… it’s beautifully exciting!!
And gah, I keep coming back to this verse, “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.”—Philippians 3:12
…I’ll post about the other devo’s later…this is enough for now.
Just getting caught up here=]
So the little devotion book that I spoke of previously (in the long entry about Micah…). It has a turn now =] It is called Experiencing Life by Mark Dowds and Jason Boucher and it is one in a little series of small group devo books. But that’s beside the point
The first section is about loving. And that’s what I’ll talk about-ish…
The first story in the section was about the prodigal son. I reflected on it, “it’s not just that the son sinned—or how he sinned, rather…but the father gave his son his full inheritance—everything he needed…and the son wasted it…” in every essence spitting in his father’s face. To have such a great inheritance and waste it in things that do not matter…this is where I found a new truth applicable to my life. God has blessed me with much—yes, talents, abilities, opportunity, a great family, and friends…but more, he gave me his son…who’s spirit now lives in me.
Today I read from a book that I actually bought for a friend…=] and on the back it paraphrases it well, “POWERFUL. When is the last time someone used that word to describe you?
It doesn’t make sense that Almighty God would have children characterized by fear and insecurity. He put His Spirit in us so we could be known for our power (Acts 1:8, 2 Timothy 1:7). Sadly, most believers and churches are known for talent of intellect rather than supernatural power. What’s worse is that we’re okay with it.
Could it be that we’ve forgotten the One who distinguishes us from every religion and cult in the world?
…we were not created and saved merely to survive our time on earth. ..we’ve ignored the Spirit and are reaping the disastrous results.
It’s time for the beloved church of Jesus Christ to reverse the trend of neglect. Let’s pursue the Spirit-filled life of effectiveness God desires and we desire.”
It is a tragedy to have God in me and not act like it. To live in fear and in struggle…rather than living by the Holy Spirit—rather than letting Him live through me. That is why Christ said to his disciples, “It is good for you that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you: but if I go, I will send him to you” and another time “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever”—‘another’ in the Greek in this verse means another just like, as opposed to another unlike…I cannot count the times I’ve longed for Jesus to be this physical person I can touch and talk to and get a verbal reply and have as a counselor…but that, I realize is the Holy Spirit—who already lives in me! “…none of us could deny the benefit of having Jesus here physically, guiding and enabling us every step of the way. Yet why do we assume that this would be any better than the literal presence of the Holy Spirit? Those of us who believe in Jesus would never deny the truth that we have the Spirit of the living God, the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead, living inside of us. I’m just not convinced we’ve internalized this truth and enjoyed His blessings as He intends. It seems like this is mostly head knowledge to us, and that we have not owned it. It has not really made much of a difference in our lives, to the degree that if we woke up tomorrow and discovered that it is not true the Holy Spirit lives inside of us, most likely our lives wouldn’t look much different.”—Forgotten God, page 34-35.
As I read that again…I’m convinced that the unsettled-ness within me this past week or so has not been me…but the Holy Spirit within me…and reading the first chapter of this book and reading over my old journal and seeing how the HS has worked in and through my life in the past…shows me how much I’m starving him now. I am convinced he is leading me back to him. Every little detail points to Him. To the relationship he wants with me. To the things he wants to do in and through me… it’s beautifully exciting!!
And gah, I keep coming back to this verse, “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.”—Philippians 3:12
…I’ll post about the other devo’s later…this is enough for now.
Friday, January 1, 2010
yearning to yearn
this morning I read from one of my old journals. I ws reminded of how my relationship with God was then--how I felt he spoke to me, how I craved the word of God, how much zeal and passion consumed what I did...I feel like I've changed...well anyone, over time changes, but I don't have that passion anymore. I want to have it yes...but i feel like I'm waiting for it to just be thrust upon me instead of seeking it out.
I was in Wal-mart with my mom this afternoon and we got separated. In our brief disconnection I realized a truth. I was looking for her, but I was not lost. I knew my search would not be in vain, I would find her eventually because she would not leave me. I didn't have to panic or have fear of my surroundings because I knew them and because my mom was still there--plus she was only a phone call away. I got separated from her because I wanted to go do my own thing, and then I lost track. So I had to seek her out.
this I found was much like my relationship with God. when my reading is "dry" or I go astray or just loose sight of what is important--it does not mean I lose my salvation. I am not "lost"--I am looking--searching, pursuing God. And I know I will find him--"seek and you will find"--he's not playing hide-and-seek with us. He wants to be found! He will not leave us. He is always with us. So why fear? What's bad is when a person does not know he/she is lost, and does not know who to seek. in the words of the little boy in The Sixth Sense, "I see dead people all the time...they don't know they're dead..." that gives me chills. People don't know they are dead--spiritually...like the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37... anyways...all this from gettin momentarily separated from my mom in walmart!
Jeremiah 29:13
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Luke 11:9
So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
Romans 8:35-39
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[m] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Lord, I pray you restore zeal and passion in my walk with you. Help me to grow and never thirst for anything but that which truly satisfies--You.
I was in Wal-mart with my mom this afternoon and we got separated. In our brief disconnection I realized a truth. I was looking for her, but I was not lost. I knew my search would not be in vain, I would find her eventually because she would not leave me. I didn't have to panic or have fear of my surroundings because I knew them and because my mom was still there--plus she was only a phone call away. I got separated from her because I wanted to go do my own thing, and then I lost track. So I had to seek her out.
this I found was much like my relationship with God. when my reading is "dry" or I go astray or just loose sight of what is important--it does not mean I lose my salvation. I am not "lost"--I am looking--searching, pursuing God. And I know I will find him--"seek and you will find"--he's not playing hide-and-seek with us. He wants to be found! He will not leave us. He is always with us. So why fear? What's bad is when a person does not know he/she is lost, and does not know who to seek. in the words of the little boy in The Sixth Sense, "I see dead people all the time...they don't know they're dead..." that gives me chills. People don't know they are dead--spiritually...like the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37... anyways...all this from gettin momentarily separated from my mom in walmart!
Jeremiah 29:13
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Luke 11:9
So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
Romans 8:35-39
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[m] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Lord, I pray you restore zeal and passion in my walk with you. Help me to grow and never thirst for anything but that which truly satisfies--You.
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