Do you ever grapple with deep longings for intimacy that you think can be fulfilled if something in your life would change? If you're married, it might be...."If my husband would just tune in to me and understand what I really need!" If you have children, perhaps...."If only my kids would appreciate me more, acknowledge their need for my counsel, guidance, etc., or open up and share their deepest thoughts and feelings with me!" If it's about friendships.... "If I could find a true kindred spirit, or if my friend didn't live so far away, or if so-and-so just had more time to spend with me." If you're single, like me, then very likely...."If I could only find the love of my life!"
Do you find yourself in moments where you want desperately to experience a degree of intimacy that you have not known? It could be a life experience you have not yet had, such as marriage, and you're dreaming of how wonderful it could be. Or perhaps you are married, or enjoy a close friendship, or are blessed with healthy, growing family relationships, yet you feel let down, disappointed at times, like there should be so much more in this relationship than what you already have.
I'm going to be personally candid right now. Sometimes I really miss a man I have never met. Sometimes I lie in bed at night and long for experiences in intimacy that I have not had. I imagine things that are not healthy for me to imagine because I'm coveting something that is not mine. I want fulfillment from someone who will never realistically be able to give it, because no person on earth can satisfy my soul. And I know this. I know the difference between reality and fairy tales, but that doesn't stop me from wanting the fairy tale.
What do we do with this desire? Where do you go with your craving that has been disappointed by the realities of wrestling in relationship? Where do I go with my cravings for something I've never had, something I make too much of in my imagination?
There's an answer. It's not easy, but it's real. Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."
Jesus created us for relationship and intimacy. He created us with these desires, and so they are good. But they are meant to be satisfied (humanly) in relationships with real people, through self-giving love that is rooted in His love. And our soul's deepest need for intimacy was never meant to be fully satisfied in another human being. Our human longings are really just an echo of something much deeper, much more real. It is the echo of eternity and absolute intimacy that has been placed within our souls by our Maker. This longing is for the perfect, eternal intimacy with the One who formed our innermost being, who breathed into us the breath of life, the One who knows us fully and loves us perfectly!
So today I am practicing a new thought pattern. Directing my desire toward Jesus. This is the response of a soul to its maker, of a heart seeing glimpses into the realm of eternity. Perhaps your soul will resonate with this as well.
Jesus, it is to You I belong. You tell me who I am and give me incredible value. You complete me and answer my existence. You are the Love who pursues my heart, who is always coming for me. No matter where I go, no matter how far or how long I run, You will find me. You have never lost me. I can't hide from You. I can't get away from Your presence. Even when I feel light years away from You, Jesus, You are with me. It is only a delusion of the enemy that I have chosen to believe, that You would ever be far from me. You gave Yourself so I could be one with You and never be separated from You again!
What love is this?
The greatest Love Story ever.
And I am the bride.
I am the harlot, and I am the bride.
I am the rebel and the redeemed. The lost and the found. I am the runner and the greatly desired beauty, wanted by the King.
I am the outcast and I am the chosen.
I am the filthy made clean. I am the walking dead raised to life! I am the hopeless sinner made righteous! I am darkness overcome by Light!
I am the hater turned lover.
I am the fighter and the slave of Love.
I am the orphan and I am the beloved child of the King of Kings!!!
Jesus is my Maker, my Righteousness, my Lover, my King, my Wisdom, my Light, my Bread and Water, my Joy, my Hope, my Exceeding Great Reward, my Counselor, my Author, my Way, my Truth, my Beginning and End.....and my LIFE!!!
The greatest Love Story ever. The Story with no end. I am the beloved one. You are the beloved one. This is the Story of the Lover who has always been coming for us.
Monday, April 20, 2015
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Turning Off The Noise
Hey there! If anyone is still sticking with me here in blog land, and you've read many of my previous posts, you may remember that I did a media fast a couple years ago, after reading the book Seven by Jen Hatmaker. Although I adapted my fast quite a bit differently from the ones described in the book, I called it my Seven fast because Jen had inspired me to do it. Media was the main area where I had an issue and needed to clear space in my life for deeper relationship with God. In fact it still is. And I have not fasted media since the 21 days I set apart that October.
Therefore I have decided it is high time I take myself in hand again and make the choice to do some hard things for the sake of seeking Jesus more purposefully. I'm doing another fast. And I'm putting it out before whoever reads this blog, again, as a way of holding myself accountable. This will be similar to my Seven fast in that it focuses on pulling away from media and setting times to purposefully spend with Jesus instead of entertaining myself.
In thinking about the concept of Seven, I was reminded that God spent six days creating the earth, and on the seventh day, He rested. I think it is fitting to call this a fast of rest. It is a time to rest from the constant noise, bombardment, and distraction of media like movies, Facebook, and endless internet surfing. You know how sometimes when you have been surrounded by constant noise input and then you turn it all off, you feel this sigh of relief. You can feel the silence settling on you like the feeling of sinking your head into the pillow at night. I have an addiction to noise. And sometimes I know I need to just turn it off. Because how can you hear God when you always have the noise on? I also have an addiction to virtual reality. I like the way I can escape into a dream world when I watch a movie, or let myself get lost in Youtube. I like the way it makes me feel. But it inhibits me from living fully in reality. From being engaged in my real life. From investing in my real relationships, the greatest of those being my relationship with my Creator and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
So this fast is about rest. It's about clearing out some of the worst noise and distraction that keeps my attention off Jesus. It's about coming to rest in Him instead of escaping into a virtual reality or just drowning everything out. It's a focused time to center myself back on Jesus and His greater reality that is unseen, but more real than what we can see and hear and touch right now.
I'm keeping it simple. I'm limiting my Facebook time to one day a week. Except for the couple minutes it takes to link a blog post. Because I have a lot of thoughts going on that I want to write about. And I think part of my fast should include making time to write more regularly. I'm limiting my computer time. I need to be on it for business and personal emails, and I still want my worship music, but my goal is to spend less time on the computer altogether and to shut it down by 9:30 at night and do something different before bed. There are some good spiritual things I could read or listen to online that I won't necessarily abstain from completely, but come to think of it, I should try leaving the computer off at least every other day! Even the good things can be a big distraction. We simply don't need that much input. I don't believe we were built to take it all in.
As far as movies go, if my family is going to watch something together, I'll participate, but otherwise no movie watching on my own or with my little sister for pure entertainment. It's just too much of a habit for me.
And the most important thing is not simply to abstain from these things for a season, but to replace them with something better, something that has eternal rewards. Built in with that is some much needed discipline being reinstated in my daily routine. Getting up earlier so I can spend at least 30 minutes first thing in the morning focused on Jesus. Going to bed earlier so I can handle getting up! And ending the day with another focused rest time with Jesus.
I started on Resurrection Sunday and I'm doing it for the rest of the month. And hopefully you'll be hearing more from me on here as I'll be creating more space for my heart and mind to think and hear from God and write!
On Resurrection Sunday, we celebrate new beginnings. Life out of death. Beauty out of ashes. Joy out of suffering. So I find it fitting to begin again to practice saying yes to Jesus. This fast is one way I can do that. Saying yes to Jesus isn't easy. But it is an adventure. And it will bear fruit. There hasn't been much useful fruit coming out of the default mode of my life these days. So it's time to regroup. It's time to pull out and rest from the things that weigh me down. It's time to let God redeem the time. It's time for a new beginning.
Therefore I have decided it is high time I take myself in hand again and make the choice to do some hard things for the sake of seeking Jesus more purposefully. I'm doing another fast. And I'm putting it out before whoever reads this blog, again, as a way of holding myself accountable. This will be similar to my Seven fast in that it focuses on pulling away from media and setting times to purposefully spend with Jesus instead of entertaining myself.
In thinking about the concept of Seven, I was reminded that God spent six days creating the earth, and on the seventh day, He rested. I think it is fitting to call this a fast of rest. It is a time to rest from the constant noise, bombardment, and distraction of media like movies, Facebook, and endless internet surfing. You know how sometimes when you have been surrounded by constant noise input and then you turn it all off, you feel this sigh of relief. You can feel the silence settling on you like the feeling of sinking your head into the pillow at night. I have an addiction to noise. And sometimes I know I need to just turn it off. Because how can you hear God when you always have the noise on? I also have an addiction to virtual reality. I like the way I can escape into a dream world when I watch a movie, or let myself get lost in Youtube. I like the way it makes me feel. But it inhibits me from living fully in reality. From being engaged in my real life. From investing in my real relationships, the greatest of those being my relationship with my Creator and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
So this fast is about rest. It's about clearing out some of the worst noise and distraction that keeps my attention off Jesus. It's about coming to rest in Him instead of escaping into a virtual reality or just drowning everything out. It's a focused time to center myself back on Jesus and His greater reality that is unseen, but more real than what we can see and hear and touch right now.
I'm keeping it simple. I'm limiting my Facebook time to one day a week. Except for the couple minutes it takes to link a blog post. Because I have a lot of thoughts going on that I want to write about. And I think part of my fast should include making time to write more regularly. I'm limiting my computer time. I need to be on it for business and personal emails, and I still want my worship music, but my goal is to spend less time on the computer altogether and to shut it down by 9:30 at night and do something different before bed. There are some good spiritual things I could read or listen to online that I won't necessarily abstain from completely, but come to think of it, I should try leaving the computer off at least every other day! Even the good things can be a big distraction. We simply don't need that much input. I don't believe we were built to take it all in.
As far as movies go, if my family is going to watch something together, I'll participate, but otherwise no movie watching on my own or with my little sister for pure entertainment. It's just too much of a habit for me.
And the most important thing is not simply to abstain from these things for a season, but to replace them with something better, something that has eternal rewards. Built in with that is some much needed discipline being reinstated in my daily routine. Getting up earlier so I can spend at least 30 minutes first thing in the morning focused on Jesus. Going to bed earlier so I can handle getting up! And ending the day with another focused rest time with Jesus.
I started on Resurrection Sunday and I'm doing it for the rest of the month. And hopefully you'll be hearing more from me on here as I'll be creating more space for my heart and mind to think and hear from God and write!
On Resurrection Sunday, we celebrate new beginnings. Life out of death. Beauty out of ashes. Joy out of suffering. So I find it fitting to begin again to practice saying yes to Jesus. This fast is one way I can do that. Saying yes to Jesus isn't easy. But it is an adventure. And it will bear fruit. There hasn't been much useful fruit coming out of the default mode of my life these days. So it's time to regroup. It's time to pull out and rest from the things that weigh me down. It's time to let God redeem the time. It's time for a new beginning.
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Sweet Sixteen Doubled!
32.
I figured out the significance of this number.
We celebrate 16th birthdays as a time of sweet blossoming from child to almost-adult. It's a golden time of youth. 32 is 16 doubled. Twice the years, twice as sweet! And sometimes, maybe.....twice as silly?
So yes, I'm not sure how I got here so fast, but here I am, and I imagine those twice my age would attest to the same swiftness of the years and remember with wistful fondness what it was like to be where I am now!
I pretend to be slightly freaked out. But I enjoy birthdays too much to be really upset. And so I shall do my best to savor this time of my life and this marking of age and all the adventures to be had in this year!
I'm a little late with the writing, being already a week past the eventful day, but I wanted to share some of the thoughts from my journal as I contemplated becoming 32.
Jesus, thank you for 32 years. You are the reason I am here. How easily I forget. But You are my Life. The Author and Finisher of my faith. The Sovereign Writer of the ages who has graciously, in Your reckless love and almighty wisdom, given me a part in Your story! I do so want my life to be an offering of thanksgiving to You, my Lord! How can I remember better? How can I live as sovereign, as one who carries Your life? Only Your life gives me power to abandon the dream of the flesh world and vibrantly live in Your kingdom.
I celebrate this day of my emergence into the world on a clear, blue-sky February morning. The sun glitters on deep snow, casting blue tree shadows all about. The world is shrouded cold, yet the promise of Spring whispers already in the frigid air. The old oak in the backyard stands pregnant with buds against the bright sky. Buds preparing to crack open in just a few more weeks, exposing tender new life cradled inside.
Sky! Brilliant jeweled hue, my favorite in all this grand creativity of God! It calls to me with a beauty that hurts....as if I could fall up and dive deep into its shimmering mystery, like a lake of God's love in which I could lose myself and breathe the water of life and really live! Little birds flit and chirp through bare woods, like a world slowly awakening to the first strains of renewed life. This life is not dead; it only lies dormant. So also, the Sovereign life in my soul has often waited and slept like a dormant bud.
But what is the promise and triumph of Spring?
LIFE SHALL COME FORTH!
Abundantly!
Awakening is gradual at first, timid and sleepy. But suddenly, when the time is right, it seems almost overnight to burst forth into full bloom, unable to contain itself any longer!
And so I wait. Feeling not yet perfect in love, often with fears and doubts and forgetfulness....yet in faith. Waiting and praying for the life within me to awaken in Spring glory. Fighting to remember. To hold on to what I have until He comes. HE! My Sovereign, my Maker, my Lover who gave His life to save me, my King who gives me a purpose in His kingdom and a part to play in His story, my Bridegroom who is preparing a place for me, my Everlasting Life and Exceeding Great Reward....Jesus Christ, Son of God!
It is by Him and through Him and in Him I exist. He is before ALL things and in Him ALL things hold together!
"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" Revelation 5:12
Jesus, You are my past, present, and future.
"Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for You were slain, and by Your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and You have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth." Revelation 5:9-10
In Christ I overcome. In Christ I live. In Christ I look forward with hope and confidence on the threshold of this new year of my life and to the horizon beyond it, to every day He will give me!
"To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever! Amen!" Revelation 5:13
I figured out the significance of this number.
We celebrate 16th birthdays as a time of sweet blossoming from child to almost-adult. It's a golden time of youth. 32 is 16 doubled. Twice the years, twice as sweet! And sometimes, maybe.....twice as silly?
So yes, I'm not sure how I got here so fast, but here I am, and I imagine those twice my age would attest to the same swiftness of the years and remember with wistful fondness what it was like to be where I am now!
I pretend to be slightly freaked out. But I enjoy birthdays too much to be really upset. And so I shall do my best to savor this time of my life and this marking of age and all the adventures to be had in this year!
I'm a little late with the writing, being already a week past the eventful day, but I wanted to share some of the thoughts from my journal as I contemplated becoming 32.
Jesus, thank you for 32 years. You are the reason I am here. How easily I forget. But You are my Life. The Author and Finisher of my faith. The Sovereign Writer of the ages who has graciously, in Your reckless love and almighty wisdom, given me a part in Your story! I do so want my life to be an offering of thanksgiving to You, my Lord! How can I remember better? How can I live as sovereign, as one who carries Your life? Only Your life gives me power to abandon the dream of the flesh world and vibrantly live in Your kingdom.
I celebrate this day of my emergence into the world on a clear, blue-sky February morning. The sun glitters on deep snow, casting blue tree shadows all about. The world is shrouded cold, yet the promise of Spring whispers already in the frigid air. The old oak in the backyard stands pregnant with buds against the bright sky. Buds preparing to crack open in just a few more weeks, exposing tender new life cradled inside.
Sky! Brilliant jeweled hue, my favorite in all this grand creativity of God! It calls to me with a beauty that hurts....as if I could fall up and dive deep into its shimmering mystery, like a lake of God's love in which I could lose myself and breathe the water of life and really live! Little birds flit and chirp through bare woods, like a world slowly awakening to the first strains of renewed life. This life is not dead; it only lies dormant. So also, the Sovereign life in my soul has often waited and slept like a dormant bud.
But what is the promise and triumph of Spring?
LIFE SHALL COME FORTH!
Abundantly!
Awakening is gradual at first, timid and sleepy. But suddenly, when the time is right, it seems almost overnight to burst forth into full bloom, unable to contain itself any longer!
And so I wait. Feeling not yet perfect in love, often with fears and doubts and forgetfulness....yet in faith. Waiting and praying for the life within me to awaken in Spring glory. Fighting to remember. To hold on to what I have until He comes. HE! My Sovereign, my Maker, my Lover who gave His life to save me, my King who gives me a purpose in His kingdom and a part to play in His story, my Bridegroom who is preparing a place for me, my Everlasting Life and Exceeding Great Reward....Jesus Christ, Son of God!
It is by Him and through Him and in Him I exist. He is before ALL things and in Him ALL things hold together!
"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" Revelation 5:12
Jesus, You are my past, present, and future.
"Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for You were slain, and by Your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and You have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth." Revelation 5:9-10
In Christ I overcome. In Christ I live. In Christ I look forward with hope and confidence on the threshold of this new year of my life and to the horizon beyond it, to every day He will give me!
"To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever! Amen!" Revelation 5:13
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Heaven On Earth
Today as I was praying for revival, I listened to the song Our Father by Bethel Worship. It's taken from the Lord's Prayer and goes like this:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name
Your kingdom come quickly
Your will be done the same
On earth as it is in Heaven
Let Heaven come to earth as it is in Heaven
Let Heaven come
For Yours is the kingdom
And Yours is the power
And Yours is the glory forever, amen.
Let Heaven come!
This song is a passionate heart-cry for God to invade our world with His kingdom, to make things on earth as they are in Heaven. As I was worshipping and talking to Jesus about His kingdom, I sought to understand what it means for His kingdom to be reality on earth.
Now I know there is a movement among some in the church today that basically says God's intent is to bring Heaven to earth. In Heaven there is no sickness or injury or pain. So they say that God's kingdom on earth means people will be healed of all manner of physical ailments. They pray and believe for these miracles. In Heaven, no one is poor or marginalized or victimized. So it follows that if we solve world hunger, bring about material equality, and put an end to all the injustice, we will have God's kingdom on earth. Right? Okay, let me just say I'm no expert on this movement....I haven't studied into it and I'm not trying to make a blanket statement about any certain group of people and their beliefs. But this is the line of thinking that some are following, and you have probably heard of it as well.
My point is that when Jesus told us to pray, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven," we could take it to mean that He wants to fix everything that is broken here....Heaven on earth. But looking at Scripture, I don't think that's what He meant.
Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world." John 18:36
Romans 14:17 says that "the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking buy of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."
And in 1 Corinthians 15:50 we're told, "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable." It goes on to reveal the mystery that when Jesus returns for His church, the dead in Christ will be raised imperishable, and those who are still alive will be changed. The perishable will put on the imperishable, and the mortal will put on immortality.
The Bible clearly tells us that these earthly bodies will die. Obviously Jesus didn't mean that His kingdom would bring us freedom from all sickness and trouble and death on earth....immortality. While we live on this earth in these bodies of flesh, we are still subject to the brokenness that sin has brought upon the world. Jesus didn't heal every sick and crippled person. He didn't come to make everything right on this earth. He said, " I came into the world to bear witness to the truth." John 18:37
Jesus came to show us a new realm, a kingdom not of flesh and blood but of spirit. And He came to be the Way for us to enter that kingdom. One day He will make a new earth and everything on it will be right. All the sad things will be made untrue, all the broken things made whole. Those who belong to Him will be changed to immortality and we will reign with Him in His kingdom forever! The book of Revelation proclaims, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our God and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!' Revelation 11:17
When people asked Jesus when the kingdom of God would come, He said this, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, nor will they say, 'Look, here it is! or There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you." Luke 17:20-21
So what does His kingdom on earth look like? What does it look like for us to live in His kingdom while we are still in these bodies of flesh?
Jesus' realm is a love that cannot be stopped by any hatred or overcome by any fear. A love that loves the unlovely. Perfect love that casts out fear, because those who know and believe the love of Jesus know that nothing can truly hurt them.
It is forgiveness that knows no offense, because we are held and accepted and kept safe in Perfect Love, and nothing in this world of flesh and blood can threaten our place with Him or the everlasting life He has given.
It is peace that abides through the darkest storms of life as well as the myriad turbulence along the way. Knowing that in Jesus, everything really is going to be alright.
It is joy that cannot be crushed by any suffering or sorrow, knowing that all our afflictions will be like nothing compared to the eternal glory that awaits us.
It is light that gives wisdom and understanding to the soul, that lets us see beyond the dream of this world into the reality of God's eternal nature and incorruptible realm.
His kingdom is a power that transforms not the physical realm, but the spiritual, giving life to our real selves. Transforming minds and thoughts with the truth. Releasing souls to freedom from fear, bitterness, rage, anxiety, and a host of other demons. It is a realm of exchange. Jesus takes our sin-twisted lives and gives us His own righteous life. He gives us His kingdom of love and light in exchange for our own kingdoms of God-less pride and self-destruction. He gives us the power to live supernaturally....to go beyond what is possible for human nature.
This is the kingdom to which we belong....those who are bought by the blood of Jesus and made new in His life! This is the kingdom we carry within us to everyone we encounter on earth. And this is the kingdom for which we must pray. It is already here, among us. But I don't think many sons of the kingdom are living like sons. I don't think we know the reality of this kingdom in which we live. So for this I pray.
Let heaven come.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name
Your kingdom come quickly
Your will be done the same
On earth as it is in Heaven
Let Heaven come to earth as it is in Heaven
Let Heaven come
For Yours is the kingdom
And Yours is the power
And Yours is the glory forever, amen.
Let Heaven come!
This song is a passionate heart-cry for God to invade our world with His kingdom, to make things on earth as they are in Heaven. As I was worshipping and talking to Jesus about His kingdom, I sought to understand what it means for His kingdom to be reality on earth.
Now I know there is a movement among some in the church today that basically says God's intent is to bring Heaven to earth. In Heaven there is no sickness or injury or pain. So they say that God's kingdom on earth means people will be healed of all manner of physical ailments. They pray and believe for these miracles. In Heaven, no one is poor or marginalized or victimized. So it follows that if we solve world hunger, bring about material equality, and put an end to all the injustice, we will have God's kingdom on earth. Right? Okay, let me just say I'm no expert on this movement....I haven't studied into it and I'm not trying to make a blanket statement about any certain group of people and their beliefs. But this is the line of thinking that some are following, and you have probably heard of it as well.
My point is that when Jesus told us to pray, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven," we could take it to mean that He wants to fix everything that is broken here....Heaven on earth. But looking at Scripture, I don't think that's what He meant.
Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world." John 18:36
Romans 14:17 says that "the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking buy of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."
And in 1 Corinthians 15:50 we're told, "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable." It goes on to reveal the mystery that when Jesus returns for His church, the dead in Christ will be raised imperishable, and those who are still alive will be changed. The perishable will put on the imperishable, and the mortal will put on immortality.
The Bible clearly tells us that these earthly bodies will die. Obviously Jesus didn't mean that His kingdom would bring us freedom from all sickness and trouble and death on earth....immortality. While we live on this earth in these bodies of flesh, we are still subject to the brokenness that sin has brought upon the world. Jesus didn't heal every sick and crippled person. He didn't come to make everything right on this earth. He said, " I came into the world to bear witness to the truth." John 18:37
Jesus came to show us a new realm, a kingdom not of flesh and blood but of spirit. And He came to be the Way for us to enter that kingdom. One day He will make a new earth and everything on it will be right. All the sad things will be made untrue, all the broken things made whole. Those who belong to Him will be changed to immortality and we will reign with Him in His kingdom forever! The book of Revelation proclaims, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our God and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!' Revelation 11:17
When people asked Jesus when the kingdom of God would come, He said this, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, nor will they say, 'Look, here it is! or There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you." Luke 17:20-21
So what does His kingdom on earth look like? What does it look like for us to live in His kingdom while we are still in these bodies of flesh?
Jesus' realm is a love that cannot be stopped by any hatred or overcome by any fear. A love that loves the unlovely. Perfect love that casts out fear, because those who know and believe the love of Jesus know that nothing can truly hurt them.
It is forgiveness that knows no offense, because we are held and accepted and kept safe in Perfect Love, and nothing in this world of flesh and blood can threaten our place with Him or the everlasting life He has given.
It is peace that abides through the darkest storms of life as well as the myriad turbulence along the way. Knowing that in Jesus, everything really is going to be alright.
It is joy that cannot be crushed by any suffering or sorrow, knowing that all our afflictions will be like nothing compared to the eternal glory that awaits us.
It is light that gives wisdom and understanding to the soul, that lets us see beyond the dream of this world into the reality of God's eternal nature and incorruptible realm.
His kingdom is a power that transforms not the physical realm, but the spiritual, giving life to our real selves. Transforming minds and thoughts with the truth. Releasing souls to freedom from fear, bitterness, rage, anxiety, and a host of other demons. It is a realm of exchange. Jesus takes our sin-twisted lives and gives us His own righteous life. He gives us His kingdom of love and light in exchange for our own kingdoms of God-less pride and self-destruction. He gives us the power to live supernaturally....to go beyond what is possible for human nature.
This is the kingdom to which we belong....those who are bought by the blood of Jesus and made new in His life! This is the kingdom we carry within us to everyone we encounter on earth. And this is the kingdom for which we must pray. It is already here, among us. But I don't think many sons of the kingdom are living like sons. I don't think we know the reality of this kingdom in which we live. So for this I pray.
Let heaven come.
Friday, January 30, 2015
Favorite Movie Quotes To Brighten Your Weekend!
Just havin a little fun with this one. :) Since I have a propensity for remembering movie quotes and enjoy repeating them at random and/or appropriate times....I thought I'd "inspire" you with a few of my favorites! See if you know any of these and who said them.
Princess Bride:
"Have fun stormin the castle, boys!"
"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You kill my father. Prepare to die."
"My way is not very sportsmanlike."
"Be careful. People in masks cannot be trusted."
Finding Nemo:
"P. Sherman 42 Wallaby Way Sydney!"
"The sun is shining, the tank is clean.....(gasp)....the tank is clean!"
"What do we do, we just keep swimmin, just keep swimmin, just keep swimmin, swimmin, swimmin...."
Megamind:
"I'll just pack my thing and go!"
"What's the plan?"
"Well, it mostly involves NOT DYING!"
"I like that plan!"
"Warming up? The sun is WARMING UP?"
"Oh Minion, you don't know what's good for bad!"
I"m the bad guy! I DON'T save the day, I DON'T fly off into the sunset, and I DON'T get the girl! I'm going home."
"There's a benefit to losing. You get to learn from your mistakes."
"This town isn't big enough for TWO super-villains!"
"Oh, you're a villain alright. Just not a SUPER one!"
"What's the difference?"
"PRESENTATION!"
"Normally I'd chalk this up to my last glorious failure....but not today. What can I say? Old habits die hard."
"CODE: we're the good guys now?"
"CODE: I guess we are."
"Oh, oh, oh, I'm going....I think this is it...I'm going far away!"
"WHAT a drama queen! He had you going, didn't he? Classic Minion."
"You did it! You won!"
"I finally had a reason to win....You."
How To Train Your Dragon:
"This is awesome and scary!"
"You can't stop him, Stoick. You can only prepare him."
"It's a mess. You must feel horrible. You've lost everything....your father, your tribe, your best friend...."
"Thank you for summing that up."
"Three hundred years, and I'm the first viking who wouldn't kill a dragon!"
"First to ride one, though. So?"
"I wouldn't kill him, because he looked as frightened as I was. I looked at him...and I saw myself."
"What are you gonna do?"
"Probably something stupid."
"Good, but you've already done that."
"Then something crazy."
"That's more like it!"
"Thanks for nothing, you worthless reptile!"
"You don't have to go up there."
"We're Vikings! It's an occupational hazard."
"I'm proud to call you my son."
"Turns out all we needed was a little more of....THIS!"
"You just gestured to all of me!"
"You have the heart of a chief and the soul of a dragon. Only you can bring our worlds together....that is who you are, Son."
Pirates of the Caribbean:
"Why should I sail with any of you? Four of you have tried to kill me in the past; one of you succeeded."
"You're mad!"
"Thank goodness for that, cause if I wasn't, this would probably never work!"
"Did none of you come to save me just because you missed me?"
"You're forgetting one very important thing, mate! I'm Captain Jack Sparrow!"
"How far are you willing to go to save her?"
"I would die for her!"
"Oh good, no worries then."
Tangled:
"I am never going back!"
"You should know that this is the strangest thing I have ever done!"
"Too weak to handle myself out there, Mother? Tell that to my frying pan!"
"Oh Mama, I have GOT to get me one of these!"
"I've got a PERSON in my CLOSET!"
Frozen:
"Some people are worth melting for. Just....maybe not right this second!"
"Let's go kiss Hans! Who IS this Hans?"
"An act of true love will melt a frozen heart!"
"Oh I love it! It's so cute, it's like a little baby unicorn!"
Lord of The Rings:
"But what about second breakfast?"
"Don't think he knows about second breakfast, Pip."
"What about elevensies? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper? He knows about them, doesn't he?"
"I wouldn't count on it."
"Put aside the Ranger....become who you were born to be!"
"A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is NOT this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you, STAND, men of the West!"
"Toss me."
"What?"
"I cannot jump the distance...you'll have to toss me! Don't tell the Elf."
"Not a word."
"I can't carry it for you, Mr. Frodo....but I CAN carry you!"
"I'm glad to be with you, Samwise Gamgee. Here at the end of all things."
"I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened."
"So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
"My dear Sam. You cannot always be torn in two. You will have to be one and whole for many years. You have so much to enjoy and to be and to do. Your part in the story will go on."
The Hobbit:
"Can you promise that I will come back?" "No. And if you do, you will not be the same."
"Why the Halfling?"
"I do not know. Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay..small acts of kindness and love. Why Bilbo Baggins? Perhaps it is because I am afraid...and he gives me courage."
"Did I not say that you would be a burden, that you would not survive in the wild, and that you have no place amongst us? I've never been so wrong in all my life."
"It never ceases to amaze me....the courage of Hobbits."
"If this is love, I don't want it. Take it away, please! Why does it hurt so much?"
"Because it was real."
"If you ever pass through Bag End, tea is at four. You are welcome ANY time! Don't bother knocking."
Pride And Prejudice:
"What a superbly lighted room, and what excellent boiled potatoes."
"From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents. Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins....and I will never see you again if you do."
"You have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on."
"Do you talk, as a rule, while dancing?"
No. No, I prefer to be unsociable and taciturn. Makes it all so much more enjoyable, don't you think?"
"You may only call me Mrs. Darcy when you are perfectly, completely, and incandescently happy."
"And how are you this evening.....Mrs. Darcy?"
"I love you. Most ardently."
National Treasure:
"You don't know this? I know something about history that you don't know?"
"I'd be very excited to learn about it, Riley."
"Hold on one second, let me just take in this moment. This is cool! Is this how you feel all the time? Well, except now."
"I'm gonna kidnap him. I'm gonna kidnap the president of the United States."
"Wouldn't it just have been easier to make an appointment?"
"Oh look, my tax dollars at work, coming to arrest me."
"Sir, please dismount the banister!"
"Ben, if it were you trying to convince me, you'd have less evidence and I'd already believe you by now."
Night At The Museum:
"I'm thinkin, I'm thinkin......I'm thinkin...."
"Is that you breathing? Because I can't hear myself think!"
"Are there any questions?"
"Yeah, I got one. How come you're wearin a dress?"
"This is not a dress. It's a tunic. It was the height of fashion 3,000 years ago, I assure you."
"I have come BACK....to life!"
"We're Americans....we don't plan, we DO!"
"You did ALL THREE....you spoke, and you crossed the line!"
"Do me a favor....put your hands in your pockets, turn your attitude WAAAAY down....and also, be nice to people!"
Wasn't that fun? You're welcome!
Princess Bride:
"Have fun stormin the castle, boys!"
"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You kill my father. Prepare to die."
"My way is not very sportsmanlike."
"Be careful. People in masks cannot be trusted."
Finding Nemo:
"P. Sherman 42 Wallaby Way Sydney!"
"The sun is shining, the tank is clean.....(gasp)....the tank is clean!"
"What do we do, we just keep swimmin, just keep swimmin, just keep swimmin, swimmin, swimmin...."
Megamind:
"I'll just pack my thing and go!"
"What's the plan?"
"Well, it mostly involves NOT DYING!"
"I like that plan!"
"Warming up? The sun is WARMING UP?"
"Oh Minion, you don't know what's good for bad!"
I"m the bad guy! I DON'T save the day, I DON'T fly off into the sunset, and I DON'T get the girl! I'm going home."
"There's a benefit to losing. You get to learn from your mistakes."
"This town isn't big enough for TWO super-villains!"
"Oh, you're a villain alright. Just not a SUPER one!"
"What's the difference?"
"PRESENTATION!"
"Normally I'd chalk this up to my last glorious failure....but not today. What can I say? Old habits die hard."
"CODE: we're the good guys now?"
"CODE: I guess we are."
"Oh, oh, oh, I'm going....I think this is it...I'm going far away!"
"WHAT a drama queen! He had you going, didn't he? Classic Minion."
"You did it! You won!"
"I finally had a reason to win....You."
How To Train Your Dragon:
"This is awesome and scary!"
"You can't stop him, Stoick. You can only prepare him."
"It's a mess. You must feel horrible. You've lost everything....your father, your tribe, your best friend...."
"Thank you for summing that up."
"Three hundred years, and I'm the first viking who wouldn't kill a dragon!"
"First to ride one, though. So?"
"I wouldn't kill him, because he looked as frightened as I was. I looked at him...and I saw myself."
"What are you gonna do?"
"Probably something stupid."
"Good, but you've already done that."
"Then something crazy."
"That's more like it!"
"Thanks for nothing, you worthless reptile!"
"You don't have to go up there."
"We're Vikings! It's an occupational hazard."
"I'm proud to call you my son."
"Turns out all we needed was a little more of....THIS!"
"You just gestured to all of me!"
"You have the heart of a chief and the soul of a dragon. Only you can bring our worlds together....that is who you are, Son."
Pirates of the Caribbean:
"Why should I sail with any of you? Four of you have tried to kill me in the past; one of you succeeded."
"You're mad!"
"Thank goodness for that, cause if I wasn't, this would probably never work!"
"Did none of you come to save me just because you missed me?"
"You're forgetting one very important thing, mate! I'm Captain Jack Sparrow!"
"How far are you willing to go to save her?"
"I would die for her!"
"Oh good, no worries then."
Tangled:
"I am never going back!"
"You should know that this is the strangest thing I have ever done!"
"Too weak to handle myself out there, Mother? Tell that to my frying pan!"
"Oh Mama, I have GOT to get me one of these!"
"I've got a PERSON in my CLOSET!"
Frozen:
"Some people are worth melting for. Just....maybe not right this second!"
"Let's go kiss Hans! Who IS this Hans?"
"An act of true love will melt a frozen heart!"
"Oh I love it! It's so cute, it's like a little baby unicorn!"
Lord of The Rings:
"But what about second breakfast?"
"Don't think he knows about second breakfast, Pip."
"What about elevensies? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper? He knows about them, doesn't he?"
"I wouldn't count on it."
"Put aside the Ranger....become who you were born to be!"
"A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is NOT this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you, STAND, men of the West!"
"Toss me."
"What?"
"I cannot jump the distance...you'll have to toss me! Don't tell the Elf."
"Not a word."
"I can't carry it for you, Mr. Frodo....but I CAN carry you!"
"I'm glad to be with you, Samwise Gamgee. Here at the end of all things."
"I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened."
"So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
"My dear Sam. You cannot always be torn in two. You will have to be one and whole for many years. You have so much to enjoy and to be and to do. Your part in the story will go on."
The Hobbit:
"Can you promise that I will come back?" "No. And if you do, you will not be the same."
"Why the Halfling?"
"I do not know. Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay..small acts of kindness and love. Why Bilbo Baggins? Perhaps it is because I am afraid...and he gives me courage."
"Did I not say that you would be a burden, that you would not survive in the wild, and that you have no place amongst us? I've never been so wrong in all my life."
"It never ceases to amaze me....the courage of Hobbits."
"If this is love, I don't want it. Take it away, please! Why does it hurt so much?"
"Because it was real."
"If you ever pass through Bag End, tea is at four. You are welcome ANY time! Don't bother knocking."
Pride And Prejudice:
"What a superbly lighted room, and what excellent boiled potatoes."
"From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents. Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins....and I will never see you again if you do."
"You have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on."
"Do you talk, as a rule, while dancing?"
No. No, I prefer to be unsociable and taciturn. Makes it all so much more enjoyable, don't you think?"
"You may only call me Mrs. Darcy when you are perfectly, completely, and incandescently happy."
"And how are you this evening.....Mrs. Darcy?"
"I love you. Most ardently."
National Treasure:
"You don't know this? I know something about history that you don't know?"
"I'd be very excited to learn about it, Riley."
"Hold on one second, let me just take in this moment. This is cool! Is this how you feel all the time? Well, except now."
"I'm gonna kidnap him. I'm gonna kidnap the president of the United States."
"Wouldn't it just have been easier to make an appointment?"
"Oh look, my tax dollars at work, coming to arrest me."
"Sir, please dismount the banister!"
"Ben, if it were you trying to convince me, you'd have less evidence and I'd already believe you by now."
Night At The Museum:
"I'm thinkin, I'm thinkin......I'm thinkin...."
"Is that you breathing? Because I can't hear myself think!"
"Are there any questions?"
"Yeah, I got one. How come you're wearin a dress?"
"This is not a dress. It's a tunic. It was the height of fashion 3,000 years ago, I assure you."
"I have come BACK....to life!"
"We're Americans....we don't plan, we DO!"
"You did ALL THREE....you spoke, and you crossed the line!"
"Do me a favor....put your hands in your pockets, turn your attitude WAAAAY down....and also, be nice to people!"
Wasn't that fun? You're welcome!
Saturday, January 17, 2015
This Year
So I just discovered J.J. Heller's music. And this song with it's simple and winsome message has taken me by storm. First I'm going to share the lyrics with you. It's brand new, written just a few weeks ago for 2015! Then I'm going to share the journal prayer/new year manifesto I wrote with the inspiration of this song!
This Year - J.J. Heller
This year
I'm not looking back to who I was
Because I'm gonna be someone I've never been
This year
I'm not focused on the cracks in the walls
Not keeping track of all the times I fall
This year
So long to last year
It's all becoming so clear
There is no use living in regret
Let's fight a good fight
Train our eyes to find the light
And make this year the best one yet
Starting right here...happy New Year!
This year
I plan on thinking less of "I" and "Me"
I resolve to think of "Us" and "We"
This year
I can't wait to see what good will come
To feel alive instead of feeling numb
This year.
Yeah. I love it. To be honest? I'm still trying to look back on who I was last year....or still am. It's not like the new year snuck up on me, but let's face it....are we ever really ready for it? I mean, I don't go in for all the "New Year's resolutions", but the beginning of a new year always feels like a bit of a new start, and I have this ideal that I want to start it off right. Trouble is, that rarely happens. So while I am looking forward with hope and expectation to what God has in store this year, a part of me is still stuck in 2014, thinking, "Wait, go back to January 1st....I wasn't ready!" I feel like a lot of my old year is bleeding into my new year.
But see, it doesn't all depend on me! And it doesn't depend on you! So take a few more moments and listen to where God is directing my heart, and maybe yours as well, to focus as the dew stills drips fresh from 2015.
God, this year is yours. And I am yours. Let this reality fill me long and deep.
So what if last year seeps into this January? You are bigger than that! I could have so many dreams, goals, agendas for the days to come....yet they will all come to nothing unless You are leading me.
So give me Your dreams! Give me the the desires of my heart....Your desires for me....make them mine! Here I lay not my plans for 2015, but my hopes grounded in You and the desires of Your Spirit that burns within me.
This year, let there be....
Less complaining, more Thanksgiving.
Less negativity, more Joy!
Less hurry and busy, more seeing and living wholly in the now....
More slowing and stopping for the ones I love and the person in front of me.
Less of me, more of us...and more of You!
Less wishful thinking, more taking action.
Less daydreaming, more experiencing life.
Less delusion, more of Your reality!
Less talk, more walking it out.
More singing, more dancing, more cuddling the little bro, more listening....not only to words but to hearts.
Less of temporal, more of eternal.
Less taking, more giving.
Less stress, more prayer.
Less entertainment, more real-life adventure!
Less shopping and buying and consuming....
More serving and pouring out and giving of quality time.
Less collecting of stuff....more getting rid of clutter and creating space.
Less holding on, more letting go.
Less crowding of stuff and days and hours....
More margin and God-space.
Less hiding, more honesty.
Less passive silence, more worthwhile communication.
Less criticism, more grace.
Less focus on "don't-haves", more focus on the gifts all around me.
More affirming. More enjoying. More loving.
In the words of Jesus, from John 10:10,
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it more abundantly!"
This Year - J.J. Heller
This year
I'm not looking back to who I was
Because I'm gonna be someone I've never been
This year
I'm not focused on the cracks in the walls
Not keeping track of all the times I fall
This year
So long to last year
It's all becoming so clear
There is no use living in regret
Let's fight a good fight
Train our eyes to find the light
And make this year the best one yet
Starting right here...happy New Year!
This year
I plan on thinking less of "I" and "Me"
I resolve to think of "Us" and "We"
This year
I can't wait to see what good will come
To feel alive instead of feeling numb
This year.
Yeah. I love it. To be honest? I'm still trying to look back on who I was last year....or still am. It's not like the new year snuck up on me, but let's face it....are we ever really ready for it? I mean, I don't go in for all the "New Year's resolutions", but the beginning of a new year always feels like a bit of a new start, and I have this ideal that I want to start it off right. Trouble is, that rarely happens. So while I am looking forward with hope and expectation to what God has in store this year, a part of me is still stuck in 2014, thinking, "Wait, go back to January 1st....I wasn't ready!" I feel like a lot of my old year is bleeding into my new year.
But see, it doesn't all depend on me! And it doesn't depend on you! So take a few more moments and listen to where God is directing my heart, and maybe yours as well, to focus as the dew stills drips fresh from 2015.
God, this year is yours. And I am yours. Let this reality fill me long and deep.
So what if last year seeps into this January? You are bigger than that! I could have so many dreams, goals, agendas for the days to come....yet they will all come to nothing unless You are leading me.
So give me Your dreams! Give me the the desires of my heart....Your desires for me....make them mine! Here I lay not my plans for 2015, but my hopes grounded in You and the desires of Your Spirit that burns within me.
This year, let there be....
Less complaining, more Thanksgiving.
Less negativity, more Joy!
Less hurry and busy, more seeing and living wholly in the now....
More slowing and stopping for the ones I love and the person in front of me.
Less of me, more of us...and more of You!
Less wishful thinking, more taking action.
Less daydreaming, more experiencing life.
Less delusion, more of Your reality!
Less talk, more walking it out.
More singing, more dancing, more cuddling the little bro, more listening....not only to words but to hearts.
Less of temporal, more of eternal.
Less taking, more giving.
Less stress, more prayer.
Less entertainment, more real-life adventure!
Less shopping and buying and consuming....
More serving and pouring out and giving of quality time.
Less collecting of stuff....more getting rid of clutter and creating space.
Less holding on, more letting go.
Less crowding of stuff and days and hours....
More margin and God-space.
Less hiding, more honesty.
Less passive silence, more worthwhile communication.
Less criticism, more grace.
Less focus on "don't-haves", more focus on the gifts all around me.
More affirming. More enjoying. More loving.
In the words of Jesus, from John 10:10,
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it more abundantly!"
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Prayers of The Saints
"O Lord, I call upon You; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to You! Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!"
Psalm 141:1-2
"Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that He can open the scroll and its seven seals.
And [the Lamb] went and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who was seated on the throne. And when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints,
And they sang a new song, saying, Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for You were slain, and by Your blood You ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth."
Revelation 5:5-10
A group of pastors and others in my area have organized a round-the-clock prayer movement for the year 2015. The vision is to have 24/7 prayer for revival and transformation in our county for the entire year. People have signed up for time slots to pray for an hour every week, until there is someone praying for revival in our region every hour of every day of 2015! As of today, all but 5 hours of the week are filled.
Someone thought I might be interested in joining this group. Honestly, when I first heard about it? I didn't want to do it. I don't do well with this type of commitment. I didn't want to promise to do this for a whole year and then end up letting it slide halfway through. I also struggle with focused prayer. Big time. I wholly agree with the idea of praying for revival. But it is not something that is constantly on my mind and heart. And the actual putting into practice of praying faithfully when my heart is mostly too distracted and busy to burn for revival....well, it looks good on paper. But the reality is that it's not happening. So I kind of ignored the opportunity until we actually entered the new year.
God got me.
He wouldn't let me forget. Sure, I know our nation needs revival. The state of Ohio needs revival. Our region needs revival. Our churches need revival. But I decided to do this not out of a heart on fire to see revival, and not out of a sense of obligation or guilt....I'm doing it because God reminded me that the person who needs revival the most.....is me. And if I understand the accounts of some of the greatest spiritual awakenings in history, they started with one person who drew a circle, whether literally or figuratively, stood in the center, and asked God to send revival, starting with the person inside that circle.
So this is the heart of my prayer in this weekly hour. Yes, I'm praying for the body of Christ and our county and our nation, circling wider and wider ripples with my prayers....but I'm starting from the position of the one in need of eyes to see and desperate for my heart to be freed from the trappings of this earthly shadowland and of my own kingdom. I'm asking God to start the fire in me.
God says our prayers are like sweet incense before Him...rising up continually in His presence. We cannot know how powerful our prayers are. If we knew, if we believed the power we had, we would pray more! We would pray harder and longer. We would lay aside other things to spend more time in prayer. But we have to start somewhere.
I have more to share from my first hour in this round-the-clock army of prayer, but I'll save it for another post. For now, let me leave you with the lyrics from one of my favorite songs by Rend Collective. This song seeks to express the heart of what I believe we are asking for, and it has been an inspiration for me in the first faltering steps of my time in prayer. The song is called Build Your Kingdom Here.
Come set your rule and reign in our heart again
Increase in us we pray
Unveil why we're made
Come set our hearts ablaze with hope
Like wildfire in our very souls
Holy Spirit, come invade us now
We are your church
We need your power in us!
We seek your kingdom first
We hunger and we thirst
Refuse to waste our lives
For you're our joy and prize
To see the captive hearts released
The hurt, the sick, the poor at peace
We lay down our lives for Heaven's cause
We are your church
We pray revive this earth!
Build your kingdom here
Let the darkness fear
Show your mighty hand
Heal our streets and land
Set your church on fire
Win this nation back
Change the atmosphere
Build your kingdom here!
We pray.
Unleash your kingdom's power
Reaching the near and far
No force of Hell can stop your beauty changing hearts
You made us for much more than this!
Awake the kingdom seed in us!
Fill us with the strength and love of Christ
We are your church
We are the hope on earth.
YES, JESUS! BUILD YOUR KINGDOM HERE!
Psalm 141:1-2
"Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that He can open the scroll and its seven seals.
And [the Lamb] went and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who was seated on the throne. And when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints,
And they sang a new song, saying, Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for You were slain, and by Your blood You ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth."
Revelation 5:5-10
A group of pastors and others in my area have organized a round-the-clock prayer movement for the year 2015. The vision is to have 24/7 prayer for revival and transformation in our county for the entire year. People have signed up for time slots to pray for an hour every week, until there is someone praying for revival in our region every hour of every day of 2015! As of today, all but 5 hours of the week are filled.
Someone thought I might be interested in joining this group. Honestly, when I first heard about it? I didn't want to do it. I don't do well with this type of commitment. I didn't want to promise to do this for a whole year and then end up letting it slide halfway through. I also struggle with focused prayer. Big time. I wholly agree with the idea of praying for revival. But it is not something that is constantly on my mind and heart. And the actual putting into practice of praying faithfully when my heart is mostly too distracted and busy to burn for revival....well, it looks good on paper. But the reality is that it's not happening. So I kind of ignored the opportunity until we actually entered the new year.
God got me.
He wouldn't let me forget. Sure, I know our nation needs revival. The state of Ohio needs revival. Our region needs revival. Our churches need revival. But I decided to do this not out of a heart on fire to see revival, and not out of a sense of obligation or guilt....I'm doing it because God reminded me that the person who needs revival the most.....is me. And if I understand the accounts of some of the greatest spiritual awakenings in history, they started with one person who drew a circle, whether literally or figuratively, stood in the center, and asked God to send revival, starting with the person inside that circle.
So this is the heart of my prayer in this weekly hour. Yes, I'm praying for the body of Christ and our county and our nation, circling wider and wider ripples with my prayers....but I'm starting from the position of the one in need of eyes to see and desperate for my heart to be freed from the trappings of this earthly shadowland and of my own kingdom. I'm asking God to start the fire in me.
God says our prayers are like sweet incense before Him...rising up continually in His presence. We cannot know how powerful our prayers are. If we knew, if we believed the power we had, we would pray more! We would pray harder and longer. We would lay aside other things to spend more time in prayer. But we have to start somewhere.
I have more to share from my first hour in this round-the-clock army of prayer, but I'll save it for another post. For now, let me leave you with the lyrics from one of my favorite songs by Rend Collective. This song seeks to express the heart of what I believe we are asking for, and it has been an inspiration for me in the first faltering steps of my time in prayer. The song is called Build Your Kingdom Here.
Come set your rule and reign in our heart again
Increase in us we pray
Unveil why we're made
Come set our hearts ablaze with hope
Like wildfire in our very souls
Holy Spirit, come invade us now
We are your church
We need your power in us!
We seek your kingdom first
We hunger and we thirst
Refuse to waste our lives
For you're our joy and prize
To see the captive hearts released
The hurt, the sick, the poor at peace
We lay down our lives for Heaven's cause
We are your church
We pray revive this earth!
Build your kingdom here
Let the darkness fear
Show your mighty hand
Heal our streets and land
Set your church on fire
Win this nation back
Change the atmosphere
Build your kingdom here!
We pray.
Unleash your kingdom's power
Reaching the near and far
No force of Hell can stop your beauty changing hearts
You made us for much more than this!
Awake the kingdom seed in us!
Fill us with the strength and love of Christ
We are your church
We are the hope on earth.
YES, JESUS! BUILD YOUR KINGDOM HERE!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)