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lions and lambs and wolves (and cows)…oh my!

And the lion shall lay down with the lamb…

Paints a beautiful picture of peace, doesn’t it?  Most people say that thinking that’s what the Bible says because well it’s on that little statue in the Christian bookstore.  But did you know that the Bible doesn’t say that at all?

Actually, in Isaiah 11:6 and in Isaiah 65:25 the lamb is paired up with a wolf, either dwelling with it or grazing with it.  There is a lion mentioned in both verses, but not juxtaposed with the lamb.  (In fact in Isaiah 11:6, the lion is actually paired with a calf.)  But people have said it for so long, and well it sounds nice and is great imagery, that I would imagine most folks think that comes straight from the Word.  (I did for a long time, too.)

You’ve probably also heard “pride comes before the fall,” but that’s not actually what the Bible says either.  Proverbs 16:18 actually says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”  I know, I know.  It’s not really that much difference, but still different nonetheless.

Did you know that the Bible never says that there were three wise men?  I guess it was assumed that there three because there were three gifts presented to Jesus – gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  The Bible only said that magi came, but it never gives a specific number.

Now please don’t think that I’m saying that you should throw away your lion and lamb statue if you have one or get rid of any of your wise men from the nativity.

What I am saying is: Get into the scriptures.  Don’t take someone else’s word for it.  Read for yourself.  Know for yourself what God says.

When arguing a point or searching for justification, people will sometimes take scripture out of context.  And by itself, that one verse might seem to support what they say, but before you take it as truth, go back and read the verse in its context.  See what the verses before it and after it say.  Make sure that it really says what you thought it said.

If you’re unfamiliar with your Bible as far as where stuff is, what book comes after what, how to look something up in a concordance…or for that matter, what a concordance even is…then go grab your Bible and start digging.  Read over the table of contents and get an idea of how your Bible is put together.  Many Bibles have a concordance in the back, which is a great tool to use if you’re wanting to find a particular verse.  It’s sort of like an index.  You can look up a word from a verse you’re looking for and the concordance will list different verses where that word is used.  If your Bible doesn’t have a concordance in the back, or if the one is has isn’t detailed enough, then go online and check out an online Bible resource.  You can find so much information online – Hebrew word studies, topical searches, commentaries (which are explanations of scripture from various scholars), cross references to give you other verses related to the one you’re reading.  Here’s a few I’d suggest:

www.biblegateway.com

www.biblos.com

www.blueletterbible.com

In this day and age where people actually have the Bible on their cell phones, there’s really no excuse for us not to be familiar with God’s Word.  There’s no real excuse for us not to study God’s Word.  And really, there’s no real reason why we shouldn’t be passionate about God’s Word.  It paints us a beautiful picture of who He is…and who we are in Him.

Do you have any tips for getting familiar with God’s word that you’ve found helpful?

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the center of the gospel

I’ve been reading a new book lately called The Explicit Gospel, by Matt Chandler. If there’s one thing about Matt Chandler, it’s that he’s bold in speaking truth and doesn’t fluff up the gospel. He gives it to you exactly as it was given.

One quote that’s been sort rolling around in my head a few days is this:

“One of the dangers of a gospel that stays on the ground too long is man-centeredness. The idea, for instance, that “the Bible is God’s love letter to you” has a kernel of truth to it, but it is illustrative of how easily we trade the centrality of God’s glory for the centrality of our need.”

Ouch.

I’ve really thought about that a lot. How guilty we are of often putting ourselves at the center of the gospel. We sing songs and preach sermons about the love of God that somehow focus more on us than on Him. How does that happen?

Well since you asked, here’s what I think.

I think that we’ve dulled the glory of God in the eyes of man.

We’ve made God all lovey dovey and romantic like He’s peering over the edge of heaven all doe-eyed watching over His precious children’s every move because He just can’t tear Himself away. (Because it is all about us, right?)

We’ve also made Him boring.

With all the added fluff and fancy light shows in churches every weekend, we’ve implied to congregations that God all by Himself is boring and that the gospel needs a little help to make it interesting enough for people to care. People must be entertained or else they won’t come to church, right? I mean the gospel is great and all, but we’ve got to do something to entice people, right?

And there we are at the center again. Man in the middle. Man’s needs. Man’s wants. Man’s desires. Man’s tastes.

Let me tell you something. The gospel is beautiful and amazing and awesome exactly as it is and with God absolutely in the very center of it.

And from the beginning, the gospel alone has been enough to change hearts and draw men to God.

I think too often we forget that. Churches spend Monday through Friday in a bazillion meetings planning every little detail. Quirky little skits are created, catchy little slogans are thought up. There’s videos and handouts and there’s stage decor and props, and all this so that church goers can come in and have a worship experience.

But worship isn’t supposed to be an experience.

It’s supposed to be an offering lifted up to a holy God.

You don’t experience worship.

You offer it and God receives it.

I don’t know. Maybe I’m being too hard on churches.

I know that much of what goes on is done with the intent of providing an atmosphere where people can come in and meet with God. I know that for the most part, the heart behind the effort is pure.

But there is a bit of pride in there too, isn’t there? Because somehow we think that if we show the right emotionally charged videos, that if we can have enough ambient music and funky lighting…oh and smoke – don’t forget the smoke…that we can create an environment where man is moved to worship God.

But that’s all wrong. In our efforts at planning worship (which is a complete oxymoron really. How exactly does one plan worship anyway?), we’ve ended up putting ourselves right at the center of it again. We did it. We created it. We made the space for God to be worshipped.

Is that arrogant or what?

Sometimes I truly wonder what God thinks about church nowadays.

And I wrestle with that a lot.

How about you?

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the thing we want most

“Not to stand is to stand. Not to speak is to speak.” – D. Bonheoffer

The Bible is very clear on many things. Granted yes, there are some things in the Bible that are difficult to understand and some things that we just cannot fathom in our human brains. We may sometimes read a passage of scripture and sit back in our chair and after much pondering respond with a resounding, “huh?” And that’s quite alright. I don’t think we are meant to understand every bit of it. Not yet anyway. Sometimes, the only response we have is “I don’t know.” But I can assure you of one thing….God is not confused. And as much as there are scriptures that we might not be able to really grasp, there are just as many that are crystal clear. And although there are some scriptures that one could argue as open to interpretation as to whether it’s meant literally or spiritually, there are just as many that are quite basic. They say exactly what they mean…no interpretation needed.

In North Carolina, there is currently an amendment on the table that if passed would be added to the state constitution defining marriage as being between one man and one woman. I was reading an editorial letter in the local paper the other day about this issue that made me so absolutely frustrated. The person was writing because they were against the amendment and had much to say about Christians and the Bible and how God loves people despite their sinfulness. How could Christians say they followed Jesus, who loves and is love, and yet at the same time deny homosexuals the right to marry other homosexuals? We can’t help who we love, the person said. Doesn’t the Bible say God is love? Didn’t God create homosexuals? I could feel my blood begin to boil.

Let me tell you something, friend. The Lord God Almighty is holy. He is good and there is no evil in Him. He is light and there is no dark in Him (1 John 1:5).

And He hates sin.

And I may not understand everything the Bible says, but I do know this one thing beyond the shadow of a doubt…God did not create us to be sinful. He created us to be beautiful. Our shortcomings, our sicknesses, our messes are all the result of sin.

God didn’t make me fat, He didn’t make her gay, He didn’t make him an addict and He didn’t make you “just the way you are.”

All of those things are the result of SIN. They are not nor have they ever been the desire nor the creation of a righteous and holy God.

(Frankly, I don’t know who came up with the idea that God loves us just like we are. Yes, the Lord loves us, but to say He loves us just the way we are implies that He’s content with our current condition, and quite frankly I believe that line of thought is a lie given us by the enemy to make us feel that it’s okay to be less than everything we are called to be.)

God doesn’t love gluttony. He doesn’t love homosexuality. He doesn’t love adultery. He doesn’t love murder. He doesn’t love sickness and disease. He doesn’t love laziness.

He doesn’t love sin. At all. In any way. Ever.

So. What’s a sinful being supposed to do with a righteous God who hates sin?

Worship Him. Worship Him with every single ounce of our being.

Worship this God who gave over His own Son to cover our sin with His blood so that we could be restored unto Him.

Live a life that is led by the Spirit and not by the flesh.

Romans 12:18 says that as far as it depends on us, we are to be at peace with all men. Do you think that includes being at peace with ourselves? I do. And how can we be at peace with ourselves if we are being led by our iniquities and transgressions rather than by the Spirit of God?

Now before anybody tries to think that I’m implying that we somehow can earn our salvation, let me just stop you here. Our salvation was bought by the blood of Christ and that was enough. However, if we have received Christ and our desire is to live a Godly life in His image, the fruit of that desire will be evident in how we act and what we say…the presence of Christ in our life will be evident in how we live it.

Does that mean that once we receive Christ that we’ll never sin again? Well of course not. As long as we are wrapped in flesh, the tendency toward sin will always be there.

But we do have a choice as to whether or not we continue to entertain the enemy.

At the risk of sounding corny, let me put it like this. We can’t stop the accuser from knocking at our door. He does that all the time. Like minute by minute. A constant assault on our perimeter. And we decide as to whether or not we invite him in. We choose whether or not we sit down at the table and have tea with him while he fills our head with lies or whether we leave him on the porch.

We must…we MUST…take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5). It’s the only way to keep the enemy out. The Word of God is our defense against satan. We combat lies with the Truth of God. When the enemy dangles sin at the window, we must, must, must counter that with God’s Word.

I have a choice. When a sinful thought enters my mind, before that thought becomes action, I can either meditate on the Word of God until I get past that sinful thought or I can dwell on that thought, revel in that thought and eventually act on that thought. I always have a choice about that. (And Matthew 4 gives us a beautiful example.)

And going back to the house example, it’s like Jesus is living with us in that house. We dwell together with Him. And really you know, even more than countering the enemy’s lies with God’s truth, our prayer should be to get to a place where we love God and want to be with Him more than we love or desire sin. As we grow in our relationship with Jesus, and as our desire for Him burns stronger and stronger, that we will notice the enemy at the door less and less. That we eventually won’t notice the sin the enemy is dangling at the window because our eyes will be so fixed on the One who gave everything for us. That’s how it should be. That we would be so engaged with God and so enthralled by Him that we don’t want to waste a single minute on some fleeting “feel good” moment. We won’t want to tear ourselves away from Him for even a moment to give ourselves over to something that would keep us from Him. But if by some chance we slip and let the enemy in, all we need do is cry out to Jesus and He’ll escort that demon right back out the door. That’s how it should be. That’s how it can be.

Oh God, that we would love You more than we love our sin.

That You would be more precious to us, more desirable to us than anything that would cause us to be separated from You or move outside of Your will.

Oh God, that you would break our hearts with the things that break Yours.

That we would love what You love and hate what You hate.

That You would be the thing we want most.

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you;

my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you,

in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.

Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.

I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.

Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.

They who seek my life will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth.

They will be given over to the sword and become food for jackals.

But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God’s name will praise him,

while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

Psalm 63

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absent outrage

I’m so incredibly tired of all the evil in this world.  But what I’m even more tired of is how the media takes pots of hot water and sits them on a fire to boil…and often boil over.  And what’s frustrating is how America takes huge bites of the bait.  There are so many things…awful things…that happen and as if the thing itself isn’t bad enough, then the media gets a hold of it and they just twist the knife that much more.

They pit country against country.

Race against race.

People against people.

All for the sake of what?  Access of knowledge?  Ratings? Because “the public has a right to know?”

And then you add the internet on top of the already news hungry reporters and media sources.  What a mess.

And we should be outraged.  And America will be…for now.  Until the media gets bored and moves on to the next racially charged crime or political agenda.  And George Zimmerman will be forgotten, left to live a life always in fear, always looking over his shoulder.  Treyvon Martin will still be a young man in the ground who was way too young to die.  And America will have moved on.  With all our Blackberries and iPhones, with our politics and our agendas, with our tolerance and our complete oblivion to the rest of the world.

But here’s where my stomach gets into a bit of a knot.  We should all be in constant outrage at what happens in this world everyday, every minute.

Today in the mail, I received a letter from the organization where my husband and I currently sponsor two children.  They were asking if there was anyway possible that we might be able to sponsor another child.  The need is dire.  And with the letter was a booklet with pictures of children needing a sponsor…children who live everyday in inhumane circumstances.  Children who reside in places where children die everyday because of lack of food, lack of clean water, lack of just the everyday necessities of life.  According to statistics at World Hunger, the estimated number of childhood deaths in 2010 was 7.6 million, and in at least half of those deaths, hunger was a factor.   Over 3.8 million children dead because of poverty-related hunger.  And in developing countries, approximately one out of every fifteen children will die before they reach the age of five.  THAT is cause for outrage.  Where are the breaking news reports?  Where are the interviews?  Where are the protests and marches?  Where is the outrage for these children?

Did you know that slavery was still alive and kicking in the world?  Did you realize that everyday around the world children are abuse and violated sexually?  According to UNICEF, in 2002 WHO estimated that 15 million girls and 73 million boys all under the age of 18 experienced some form of forced sexual violence.  In 2002 and since, it has been estimated by the International Labor Organization that 1.2 million children are trafficked for the purpose of exploitation each year.  That’s 1.2 million children sold into some form of slavery each year, whether it be for labor or for sex or for both.  THAT is cause for outrage.  But where are the around the clock new reports about those children?  Where are the front page articles?  Where is the bounty on the heads of those responsible for such horrific acts?

Christians around the world…in more than 40 countries…are being persecuted for their faith.  This persecution could range anywhere from harassment to outright violence, imprisonment and even death.  Can you believe that?  People in this world, in the year 2012 are dying because of their faith in the Lord.  THAT is cause for outrage.

I also ran across this startling number while researching the rest.  According to the Guttmacher Institute, 22 percent of all pregnancies, not including miscarriages, end in abortion.  In 2008, 1.21 million abortions were performed.  1.21 million little lives snuffed out before their eyes even see the light of day.  THAT is cause for outrage.

According to Domestic Violence Statistics, a woman is beaten or assaulted every nine seconds in the United States.  And more than three women are murdered by their boyfriend or husband, in the United States, everyday.  TODAY, more than three women lost their lives at the hand of someone who is supposed to love them as Christ loves the Church.  THAT is cause for outrage.

None of these things should escape the attention of every person in this country, but instead we are bombarded and goaded by the things that pit us against each other instead of uniting us all.  Why aren’t their marches and protests and news reports and public cries demanding justice for all these children?  All these women?  Where is the outrage?

What has happened to this world?

Oh Father that you would join your body, arm in arm, hand in hand, to fight injustice in this dark world.  God, I pray that you would break our hearts with the things that break yours.  That we would not be able to continue to tolerate hate, that we would no longer be able to ignore hunger, that we would not allow ourselves to be ignorant of the plight of those in desperate poverty.  Lord, implore us to action even when it seems that the thing we are coming against can’t possibly be defeated.  Raise up an army in your name, Hashem.

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a simple revelation

It’s so amazing to me how after what has felt like such a dry spell in the desert, just a simple revelation can be like a flood gate opening.

I met with a friend for coffee the other day.  I’ve known Darlynn for probably ten years or so and she has been such a great source of encouragement to me, particularly over the last few years.  As the facilitator of a women’s Bible study at my church, I fall under Darlynn’s section of small groups and so in part we talked a little about how things were going with that, but also she just wanted to catch up on where I was in my own heart…you know, just how things were going with me.  I really love that.  In a church of several thousand, and our leaders take out the time to meet with those leading groups just to chat and see how we are, both in the groups and in our own personal faith walk.  That’s pretty cool.

Anyhow, I was sharing with her about where I’d kinda been lately, how I’d been really struggling with getting in one-on-One time with God and Darlynn shared with me about this book that she’s currently working through called How to Hear God’s Voice by Mark & Patti Virkler.  And in just what little bit she told me about, I had this little revelation…and of course, I bought the book and started reading as soon as I got home.  (Another victory!  I haven’t been able to concentrate on a book lately.)

I’ve only read through the first chapter so far, but clearly one of Virkler’s big things is journaling.  And as I’m reading through this first chapter, he’s asking questions or giving journaling prompts to write about and he encourages you to stop reading and spend a few moments dialoging with God in prayer and by writing your prayers and thoughts down.

And it occurred to me while I was listening to Darlynn talk about the book and again confirmed once I started reading it..I think I know where I went wrong.  I stopped journaling.

See back when I started blogging, I guess I eventually started letting my journaling go because I was sharing so much via the blog that I wasn’t really taking time to see if there was more God wanted to share with just me…if He had any special things He wanted to whisper to my heart alone.  I never realized what a connection those written pages were between my heart and God’s.  Even just the quickest little prayer or word of praise imprinted on paper was a moment of drinking Him in.  It was a moment of intentionality where as words fell on paper, my heart focused on my Love.

And just in the little bit I’ve written today and yesterday, I can’t tell you how it’s drawn me into Him.  Prayers, scriptures, words of love…all His.

Do you keep a journal?  Maybe you don’t think you’re a “writer” and so keeping a journal just isn’t for you, but can I just encourage you in this?  If you haven’t ever kept a journal or did at one point but stopped, oh how I hope you’ll give it a try.  Remember, God’s not looking for eloquent words and fancy writing…He’s just looking for your heart.

Maybe you could record a scripture that has been on your heart today.  Possibly scribble out a short prayer of thanksgiving and praise.  Or maybe your heart is crying out for Him and brokenness might fill up several pages.  You could just have a question for God and want to seek His heart for the answer…jot it down.  Sometimes, I’ll even write out lyrics to a song that touches me.

There’s no right or wrong way to do it.  Some of my journal pages are nice and neat and then two pages later, it looks like crazy chicken scratch where the words poured out of my heart almost faster than what my hand could keep up with.  (This is especially comical when I’ve awakened at night and written something in the dark and then tried to decipher what on earth it said the next morning.  I’m sure Jesus gets a little chuckle out of that, too.)  I’ve even been known to draw a picture or two in there when I just can’t find words.  And really, it’s all just a bunch of love letters between me and my Beautiful One.

So grab a pen and paper…tell Him how much you love Him.  Pour your heart out to Him.  He loves you so…be drawn into Him.

Draw me, we will run after you,

the king has brought me into his chambers,

we will be glad and rejoice in you,

we will remember your love more than wine,

the upright love you.

Song of Songs 1:4

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something beautiful

Some days I think that I’ve just about had all I can stand of humankind.  I feel crushed by the pure evil that exists in this world and I think that my heart will absolutely break into a million pieces as I read the newspaper or listen to my husband’s recanting of his previous night’s work as a police officer.

It’s just too much.  Too much absolute disregard for the life of another person.  Too much utter lack of concern for the plight of others.  Too much hate.

Too much of not enough Jesus, really.

And yet, we are all born of the same dust.  All created by the same Master’s hand.

And what I just can’t fathom is how His creations…molded by His hands…life breathed into them from His own breath can just close their hearts to Him.  Refuse the Light of the World so that they might continue to wander in darkness.

Don’t they hear Him calling?  Whispering their name as if it were honey on His lips?  Don’t they feel that draw of holiness…an age old voice of deep calling out to deep?

It’s an absolute mystery to me.

Oh Father, sometimes I wish You’d just do something so amazing, so incredible that people would have to stop and take notice.  They would have to see You. 

And then I think, how much more amazing could it get than sending your innocent Son to come and die for a sinful world so that we could be restored to You?  That’s about as incredible as it gets.

And so from here, sometimes all I know to do is put my head in my hands and cry.  To mourn for the ones who have closed their hearts to Him…to mourn for those who walked away from Him because they didn’t want what He offered when really they never knew what He held in His hands.  To weep for those who have believed lies about Jesus…precious Jesus, oh my Love, my heart breaks for You.  For what You did for us…for me…to have that ignored and made light of.  If they could only see, Lord.  If they could only see.

But I guess the reality is that they can’t see.  Their eyes have been blinded by the enemy, their hearts deceived by the liar of liars.

They have been deceived into believing that they don’t need You.  That You aren’t real.  That You aren’t good.

And somehow, if just for a second, I see it a little differently.  And I’m a little less angry.  And it’s a little easier to love.  And I’m reminded of the words uttered from the mouth of the Beautiful One while hanging ragged on the cross…

they know not what they do.

Oh God, that you would remove the blinders.  Peel back the scales, Father.

And as I’m sitting here thinking how in the world to close this post, I just keep hearing,

beauty for ashes…as long as you have breath in you, it’s not over.

And there it is.

As long as there is life, there is hope.

And where that Hope is found, there is Life.

And the Blessed Hope will be waiting with arms outstretched

for those who find that they need the Light

more than they love the dark…

and then find that they love the Light

and hate the dark.

and a bended knee brings forth a surrendered heart

and suddenly they’ll know what they’ve done

and they’ll know what He’s done

and something beautiful will be born

and they’ll become beacons of light in that same dark

that once tried to strangle the life out of them.

And so while we wait,

We  love.

We pray.

And we love some more.

And we look for something beautiful to rise up from the dust.

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my name

I knew when God gave me “intentional” as my One Word for 2012 that I was going to start out strong like always and eventually peter out…like always.  Gah.  I hate that about myself so much.  Absolutely no follow through.  Makes me sick. Maybe if I set a goal to NOT do anything, perhaps I will eventually grow weary of said goal and actually end up doing SOMETHING.  If only it were that simple.

Nope.  Goals take dedication.  Prioritizing.  Endurance.  Steadfastedness. (Okay, so that might not actually be a word, but you get the idea.)

Following through requires effort.

I was complaining to my friend Mandi earlier today about how I just couldn’t seem to get back into any kind of routine of reading and studying the Word of God.  I knew I needed to be in the Word a whole lot more than I had lately, but for whatever reason I just hadn’t.  And her response?

Well, whatcha gonna do about it?

I love that girl.  Just like that.  No pity party.  No excuses.  You know what’s wrong…now what are you going to do to fix it?

And the funniest thing is that I know what I feel like God is leading me to do about it, but I’m afraid to tell you because then if I don’t do it, you’ll know I didn’t.  Or if I do tell and then start it…and then it fizzles out, I’ll look like a big loser.  A big lazy loser without the first bit of steadfastednessicity in her body.

Oh, Lord.  Please awaken me.  Awaken my soul to the very core.

Do you see why accountability is so very important?  If you don’t have someone by whom you’re being held accountable, and you’re anything at all like me, you just float from one thing to another, never really committing to anything.  You graze the surface, knowing just enough to be dangerous, but never really going deep.  Never really diving down under, past the mediocre and into the amazing.

Lord, awaken me to the deep.  Call out passion and fire in me.

Can I just put this out there too?  That part of it is lack of follow through is certainly true, but part of it is something else altogether.  It’s the struggle of being and doing what I so desire in my heart to be and do, but being so intimidated by the accusations of the enemy that I allow myself to be robbed of the ability to be and do.

See the enemy has a name for me.  And he’s relentless in using it.

Faker.

There have been very few authentic moments of worship in my life that the enemy hasn’t tried to steal.  And honestly, I think the only time that he’s unable to get to me is when I’m on the platform with my worship team during a service at church…and it’s actually only been within the last year or year and a half that he’s been cut off from that.

Put your hands down, you faker. 

Stop talking about Jesus, you faker.

Get off your knees, you faker.

You’re a big fake.  You know you’re all screwed up inside.  Everything about you is fake.  Jesus hasn’t healed you of anything.  You don’t know what you’re talking about.  It’s all a lie and you’re a faker.

Father, please let Your voice be louder than his.

Call out to my spirit from the depths, Lord.

A constant battle.  An enemy who is absolutely relentless.

A faker who lacks strength to persevere.

That’s who the accuser says I am.

And here’s the part when I should offer a rebuttal.  Explain why all that’s not true and how the enemy steals, kills, and destroys.  Say a few God cliché’s and tie this all up with a nice neat bow.

Except I can’t.

Because I’m afraid he’s right.

Oh God, make me desperate for You.

Make me bold…I will raise my hands to You in worship.

Fill my heart to overflowing…I will keep right on talking about You.

Whisper to my soul…I will kneel before You in prayer and submission.

Awaken me, Jesus. 

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a beautiful exchange

When only love could make a way

You gave Your life in a beautiful exchange.

-Beautiful Exchange, Hillsong Live

I’ve just sitting here trying to pound out something on this keyboard.  I don’t know why this has gotten so hard.  And just about the moment I’m going to give up and go to bed, this song starts playing in my headphones.

…trading Your life for my offenses,

for my redemption You carried all the blame…

And it’s appropriate since we are nearing Easter, or Passover as it’s probably more appropriately called.  And my mind drifts to a place long ago where men were gathered together at the feast of Pesach, or Passover in English, and their Rabbi does the strangest thing.  He breaks the unleavened bread and tells them to take it and eat it,

This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.

The Bible says He then takes the cup and tells them,

This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

 And it would seem then at the moment, that whole thing just went right by the disciples.  Oh, remembrance of you.  New covenant.  Hmmm, yes Jesus.  That sounds nice.  Clearly they missed something because in Luke, right after this part, the next thing you know the disciples are arguing about which one of them was the greatest.

(You know, sometimes as I’m reading this sort of thing going on amongst the men who were closest to the Messiah, I’m thinking man, you guys were a bunch of dunderheads.  But I have no room to talk.  I can be a pretty big dunderhead myself most times.)

They’re sitting there (or I guess reclining there) having a meal with their Rabbi and even in the midst of a meal, He’s teaching them.  In the miraculous, He’s teaching them.  Even in the mundane, He’s teaching them.

In everything, He’s showing them how to walk in His dust.  How to follow Him.  How to live in a way that pleases the Lord and brings glory to His name.

Because that’s really it.  Doing all things to His glory.  Doing everything, all the while remembering Him…

Remembering the beautiful exchange that was made on the cross…His life for mine.

Remembering that I am restored by the grace and mercy that poured out red.

Remembering that I am whole because He was broken.

Remembering that I have life because He conquered death.

Yes, it was a beautiful exchange.  His life for mine.

And what’s even more beautiful to me is that now, I live, having exchanged my life for His.

I remember Him…because He remembered me.

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The writing on the wall

Scripture tells of a king in the book of Daniel who lost his mind, and then he lost his life.  I’m not talking about Nebuchadnezzar, although he lost his mind too for a bit.  This guy’s name was Belshazzar.  Long story short, the Babylonians had sacked Jerusalem and had taken the holy articles from the temple back to Babylon.  King Belshazzar had this big party one night and in his drunken stupor he clearly lost his mind momentarily and decided it would be a good idea to use the holy articles from the temple to serve wine out of for his guests.  He was having himself a high time…right up until this hand appeared out of the air and started writing a message on the wall – “mene mene tekel parsin,” which in my own loose interpretation means, you are a fool and you are now a dead fool.  And that very night, the Persians and the Medes attacked Babylon and King Belshazzar was killed (Daniel 5).

In that case, God was not given the glory and honor due Him and the handwriting was literally on the wall.  (Sorry.  Had to.)  Where God is not honored and glorified, death will occur.

On the totally other end of that spectrum, there’s a prayer room here in town.  It’s right in the middle of the downtown area within walking of the university and it’s actually above a skate shop.  There is some powerful worship of the Lord that goes on in that place.  The walls are painted with chalkboard paint and people are encouraged to write scriptures or draw pictures or write prayers on the walls.  It’s beautiful really.  To see the different handwritings…some neat and even, some scrawled and messy…but all written out of hearts overflowing with love for their God.  And all with words and drawings that honor and glorify their Father in heaven.

Stark contrast, huh?

On one wall are words written by the hand of God to a room full of people who blatantly defiled the holy articles and dishonored the Lord of Hosts.

On another wall are words written by the hands of children who adore their Father and call Him holy, worthy, righteous, matchless.

And so along that same line, I’m adding another page to my blog site called The Wall where I will be posting scriptures or quotes or just simple prayers.  I’d love it so much if you’d feel free to do the same.  Just add what’s in your heart as a comment on the page anytime you feel led.  I hope that this will help me further in my need for accountability, but more than that I pray that God will be honored and glorified by the writing on the wall…

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An easy habit to break, but hard habit to make

Golly.  Who’d have thought it would be this hard to keep up with something that I love to do so much.  I’m back from yet another blogging hiatus…at least for today.

And I have a confession.

I need this blog.

I need to know that there’s a possibility that someone is reading this.  That someone has noticed that I haven’t written anything in a while.  That the latest gap between posts has not gone unnoticed.

Not because I want to be famous.  Not because I think that anything I have to say is so all-important that is has to get out there.

Really it’s less for you, although I am beyond honored that you’ve taken the time out of your schedule to read this.  I can’t thank you enough.

But, honestly, it’s more for me than anybody.  Somehow this blog is an accountability for me.  I read, I study, I spend time with the Father and I can’t help but share what has been brought forth in that time.  And then I’m excited to go back and be with Him and then have more to share.  It’s like going to a well and bringing back a bucket of water and then pouring out over me and you and then going back to the well for another bucket over and over.  Like I think I’ve said in a previous post, if you’re constantly refilling, you can be constantly pouring out.  But if you aren’t refilling, then there’s really nothing to pour.

So I guess I really have two confessions.

First, that I need to blog because I need the accountability.

And second, I haven’t been doing a very good job of the refilling part here lately.  In fact, if I’m honest, other than the studying I do to prepare for Bible study each week, I haven’t really had much other time with God.

(Unless you count those mumbled prayers for help here and there.)

And I know there’s an ebb and flow to all relationships…even the one I have with Jesus.  Sometimes I feel closer to Him and other times I feel like I’m sort of in the desert and He’s just quiet.  I know He’s still there and I know He loves me and I know I love Him…those things I never call into question.  It’s just that I guess in my life as a mom of two boys, the wife of a police officer, a work at home transcriptionist, a Pinterest addict, a Bible study leader, a Friday morning prayer warrior, a yo-yo dieter, and a bunch of other things, all that somehow gets put before the one thing that I am more than any of those things…a daughter of the Maker of the Universe.

So, having said all that, I would love so much if you’d pray for me.  Please pray for me to be desperate for time with the Lord.  For my heart to burn with a passion for His presence that will not be quenched.  I’d be so grateful if you did.

~J