With All My Heart...

I suppose it's easy to be enthusiastic about Jesus. Let's just be honest. He's amazing. But this is the time when God is looking for worshipers. He's not looking for enthusiasts, He's looking for worshipers.

John 4:23 (NIV) says:

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

I love this verse. I love it. It speaks of the passion of now and of a time yet unseen when people will arise to pour out adoration on an awesome God. It also says that God seeks people that will do just this. A holy God is looking for people like you and I. He's looking for us to stand up and to cast off those sins that easily trouble us. He's looking for people that will be kingdom minded. That will put aside their own agendas to take care of His agendas. Now, moving beyond being an enthusiast is no easy task. It takes sacrifice and denial. Romans 12:1 (NIV) says:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

Here, the wonderful Word of God tells us to offer our bodies -while still alive- as a sacrifice. We are urged to live lives that are holy and pleasing to God. The very word "sacrifice" denotes a form of slaughter. In this case, we are to slaughter our sinful nature without looking back. It has to be brutal and it has to be full. There's no half-stepping here. And the verse goes on to say that this is our act of worship. Worship isn't in the songs that we sing or the words that we say. Its not in our works or achievements. It is in our sacrifice. Enthusiasts do not sacrifice. They cheer. They jump. They shout. They may even sing. They do not sacrifice. The sacrifice is reserved for worshipers.

I think that this is the season to make up our minds. It's time for the true worshipers to arise and to cross that line that divides worship and enthusiasm. My prayer is that God will build passion for His person and His cause within us all. That with the help of the Holy Spirit, we will come to the conclusion that this journey with our Master is all or nothing. I pray that we will choose all rather than nothing. I pray that God will make us worshipers.

Mature and Complete...Not Lacking Anything...

It strikes me as funny when the Bible asks us in James 1:2 (NIV) to "consider is PURE JOY whenever you face trials of many kinds..." Being short-sighted and lacking the omniscience that belongs to God alone, we find it hard to see the beauty in diverse trials. As a ship in the midst of the storm it is difficult to see the calm that lies elsewhere on that very same body of water. But this is why I love the Word of God: in the midst of all kinds of pressures and pains and misunderstandings, we are assured that all these things are working together for our good.

In the same chapter of James, the next two verses reveal a marvelous truth:

3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.


This Word assures us that when we stand strong in God and face various trials head on, we are in the process of being made complete. This promise resonates within me, because I believe that I have more to offer. I'm seeking God and falling more in love with Him, and I pray that this process brings out the best in me. So that I may be like Jesus, who is the perfect and pure Example of perseverance and long-sightedness producing vast and glorious fruits. Hebrew 12:2 says:

2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus looked beyond the cross and set His gaze on the joy of a redeemed human race. As He focused on the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross, knowing that the end result would have Him seated at the right hand of God once again. This verse also encourages us to fix our eyes on this strong and mighty Jesus, who is, indeed, the Joy that is set before us.

I pray that we will all reach our full potential by any means necessary. Individually and as the Body of Christ. I know that the church has more to offer this world. My heart longs to see her rise from every kind of trial and shine still...minister still...love still. I pray that perseverance will be developed in us all and as it develops, may we be made mature and complete, not lacking anything.

The Reason for the Season...

I was going to write about Christmas, but I decided against it. There is a more pressing issue on my heart...

Life has it's phases. It has seasons. We go through times that are warm and full of life and that produce fruits, like Spring. But we also go through seasons that are like Winter, when everything is cold and unyielding. Seasons change and people change with them, but I honestly believe that each phase in life has it's purpose. There is always a reason for every season that we go through.

I think about great men and women. People who's lives are documented in the marvelous Word of God. When Moses was growing up, he always had the best that Egypt had to offer. He lived like the prince that he was. There came a time, however, when Moses' comfort zone had to be vacated. It was at this time that Moses found himself wandering through the desert for 40 years! What worse place could a man who had lived in the lap of luxury find himself? The desert produces nothing. It is dry and it is barren. But these 40 years prepared Moses for his destiny. There was a reason for the season that he was in.

We all go through times when it feels like we're wandering aimlessly under the sun, not knowing which direction to take the next step. The good thing about these times is that, with God, there is a special way that our steps are ordered. In the end, all that we experience will work together for our good.

I pray that each season in your life will bring it's own lessons. I pray that no season will be wasted. I pray that in the end, you will grasp your victory and that you will become all that you were born to be. There is a reason for whatever you may be going through. Trust God and keep pushing. Your time will come.

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Pick Up Your Skirts, Church...

The rhetoric of revival is easy to speak. Any eloquent speaker can talk about change. Any persuasive person can make you believe in the change about which they speak. But when will we begin to DO? When will the church pick up her skirts and go out into the vineyard to work?

I think that its about time that we all stake our claim in this thing we call revival. Its time to take part in the beauty that we are crying out for. Its time for the church to BE THE CHANGE that she seeks. What is your part in thing great movement? Is it to pray until the world bows down in reverence of our King, Jesus? Is it to take care of the orphan and the widow? Is it to praise God with everything you have so that the earth is provoked to do the same?

I urge you to seek God with everything that you have and to find out what your role is in this great kingdom. We've got to get our hands dirty. This isn't a game. Its time for battle.

"These are the times that try men's souls."
- Thomas Paine

Musings...

My heart is overflowing with passion for You
And my soul longs to see Your face
There is a weight in my chest
Lord, let Your will be done
It is with You that I run this race

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Haiku

You are so holy

Marvelous are Your ways, Lord

I give You my heart

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I could look forever and ever

And still find none like You

My heart sings of Your great love

And my soul finds rest in Your forgiveness

You bring laughter to my spirit

And words of truth to my pen

Awesome

Magnificent

Compassionate

Faithful

Trustworthy

I could look forever and ever

And still find none like You

The Precious Blood...

I've grown to understand the precious nature of the Blood of Jesus. I know that I haven't even scratched the surface of the depth of its power, but I know that it is very precious. This Blood is so precious that it was the only thing that could be poured out to save a people who were hopelessly lost.

The Word is Romans 5:6-8 (NIV) explains the beauty of the Cross of Christ:

6You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.
8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

I love these verses. These verses tell the story of grace. They tell the story of a free gift. Jesus came to die for us when we had nothing. God sent His only Son when we were nothing. While we were still filthy in the depth of our sin, Jesus shed His blood to provide a way back to the Father. There is nothing in heaven or on earth that has the power that the Blood of Jesus has. Nothing else has the ability to bring us to the place of repentance. Nothing else has the power to justify us. Nothing else could rend the veil that separated us from our Creator. Nothing else could pay the debt that we owe because of the wretched nature of sin. It is only the Blood. It is only the Cross of Christ.

Because Jesus died on the cross, I am forgiven. My life was saved because He forfeited His own. I'm eternally grateful that God demonstrated His love for us in this way. We weren't good. We were not righteous. We were sinners. It was while we were in this state that God chose to send His Son.

"...Because a sinless Saviour died

My sinful soul is counted free

For God, the Just, is satisfied

To look on Him and pardon me..."

The Beautiful Bride...

I don't know about you, but The state of the church saddens me. This isn't what it was meant to be. The church wasn't supposed to be about programs and doctrines and merchandising. The church is meant to be the bride of Christ. We are meant to be an answer in a dying world.

I really believe that God is about to do something major in us. I believe that He's ready to win the heart of His bride back. Since that is what my God wants, that is what I want. I want revival. I want it to begin with me. I want a genuine love for God and an authentic love for people to flow out from our pulpits and from our pews and I want that love to flood our communities.

We have to realize that we are the church. Individually, we make up the church as a whole. Let's adorn ourselves with praise. Let's make ourselves beautiful and let's go in to see our Bridegroom. When we go to see Him, let's pour our love on Him like the woman with the alabaster box.

Back to the basics...

Wrote these lyrics to a song not too long ago. They've been imprinted on my mind and in my heart.

Open up your eyes

And see the world around you

Make up your mind

That you will make a change

We can't ignore this madness any longer

Wisdom is calling

Will you take a stand?

Open up your eyes and open up your hand

There is mother

Who begs to feed her children
There is a man
With nothing to his name

There is a child

With no hope for tomorrow

When will we learn?

Its time to lend a hand

Open up your eyes and open up your hand

Now is the time for us to make a difference

Now is the time to answer heaven's call

Think of the cross when you reach out to your brother

Think of how Jesus gave it all

Open up your eyes and open up your hand