Keep Going Friend!

Because maybe someone else needs to hear this today... besides me.

As I prepare for my Bible Journaling Class tomorrow night, I ran across this from my quiet time journal from November, 2017. 1 Kings 19:15. Elijah being asked of God to "go back."

Elijah in a cave. Hiding. Scared. Afraid that his life no longer had meaning. Worried that the enemies out to destroy him would succeed. Frightened that God had forgotten him.

Sound familiar?

And then God asks him to do something strange.

"Go back."

God ushers him back to the practical path of duty.
Because the assignment is too great.
And there was purpose yet to be fulfilled.
And while God offers us great compassion in our defeat, He is not content to leave us in despair.

Elijah still had a duty to perform. A mission to accomplish.

And so do you!

Elijah was found temporarily taking his eyes off Jesus, and it threatened to kill him. He started to drown when he removed his eyes from the Divine and focused too much on the details of the derailment.

We owe it to Him to do FAITHFULLY the work He has called us to do regardless of fear of failure, regardless of how strong the threat against us is, regardless of how weak we feel, or how many stand in opposition.

"Be steadfast and immovable." 1 Corinthians 15:58.

Your path to usefulness may be discouraged, delayed, or detoured, but as long as you are doing it for the glory of God... and despite circumstance... it cannot be destroyed!

Sometimes God has to take you back in order to move you forward.

Do not be discouraged, friend. Keep going! YOU have an assignment that you've been called to fulfill and ONLY YOU can fill it!

Word Shift

Sometimes I see too much. Especially in the words I observe, in the world I live, and in the voices I listen. But when you’ve trained yourself in the awareness of grace, and you’ve begged God continually to altar your perspective in a world gone mad with negativity, and hostility, and what appears to be an aversion to joy and gladness as Peter’s assignment to us speaks of, you disallow yourself any other way of living.

It was a simple post really. No one I knew. Just a scroll through social media. And the words written beside a wintery image, a fresh blanket of snow, were, “Beautiful, but cold.”

And I get it. It’s truth. It’s cold. And reporting facts and data is uncomplicated. And maybe even effortless. Ahh... words become less effort and more incidental... unintentioned... casual. And I wonder if there in lies the problem.

Because everything we say matters. Everything. And if we aren’t careful.. if we remain accidental with our words and not intentional... we risk misrepresenting the One we claim to serve best and love most.

And so we can choose differently the words that escape our mouths and fingertips. We can redesign our proclamation by redirecting our perspective. It’s all a matter of what we choose to see. What we see will be what we sow. Because we manifest most what we think on most.

And so with slight word shift we change everything, “It’s cold, but it’s beautiful.”

It really changes the entire meaning of that same idea. Both true. But rise given to the loveliest condition.

The thing you choose to give influence to will be that which has the most impact on you. And so we really must think about what we’re thinking about and then pray for better choices that represent a better perspective.

It all matters.

Tongue Power

If we’ve heard it once, we’ve heard it a thousand times. The verse that repeats in my ears more often than any other one in all of scripture: “The tongue can bring death or life.” And to me it’s interesting that “death” is spoken before “life” in this context. Perhaps because we’re more inclined to that mode of living than the other? Maybe not. But I’m seeing it clearly today.

Because some conversations as of late have reminded me of the absolute power that resides in words.

And I’d even read it in a comment on a video my daughter posted on her YouTube channel this week. Hate spewed from a computer screen.

And so many of us live in a cycle of negative speech and harsh words. And so much of the time by our very own speech we simply add to the strength, power, and influence of a particular problem.
Death and life. Power in words. And we get to choose. Because everything that flows from the mouth is a direct reflection... a direct reflection... of what is in the heart. And speaks volumes about the world we’ve become most aware of. A life where dead things reign supreme.

As believers in Christ, we have the power within us to bring redemptive solutions to every situation we face.

And insisting on undesirable, critical, haphazard speech, we’ve chosen to live in the careless path that leads to ultimate death. Oh.. and jeopardize every relationship we’ve been blessed by. Because we cannot hurl hostility and not expect abandonment that leads to isolation because words hurt and there is a plateau of tolerance. And when you’re trying to get better and do better and be better, you simply have no other choice than to flee at repetitive contamination.

We sharpen all rough edges when we combat already difficult situations by venting our opposition. We give rise to painful experiences by voicing our unfavorable opinion. And we remain fastened to our unfavorable predicament every time we choose to speak words that fail to produce redemption.
May our words build up, encourage, edify, strengthen, redeem, improve, and revitalize. May we be people who love well, and live in the overflow of that which we are abundantly pouring out. Grace, mercy, and love.

Remember and Ponder

Prayer For His Ultimate Glory

And we’ve been in a season of asking for a while now. So when I read it afresh on a Thursday morning in January, my heart struggles a bit to catch up. “You can ask for anything in My name, and I will do it...”. Anything. It’s what it says. But then I read more... the continuation of print on the second page... “...so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.” John 14:13.

SO THAT the Son can bring glory to the Father.

And I wonder... has this been the cry of my heart? Because it’s the prayer in the garden of Gathsemane that teaches us what it means to pray self-sacrificially. To pray fully dependent on an answer that will ultimately bring glory to the One who stands in mediation for us. To pray in full reliance that how it’s answered will be that which brings Him highest honor that He stands justified to receive. To pray, “nevertheless not my will, but Yours be done.”

Because maybe the power found in prayer and petition has less to do with His willingness to perform, and most to do with my capacity to receive, and my eagerness to exchange my desire for His desire. Perhaps it’s about concerning myself more with His ultimate glory than my ease and comfort and satisfaction.

And if this text explains it correctly... that the end of the Son’s work is the glory of the Father, then that must be the aim of all prayers asked in Jesus’ name.

The object of my prayer life should be that glory be appropriated to Jesus by whatever answer is graciously bestowed.

He knows what’s best for me. He knows how much I can handle. He knows what amount of blessing I can trusted with. And He’s establishing me to be a platform He can use to display His power to a hopeless and hurting world.

There is power in our prayers. His glory is waiting to be magnified through us!

Our Neglect To Esteem Him

I’ve been saying this often as of late. The greatest obstacle to our spiritual advancement isn’t that we don’t have a desire to know Him more... it’s simply that we have neglected to esteem Him properly.

When we go to church on Sunday morning, we must put aside our preferences and remember that we are worshipping the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. When we’re in our workplace we need to keep in focus the fact that we are walking testimonies to the love and grace of the Lord God almighty.

He is magnificent. Powerful. Merciful. Triumphant. Awesome. Let’s put our adoration of Him in proper order.

The Unlikeliest Circumstances

I snapped this photo at church on the last Sunday Chloe was home from school on Christmas break.
And I cried.

Because this image says so much about a daddy’s love for his one and only girl. It says so much about the godly example he’s modeling for her future husband. And it says so much about the journey we’ve been on and the abiding presence of a God who has never one time left us, forgotten about us, or abandoned us.

Oh and I think about it... today... on a cold Tuesday morning in January. The joy He’s given us through the most unlikeliest circumstances. The peace He’s provided through the most unlikeliest circumstances. The blessings we have been lavished through the most unlikeliest circumstances.

Ahh... yes! The unlikely circumstances of life.

They could prove most effective if we allow.

Because circumstances seem irrelevant to the heart set like stone to do His will and only His will. They seem insignificant to the mind laser focused on true alteration that brings life transformation.

Because I’m walking testimony that there’s power found in surrender. And there’s hope in the waiting seasons of life. I’ve bore witness to the miracle of His mercy and patience on a life simply put: yielded to all He has. I’ve seen the strengthening of faith, the deepening of awareness of Presence, and the growing of trust.

And they’ve all been birthed through the most unlikeliest of circumstances.

He’s working even now. No.. especially now! What’s that... for our good and His glory?

And so I take seriously my role in giving Him glory. It’ll never be enough, but I will keep pouring until this vessel runs dry.

A Yes Is Coming!

I’d receive the confirmation from a praying friend on Saturday morning. And the tears would stream abundantly. Because... well... I knew she’d heard from the Lord.

Because we’ve been praying. And believing. And trusting. There’s no other option for us. And in the waiting we have clung tightly to the only One who knows us deeply... the One who knit us together and is even now weaving this mysterious tapestry.

And I consider my word once again. The one I’ve chosen for the year: watch. And I say it out loud as if convincing my heart to believe what the mouth speaks in authority: this will be the week we hear the yes!

And I’d say it to my praying momma and to my tribe rather definitively on a Sunday morning: it’s coming. I can feel it in my bones. This is the week! A yes is coming!

And so I ask you: what is it you’re waiting for? Trusting God for? Praying for?

Believe it’s going to happen! Speak it into existence! Allow no room for doubt! Go into your week with God confidence that He who began a good work in you will see it all the way to completion! Let expectation be a non-negotiable for your life.

It’s then and there God can do a work in you like you wouldn’t believe!!

Together can we say YES GOD! This is a good week for a miracle!!

Oh how I’m already excited to see the story unfold!!

I am Resolute In My Yes!

It’s customary for me to journal my way through my prayer time each morning. I make a list of requests in blue ink and then mark it up with pink or red ink what I feel prompted to by the Holy Spirit. It works for my brain and it helps me to pay close attention to what I’m hearing from God.
Yesterday morning was a beautiful morning of deep meditation and prayer.

One thing I heard the Holy Spirit prompt me to say was, “I am resolute in my yes!”

Ahh... resolute in my yes!

Resolute has a plethora of beautiful synonyms that I knew I must make a list of. And thus turned into a declaration page within my journal. One I’m sure to return to often.

I am resolute in my yes!

Before I know the question - I say yes. I say yes to what You’re doing and what You’ve done. I say yes to what You’re saying and what You’ve said. I say yes to trusting You. I say yes to obedience. I say yes to the work You’re doing. I say yes to love. I say yes to forgiveness. I say yes to all that You give!

I. Say. Yes.

From Strength To Strength

My word for 2019 is Watch.

Because I believe I am to be living in a season of great expectancy as I wait on the Lord. And I’m purposefully choosing to see with great anticipation for all God is doing!

Psalm 84:7 says, “They will continue to grow stronger and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.” I love the Passion that translates it to, “They grow stronger and stronger with every step forward.”

With every step forward.

Movement. Activation. Motion. Deployment. Advancement. Progress.

We grow stronger and stronger by our determination to keep going.

Because the Israelites knew well the struggle of suffering and waiting and prolonged perceived favor.
But it was in their “going” that their strength was generously increased.

And so it is with me.. us.. with every step forward, with every persistence of will, we are made stronger. Our faith strengthened, our joy duplicated, our purpose manifested.

My strength for pressing onward is found in the prior victories for which His abiding faithfulness and absolute deliverance has been made most evident.

I can look back and say with ultimate confidence, “He brought me through this far, I believe He will do it again!”

Though our spiritual progress and our victorious advancements be slow, and though the work itself is difficult at times, there is a certainty for those who rise again. Those who keep Jesus in full view.

It may at times seem reasonable that the weariness of waiting and the suffering sustained would cause indifference at best, those who have Jesus at the core of their being know that the secret to triumph is the soul mastering their circumstances. Every difficulty overcome means a higher strength to overcome difficulties.

This is the going from strength to strength!

We must gain ground in this victory business. We must keep going. Keep fighting. Keep wielding the sword. Keep running embraced with the knowledge that we are victorious no matter what.

We’re growing stronger and stronger with every step forward. We just have to keep moving forward.

Show Me The Right Path

I’m asking it in 2019. The brave question once asked by David. “Will you show me the right path, O Lord? Will you point me on the road for me to travel!”

Oh how I’m in need of the Divine Teacher!

And it’s one thing to have the knowledge of God... and to be aware of His ways... but an entirely different thing to follow.

And so I’m asking this new year:
Lord, give me Your knowledge.
Lord, give me a willingness to follow Your ways.
Lord, give me the desire to obey once I know Your ways.

I’m asking of His ways this year:
Lord may I clearly understand them, cravingly approve them, and constantly walk in them.

Because it’s not enough to know. I must, too, do.

I must become humble and trustful. I must die to self. I must be willing to be led and taught. I must recognize my depravity if He doesn’t come to my aid.

Lord... let me live by the experience of Your faithfulness.

Direct My Paths, Lord

Oh that we would recognize our need for the Divine Teacher to show us His path for our lives!

Here’s what we can be praying starting today:

1.) Lord, give me the knowledge of Your ways.
2.) Lord, give me a willingness to follow Your ways.
3.) Lord, give me the desire to obey once I know Your ways.

May we be willing to call on the One who’s ways are not our own, and be always eager to trust His navigation.

Remember, Recall, Repeat

I could write a book on the faithfulness of God. I could sit with you over coffee and share with you about the ways we’ve seen God work on our behalf in the midst of one of the most challenging seasons of our lives.

He really is a good good Father who’s not only able to deliver, but WILLING to rescue.

And David knew all too well about this God of redemption.

And even in his trouble he choose to remember the goodness of the Lord.

Psalm 18:1-3 says this, “I love you, Lord. You are my strength. The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress, and my Savior. My God is my rock in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and He saved me from my enemies.”

God had promised deliverance. And David insisted to plead with Him on the grounds of that promise. He found himself in a great conflict, but the conflict led him to prayer.

My commentary says, “When prayers that are presented on the basis of God‘s promises are answered, gratitude may well burst forth in holy song. What joy to a believer to read in the trials and reliefs of life, a perpetual revelation of the loving-kindness of God!”

Oh friends... that we would never forgot the good God we serve! That we would never forget His past kindness. May it ever reveal to us, and especially others, that Divine rescue is always available to us. May the recall of His past favor comfort us in our current suffering.

He’s never stopped working tirelessly for you and for me. And He won’t stop now.

Let us remember, recall, and repeat. Remember His faithfulness, recall His goodness, and repeat our story of His great benevolence to all who have ears to hear!

His Yes... Our Amen!

There’s just something about a new year. A clean slate. A fresh start. A new beginning.

And yet I wonder... am I dreaming big enough? Are the dreams and goals I’m setting for myself God-sized? Am I overwhelmed and challenged by the assignment God has given me? To love the unloveable? To bring heaven to earth? To invade darkness.

And I wonder if what I am dreaming about and praying for resides in the realm of impossibility.

Because scripture tells us that all of His promises are yes and amen. And that we are invited to co-labor with God over the impossibilities of this life.

And that the Father is revealed in us when the prayers of His people are believed for and answered.
1 Cor 1:19-20, “He has always been and will always be for us a resounding ‘YES!’ For all of God’s promises find their ‘yes’ of fulfillment in Him. And as His ‘yes’ and our ‘amen’ ascend to God, we bring Him glory.”

He doesn’t need us, but He uses us to accomplish His purposes this side of eternity. We owe Him nothing less than a lifetime of prayers that when answered by a faithful Father demonstrates how powerful and how radically willing He is to come to our rescue!

He is good.

And I will trust Him this year for the impossible.
I will believe for the miracle. Hope is not enough.

What’s impossible? Now let’s ask Him for THAT. That is where faith is built, trust is increased, and where His glory shines the greatest!

Don't Forget!

Psalm 13:5 says, “But I trust in Your unfailing love. I will rejoice because You have rescued me. I will sing to the Lord because He is good to me.”

Yes 2018 might’ve been riddled with challenges that threatened to tear you down, but let’s choose to recall the times His love and provision saw us through!

We can look ahead to the new year with great expectancy as long as we review the times He was faithful and didn’t have to be.

My commentary says this, “If David doubted the reality of his trust in God, he would have blocked up one of the windows through which the sun of heaven delights to shine!”

Let us keep trusting and believing and relying on the only One who’s ever been worthy!

Don't Wait to Worship!

I wonder if we can make it a priority this year to stop waiting to worship.

Because so often we limit our exposure of the move of the Spirit of God to a day of the week or to a building we go to on Sunday morning. So often we unknowingly restrict the power of a radical encounter with Jesus because we confine Him to a space we’ve identified as acceptable and sensible.

And maybe even comfortable.

But the truth is that I’ve had amazing encounters in my car, singing worship music at the top of my lungs. I’ve met the Spirit in a coffee shop while pouring over passages that have pierced my very soul. I’ve experienced a joy-filled peace while strolling among the leaves on a sunny fall day in southern Michigan.

You find Him where you search for Him.

And an encounter with Him is only limited by our unwillingness to wholeheartedly search Him out.
If He can’t be found, then we need to re-investigate our investment.

Oh friend, look for Him! He’s all around you! He never hides Himself from the hungry soul who’s desperate for more!

Isn’t that trendies news???

Watch

 

 

2018.

It really was a doozy of a year.

And it took a lot out of me.
Physically.
Emotionally.
Mentally.

But God.
But! God!

He has been so good.
And faithful.
And steadfast.

This year I learned to trust Him in a brand new way. I learned to depend on Him fully and completely. I learned that He is better and BIGGER than I ever gave Him credit for before. I learned that He often works in the 11th hour... but He’s always working. I learned that He’s not just able to heal and fix and provide... but He’s radically willing to do so!

I’m not the same person I was a year ago. And I owe it all to Jesus who made a way for me in the wilderness.

My word for 2018 was MUST. Taken from Luke 2:49, “... I must be about my Father’s business.”. And I was. It was a year about my Father’s business.

And God would give me my word for 2019 early again this year. The word that holds within it a promise and positions me in a manner of expectation.

Watch.

Taken from Psalm 130:5, “I pray to God —my life a prayer— and wait for what he’ll say and do. My life’s on the line before God, my Lord, waiting and watching till morning, waiting and watching till morning.”

I’ll keep watch this year. I’ll watch Him do a work that only He can do. I will watch Him be faithful. I will watch Him restore and renew. I will watch Him do it again through the power of my testimony.

And I will never stop singing His praises!

What’s God doing in your life?? What’s YOUR word for 2019??

Speak Life

I heard it recently in a sermon I was listening to from Bill Johnson of Bethel Church. He said this, “A culture of honor is where you celebrate who a person is without stumbling over who they’re not.”

Umm... yeah. That.

More of that please.

Oh.. and I’m preaching to myself on this one too. Always the preaching to self first.

Because it’s something I’ve been reflecting on. And now especially that a new year is upon us. A new slate. A fresh start. Almost feels like a do-over. Another chance to get it right.

And my heart hurt when I heard her say it. A momma about her child. “This one will never be be that good.” And then again I heard it from another about her husband, “Oh he would never do that for me!” And yet again I heard it from a person plagued by bitterness who spoke the words of our country’s leader, “He’s an idiot who can’t do anything right.”

And I’ve said it too. I’m just as guilty. And about myself at times. “I’m not that smart! I’ll never be good at that! I can’t do it!”

And the truth is, words are powerful.

They bring life... or death.
They build up... or tear down.
They encourage hope... or infuse disappointment.

Words matter.

I remember being told as a young adult that I couldn’t speak at a public venue because I’d never had formal training and perhaps someone with a “college degree” would be the better choice.
And it did something to me.

And there’s not a single time I’m standing in front of a crowd that I don’t think about that day almost 25 years ago.

So today I make a declaration to change the way I see people. And the way I speak life over them.
I will choose to speak into existence the person I believe they can be & long to be.
To the young adult consistently making unwise choices I will speak life: “You are smart and filled with godly discernment!”

To the mom finding it difficult to love a wayward child: “You have such beautiful patience & brimming to overflow with grace and love!”
To the child under-performing to their abilities: “You are so intelligent! You are going to do BIG things someday!”

By the words we choose to speak, we get to bring life that changes the trajectory of another’s journey!

Today... and every day... let’s choose to SPEAK LIFE! It all matters!