Going To War

I whispered it to a friend with tears streaming down my face just this week. “I feel like I’m going to WAR for these people!”

And I am.

Prayer time often feels like entering into the battlefield; prayer many time feels like the wielding of a sword. It’s braving the front lines while petitioning for what feels like impossibilities. Miracles.

Because with one look around you can see it. Hurt. Pain. Loss. Brokenness. Sickness. Loneliness. Isolation. Doubt. Fear. Panic. Grief.

And my heart breaks.

But sympathy will no longer do.

Heartbreak must move me to action.

Because this is a battle we’re in. No... it’s a war. And life and death hang in the balance.

We need a fresh awakening.
We need cancer to bow in the name of Jesus.
We need depression to be eradicated.
We need marriages to be healed and restored.
We need relationships to be mended.
We need sickness to flee.

We need to be aroused from slumber before it’s too late.

This is war.

And that means we need a company of people who believe for the impossibilities. People who aren’t afraid to expect for the miracle. People who are willing to say enough is enough. This wasn’t the plan and this mediocre, lukewarm living that grieves the heart of God was not why He sent His Son to die.
Because, “Greater works will YOU do than I did...” (John 14:12).

And I think He had this is mind when He said it: teach the Good News to nations, share the Gospel message with your life, speak to the impossibilities, expect the miracle, claim the victory.

And go to war on these matters.

Because a hurting world is waiting to see Him for themselves!

Go to war for someone else today!

Stand in agreement for what they need!

Be Jesus with skin on!

Oh how it ridiculously matters!!!!!

Teach // Announce // Heal

LOVE the revelations of God in scripture. And all you're really seeing is an overflow of my quiet time!

Matthew 4:23 says this, "Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee teaching in the synagogues, and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And He healed every kind of disease and illness."

What did Jesus do?

He TAUGHT. He ANNOUNCED. He HEALED.

And then take a look at what the Gospel's tell us in John that Jesus said to His students before He ascended to be with the Father.

"Verily, verily... the works that I do shall He do also; and greater works than these shall He do..." (John 14:12).

In other words... because of the work of the Holy Spirit living within every believer, we shall do greater works than Him. Jesus.

Don't confuse that these will be "better" or "more significant", but it simply means our reach will be broader; our effectiveness in masses will be more influential.

And I'm on this hunt to know exactly... what is it that Jesus is doing. What is it that He's saying? Because we know this about the Jesus... He was 100% about what the Father was saying and doing... (John 12:49; John 5:19).

And so I must... say only what He is saying and do only what He is doing.

And what is it here that Jesus is saying? Doing?

He's TEACHING. ANNOUNCING. HEALING.

And so must I.

The assignment isn't easy - but it is possible.

Because Jesus said, "Greater works will YOU do!"

Go out today with confidence in your assignment.

He's give clear instruction and He's made the way possible!

Watching and Noticed

Matthew 4:18 says this, "One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers - Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew - throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living." Verse 19 goes on to say, "Jesus called out to them, 'Come, follow Me, and I will show you how to fish for people.'" I love the way The Passion Translation describes what Jesus was doing.

It says, "Jesus NOTICED two fishermen... WATCHING as they were casting their nets in the water..."

I love those two words... watching and noticed.

Ah... sweet Jesus is always watching and taking notice.

He cares about the things we care about.

And here I love it that Jesus calls out the ordinary for big tasks. He sees what we are already doing... what we are already passionate about.... and considers ways for us to use that! He watches and takes notice as to where we are in life and calls us based on what He sees as a skill and talent we can use for Kingdom work!

Jesus calls to us - YOU AND ME - in our ordinary, seemingly insignificant interests and beckons us from the shore to use them for kingdom use.

So - what is it you have? What is it you're doing that can be used for His glory?

I get asked that a lot - HOW do I know what the calling of God is on my life?

To which I always respond with - Pay attention to the things you love to do. Consider those things that keep you awake at night! What are you passionate about doing? He's given you that desire and that drive for a reason! It's just up to you to decide how you're going to allow Him to use it for work that advances the Kingdom of God!

He's so good! That He would co-labor with us to bring about His ultimate purposes on planet earth is beyond crazy.

That's love!

Anchor My Affections

I heard it in my spirit yesterday morning at church during worship.

It was like the Lord was trying to get my attention.

Because the truth really is that I had other things on my mind. My heart, though undivided, was distracted.

And I knew that I needed it to be realigned with the Father.

Because worship is too important to miss.

So when I heard it I knew it was for me. For that moment I found myself in.

And I so I began repeating it over and over and over.

"Anchor my affections in You."

It was my cry to the One who's worthy of my WHOLE heart - not just half of it.

The One who's worthy of my FULL attention... my entire focus... my complete devotion.

The truth is, we can blame our distraction on a number of things... latecomers, music preference, unresolved conflict, disruptive row dwellers... but my experience with God... my encounter with the Holy Spirit... is up to me. I can maintain a distraction-filled attitude, or I can come fully surrendered - and in my case a prayerful soul longing for the intimacy found only in Jesus Christ!

Father - anchor my affections in You.

I want for nothing else than You! <3

 

 

I Am Peter

I am Peter.

Of all the fantastic characters in scripture, I resonate with Peter the most.

He was intense.

He was impulsive.

He was eager.

He was fervent.

He was curious.

Peter was devoted, but sometimes impatient. He was ambitious but often careless. He was hungry but sometimes overly audacious.

But he was relentless in his pursuit of the One He called Teacher, Master, Rabbi. Oh.. and Messiah. Probably the greatest of all names for his Friend. “Then He asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Messiah.” (Mark 8:29)

You are the Messiah.

The promised One.

The Deliverer.

The Hope.

The Rescuer.

And so I wonder if it’s what Peter was thinking about when he saw Jesus from the boat in John 21:7. Scripture tells us that among the other disciples, Peter saw Jesus and “jumped in the water and headed to shore.”

Oh Peter.

Confident.

Strong.

Determined.

Faithful.

A great seerer.

And I chuckle because scholars tell us that they were likely only about 100 yards from their destination, and yet in his eagerness to be in the presence of greatness, Peter ran to meet His Messiah.

Abandoning human companionship.

Despising temporary gain.

Withdrawing from all manner of comfort.

All for the eager seeking of Christ.

That’s the part of Peter’s personality I will receive for myself. The part I will strive to emulate.

Because it’s the relationship that makes us recognize Jesus and rush to be with Him.

 

 

Choose To Speak Life

I saw it this morning. A detour by God of sorts. Because some mornings what we intended doesn’t go as planned. And what He reveals is even better.

Because I’ve been thinking on it for weeks now. Because I’ve been praying to have more of it for even longer than that. Because it’s really a matter of life and death.

Every day we have a choice.

To speak love and life with our lips. Or to allow death and destruction to keep reigning supreme.
Paul spoke life. In Romans 15:14 he says, “I am fully convinced, my dear brother and sisters, that you are full of goodness.” Words spoken to a church he wasn’t responsible for having planted nor visited.
Yet he was speaking life to them. Encouraging them further that, “... all you need is this reminder.” (Vs 15).

Because really, don’t we all just need reminded?

And my mind immediately goes to the one who’s choices have been less than desirable. I think of the one who’s repeatedly demonstrated failure by worlds standards. I consider the one who’s depression has been sustained because of reminders of deficiency.

And maybe enough is enough.

Maybe it’s time to start speaking life over lives! Because just maybe it’s time we seize the opportunity to speak ABOUT them what we’re choosing to see IN them!

We’ve got to choose better!
Or we really are... no better.

We get to shift atmospheres and CALL FORTH better destinies in ourselves and other people.

Don’t let disappointment destroy your heart!

Choose wisely. YOU are a difference maker!

Speak life!

Patient Endurance

To be like Jesus is to welcome trials. It’s meeting our persecutors half way.

The word is Acquiesce, which means to submit/comply without protest.
Christian endurance is a higher order.

Be like Jesus:
• He refused to call down fire
• He called Judas “friend”
• He healed Malchus’ ear
• He forgave Peter
• He prayed for His murderers

Patient endurance is the willing rejection of personal exhalation.

I Am Responsible For Me

And I heard it in my spirit this morning. It’s almost like He gently whispered it right to my soul and I quickly took ownership of it, writing it down in my Prayer Journal, “They have control over them, but I have control over me.”

Because sometimes words hurt. And sometimes abandonment breaks a heart. And sometimes others’ pain is masked by insults that cause injury. But their burden is not yours. And it’s not mine.

They are responsible for them... but I am responsible for me. For my heart.

And God has called those who love Him to keep their hearts pure... to be set apart... to be holy because He is holy. And my actions... your actions... cannot be a reflection of their poor choices or of their chronic abuse or of their malnourished character.

The calling on your life... on mine... is significant. It carries with it power and potential far beyond our imagination. But we risk disqualification if we can’t see past the deficiency and discouragement in other people.

How they choose to respond is not up to me. But how I choose to let it affect me and defile me IS up to me. “Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.” (Heb 12:15). The choice is mine. Let it penetrate my heart, and it will infiltrate my life, thus corrupting many, and rendering me disqualified for the purposes He has for my life.

And so I prayed it again today: Keep my heart pure, God. Keep me on fire for You. I can’t afford to burn out! My influence and effectiveness is directly connected to how I behave during challenging circumstances, and in difficult situations I can’t control. And how I respond to toxicity is directly tied to my destiny.

Help me get this right.

Send Me!

Thank You Jesus

Thank You Jesus.

Today: just thank You.

Thank You for Your answers to my prayers. Even the ones with outcomes un-agreeable to my flesh. Especially those. Because You always know best.

Thank You for overlooking the attributes I possess that should keep me from Your loving kindness and immeasurable mercy.

Thank You that Your promises are true. And that I am invited to be a co-laborer for Your plan and purpose for this, my home away from home.

Thank you that You refuse to leave me in the messes I make.

Thank You for the intensity of Your pursuit after not just some of me, but ALL of me!

Thank You for another day to shout Your praises from the depths of my heart, and for Your promise to inhabit the praises, regardless of my oft disregard of proper reverence and trembling.

Thank You, Jesus.

You are always good.
You are always kind.
You are always slow to anger.
You are always wise in council.
You are my Life Sustainer.

And today, my unworthy heart has been awakened and stirred to and abundant overflow of gratefulness!

Attract Good News!

My Prayer

Be Jesus

You and I have the power within us to call out a better destiny in other people. Stop settling for the status quo. Stop assuming change is impossible. Stop giving up on them simply because they are stuck in a difficult season.

Call forth their potential!
Speak life into their sadness.
Give hope.
Demonstrate possibilities.

Be Jesus.

Call Out Greater Destiny

And I wonder what it would take for us to become people who speak life over others? Because with everything in me I believe that as Kingdom heirs and image-bearers, we have not only the great privilege of loving well, but also the awesome power of calling out greater destiny in others.

So often, in our disappointment and disillusionment, we dismiss others. We sometimes unknowingly and unintentionally confine them to a state of defeat and discouragement, continuing to occupy lifelessness and thus remaining stuck in a cycle of unworthiness that leads to ineffectiveness.

But I believe you and I, together, have the power to call out a better destiny in others. To remind them that mediocrity was not the life Jesus died for them to have, and to encourage them to begin expecting God for all that seems improbable and impossible.

Our job, for those who have said yes to Jesus, is to radically love like Him. And one of our assignments is to breathe life on dry bones. The great privilege of serving Jesus is to speak life, truth, and freedom over those who need reminded that He is greater than their shortcomings, and that He’s always pursuing and wooing into relationship!

We owe the world an incredible encounter with Him!

Let’s love well this week. You were created and equipped to do so!

Self-Check

Face-To-Face

I love the study on the life of Moses. What an amazing man. What an amazing life. What an amazing legacy.

And I see it on a rainy Thursday morning in Exodus, “When Moses finished speaking with them, he covered his face.” (Ex 34:33)

Commentators tell us that his face shone with the glory of the Lord and it alone was too much for others to bear.

It shone with glory because he had been with the Father. Because he had engaged with the Presence. And in scripture, presence means the “face.” Ahh yes... Moses’ face shone with the glory of the Father because of his face-to-face time with Him.

And it’s been the cry of my heart: for those I come into contact with to see Him in me. To demonstrate His glory well, to host His Presence significantly, to represent His nature with excellence.

And this happens only by spending time face-to-face with Him. Because my face-to-face encounter proves the reality of the unseen, it reveals the character of Christ, it commands affection, it attacks the unconsciousness, and it deposits an angelic invasion into environments and shifts atmospheres.
Because the truth really is that there is, indeed, an after-glow that radiates from a person who has been in deep communion with God. It was with Peter and John who were “unschooled, ordinary men”, who’s lives were characterized not by wisdom but for having “been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13)
It was the light that radiated from the face of Moses that gave illustration of God and invitation into relationship to all who came in contact with him. It wasn’t his tongue, nor was it his hands. It wasn’t in doctrine or deed, but in demonstration. He shined a bright and illustrious glow that was attractive, magnetic, and infectious.

And so it is with me. I will draw them to Jesus because of the glow that lives within my countenance that is cherished and cultivated by ongoing personal encounters with the One who calls me beloved, friend, daughter, and child.

We reveal His nature when we receive nourishment that emerges from nearness.

The Claim of Victory

Defeat doesn’t win.

Victory is ours!

We are declaring victory because I believe there’s still more You want to say.

And I said it with tears streaming as I went to war in prayer... there’s STILL more You want to say!!

All You need are willing hearers.

You just need a company of people who will stay awake and keep watch.

And I’m saying yes!

“{Jesus said} Sit here while I go over there to pray.” (Mt 26:36)
“Couldn’t you watch with Me even one hour? Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give way to temptation. For the spirit is willing but the body is weak!” (Mt 26:40-41).

Lord wake us from slumber.

Awaken us to the victory that awaits!

Feelings of Inadequacy

You have an assignment.
And it has nothing to do with what you feel about it!

Darkness

On: Living Reactionary

Living reactionary is dangerous.
I’ve lived reactionary for years and it’s unhealthy. Unhealthy to my physical life and unhealthy to my spiritual soul.
Living reactionary keeps us restricted to a victim mentality, and it hinders us from hearing the voice of God and living in the freedom He’s invited us into.

Let’s refocus.
Let’s shift the mindset.
Let’s love well.
Let’s forgive often.
And let’s let everything else that’s been weighing us down... go!

The Sacrifice of Praise

Awake In God's Likeness

Psalm 17:15 in the Message translation says this, “And me? I plan on looking You in the face. When I get up, I’ll see Your full stature and live heaven on earth.”

Ahh... to live in the awareness of God’s divine presence! David is saying here, “I’m not placing my portion in earthly and temporal pleasures... but in beholding God’s face!”

It’s all about the face-to-face encounter with God.

My joy is found when I wake and spend time with the Father. My joy is discovered in the revelation that I have favor and friendship with God, and that I resemble Him!

Let us awake in the likeness of Him! We are changed by beholding God. By focusing on His face. By engaging with His Word daily. By seeking after Him completely.

Beholding His face alters our image.

Let us fix our eyes in the Savior until His image imprints itself on our whole entire nature. Let’s see to it that we never turn our gaze or relax our efforts of beholding Him. Let’s fixate our eyesight so much on Him until all that we have beheld in Him is represented and repeated in us!

Represent Well

We are representatives of Jesus to a hurting, suffering world. We are to live with a distinct awareness of our influence and effectiveness in making disciples... of reproducing lovers of Jesus! Others around us are forming their opinions of the faith we profess and the Father we adore based on the outward conduct we exhibit on a day to day basis.

Represent well.

Daily Prayer

Be Jesus

Because some days we simply must remind ourselves who we are. Some days we must stop waiting for the world to lift us up out of the mire and encourage ourselves. David did it! “David strengthened himself...” 1 Sam 30:6. Because encouragement comes from within and strengthening power comes from the Holy Spirit that resides in every believer.

And when I read it this morning I was reminded that He who holds the sun and moon, knows too, the heavy weight of all that I face in the flesh: temptation, slander, fear, sorrow, pain, abandonment, heartbreak, loss, weariness. And yet the Word tells us, “While Jesus was here on earth, He offered prayers & pleadings with a loud cry & tears, to the One who could rescue Him from death. And God heard His prayers because of His deep reverence for God.” (Heb 5:7) 

Gathesemene.

And I remember.

He knows all this too.

And even operating with a broken heart, He behaves as One who without sin sympathizes with our suffering... and comforts us in our despair. One who knows poverty and and forsakenness and graciously invites us into participation with discomfort so to draw us into a deep association with the Divine. Because He knows that the results of companionship reveal Christlikeness.

And is that not the desired outcome?

To be as Christ here on the earth?

Because, “...greater works than these shall you do, because I go unto My Father.”

My feelings of inadequacy don’t change the assignment.

To do greater works.
To say what He is saying.
To do what He is doing.
To change atmospheres for Christ.
To bear His image.
To administer hope.
To heal sickness.
To destroy gates of hell.

And so with chin up I say it again: Yes.

Yes to whatever You have, God.
Yes to the suffering that makes me more like You.
Yes to the assignment You’ve given.
Yes to the work still left to do.

Because failure is not an option. And the joy of oneness and victory is worth it all!

On: Trust

I saw it topple over just after my cleaning spree had begun. The letters I had only days earlier arranged perfectly atop the table in our living room.

Because sometimes, in the battle especially, you need reminders and action plans. Eight simple letters, two words to remind us to TRUST HIM in everything.

And yet this is precisely how trust looks like sometimes, doesn’t it? Messy. Disassociated. Misaligned. Mangled. Disordered. Muddled. Disjointed.

Because trust is what is asked of us by a good God in the midst of seemingly convoluted circumstances and scrambled situations.

Because trust is easier when all things make sense. When my desires are being delighted and when my needs are being nourished. But when the longings translate to lack and when my petitions seep into poverty.. what then?

Trust.

He whispers it and my heart recognizes the familiarity of His voice.

Trust.

When it doesn’t make sense.
When it hurts.
When it looks like abandonment.
When it feels uncomfortable.
When it requires more work.

Trust.

Because I heard it in my quiet time this morning... as much as He wants to heal physical bodies, He wants to administer soul transformation!

But I have to trust.
Trust in His timing.
Trust in His promise.
Trust in His provision.

Trust Him.

Adjust the pieces and give yourself to trust. Realign the fragments so you can refocus on His purpose!

Expect The Inconveivable

Sometimes the bravest thing we can ever do is take the step into what seems impassable. To press into the area of trust that seems inaccessible. To believe that God’s plan and purpose for our life is greater than we could ever want for, dream up, or imagine for ourselves.

As I sit before an insurmountable mass of unknowns, I have a choice. I can live in discouragement which comes from maintaining an improper focus on the problem, or I can insist on living in hopefulness and extreme certainty that the same God who gave me the assignment is the same God who will see me through to completion and victory. In Him I cannot fail.

I slip back into dangerous unbelief when I forget His promises, when I question His character, and when I disregard His faithfulness.

The miracle still awaits. The healing is still offered. The restoration is still ours for the taking. Ahh.. Jesus.. help our unbelief.

Let’s step into this Monday... this week... believing that God’s job is to execute the impossible. Our job is to expect the inconceivable.

Don't Grow Weary

Dear Friend...

I know, some days are just hard. Sometimes they don’t understand. Sometimes it hurts and sometimes they leave.

Because the truth really is you’re too much for some people. And they’re not always going to catch ahold of your passion and your enthusiasm and your driven-ness. And that’s okay. Your call is not their call.

 It’s time to stop beating yourself up. Wondering what you did wrong or what you could’ve said to make them stay. It’s time to let go of the what if’s and how come’s and if only’s. Let it go. Not because they don’t matter... but because the anointing is so strong and your obedience to it is more necessary than your entanglement with people pleasing. 

Just let it go. 

Stay focused on loving well, forgiving often, and living like Jesus. 

Shift your concentration to Him and only Him. 

Be humble. 
Be kind. 
Be gentle. 
Speak life. 
Shed negativity. 

Remember the words of a best friend who loved well enough to tell you truth from His Word, “Don’t grow weary in doing good.” 

Because the mission field is enormous and the workers are few. And we must keep our eyes on the One who’s opinion matters above the rest. 

Keep going. 

You’re beautiful and you’re smart and you’re loved beyond measure. Stay teachable and surrendered and watch Him do the work that only He can do! I’m on your side and He’s got your back!