Song of the Week #26... #2

You get 2 songs this week :) This song is incredible..and this video is amazing: a portrait of a guy who writes with his heart and just lets it flow out. It's different than what you'll find on the album version, but you don't wanna miss this:

Song of the Week #26

Here's an old one. The video even feels old! Don't write me off cause I like this song :) Christian stuff from a mainstream band:

Discernment

Satan is a master of deception. He has a knack for making things look and feel real when all the while it’s a fake. This presents those of us who follow the Lord with problems sometimes: being able to discern what is of God; being able to distinguish between the voice of God, the Enemy, and ourselves; being able to separate the real from the fake.

I feel like this must be an area that needs some attention b/c I didn’t start out writing this blog in this specific direction. Let’s shine some light in.

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So how can you be sure you are hearing from God? not being deceived? heeding the right voice? doing the right thing? It can be tough, for sure. When you don’t have a clear-cut “yes” or “no” from the Lord, it can make things difficult to decipher. But I think I can help you a little.

1. Pray for discernment

Pray in all things!! You are gonna hear that a lot from me :) When you pray for discernment, you are asking God to give you insight into how things really are; you are praying to see past the natural into the spiritual realm. You are asking for the Lord to help you see things that your eyes can’t see. When you do this, you may notice the Holy Spirit quicken certain things to you that you could otherwise never know...you may get a certain feeling…you may experience weird sensations in your body that clue you in to what is happening…you may “just know”. It can happen in a lot of different ways. Just be open to what God is trying to tell you and don’t be surprised if it comes in a way you aren’t used to.

2. Stay in the Word

If you are always in the Word—the real deal—then you know when something is false. For example, let’s say all you’ve ever had is Angus beef. When somebody comes along and tries to give you a soy burger, you are gonna know instantly. The same principle applies here: when you constantly feed yourself the authenticity of the Bible, worldly knock-offs are easier to spot because they are so glaringly different from what you are used to. Satan can only offer you imitations of the real thing. So if you can tell that it ain’t real, then it ain’t from God.

3. Learn from experience

As you are subject to more challenging situations and overcome them, you are gonna have more personal knowledge to draw from—you can compare your current situation to what you’ve already seen. The things that used to confuse you and maybe require lots of prayer, study, and guidance will now take only a quick, “Oh, I’ve seen this before.” Your experience can help you to identify the situation for what it is and take the necessary steps of action. Obviously, there are gonna be new things all the time (which is why you never cease to pray and read the Word), but your past victories will strengthen you and give you more confidence and competence going forward.

Don’t be sad or discouraged or down today—the Lord loves you!!! Keep pushing in and believing for revelation—it will come :) Remember, our God is not a god of confusion (1 Cor. 14:33). I’m praying that He shines some light into the dark and/or confusing situations in your life, and that He gives you clear direction and clear discernment on the decisions you have to make. I’m praying with you. And I love you, too.

In Christ’s Amazing and Never-Ending Love,

adam

Song of the Week #25

Another one from Hillsong United. It's just so awesome. Love it.

Revelation

This is gonna be short and sweet today. I just want to say a little about revelation, and what it means to you.

Maybe you have heard “revelation” before and not known what people were talking about. It’s a pretty simple concept. I know you’ve had one of those “Aha!” moments in your life, right? Something clicks and it’s like a light goes off in your head. Basically, revelation is that kind of moment when related to spiritual matters.

When you have a revelatory experience, God shows you something. He may show you something altogether new, He may put a new spin on things, He may change your perspective, He may give you deeper insight or knowledge…He may do all sorts of cool things. This kind of experience keeps things fresh in your faith walk; it keeps things exciting. That’s why it is important to constantly seek and receive revelation from the Lord. When He is showing you things all of the time, your fire keeps burning brighter; your faith keeps increasing and there is a much smaller possibility of stagnation or burnout in your spiritual life.

To have this kind of experience, I would suggest two things: 1) Ask for it. God gives to those who ask (Luke 9:10-11). If you desire more of the Lord, let Him know, and He will be faithful to pour it out. 2) Put yourself in position to receive it. Yes, it seems that these blasts of revelation come at completely unforeseen times, but I think it also kind of functions in relation to how much you spread your net for it. Let me explain... If you pray for revelation and just sit around waiting on it, then it could very well come, BUT it may take a while, or not come that often, or not be as deep as you wanted it. However, if you dedicate yourself to reading the Word every day, or give yourself to prayer, or immerse yourself in reading church history, or set up meetings with spiritual leaders in your life, or spend time with those you respect spiritually who can speak wisdom and knowledge and guidance into your life, then I would say you are putting yourself in a better position to receive something.

When God is shining light into things you’ve never noticed or seen before, it will truly bring you to life. Lord, we just pray You pour it out. More and more. In Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.

Song of the Week #24

Song of the Week #23

Embrace Your Greatness!

If you have the audacity to embrace the greatness put in you, people are going to mock you. They will scoff, they will laugh. They will tell you that you can’t do it, they will tell you that you are crazy. They will try anything to keep you from pushing past the norm into that magnificent place where your talents and giftings collide with the power of Throneroom blessing.

Your Creator, Our God in Heaven, has put things in you that you are passionate about. It doesn’t matter if that passion is in the vein of the usual “churchy” gifts; i.e. teaching, preaching, music, mission work, etc. It doesn’t matter if it’s something that people haven’t traditionally used to glorify God. Your love for fixing cars, designing clothes, flipping houses, politics, pet grooming, business, fitness, cooking, or whatever else has been put in you by God. If the Bible is not telling you it's sinful, then it's probably from Heaven :)

You know it’s your passion because the way it makes you feel alive, the way it moves your heart in a way hardly anything else can. That feeling is what makes your passion special. You already have an inherent drive and motivation to do these things, and do them well, because it’s what you naturally get pleasure from. It’s easy to do things you enjoy!

It’s also that zeal which will cause people to take notice. Bill Johnson, the lead pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, California, says, “When I live out of discipline, I am admired; when I live out of passion, I am contagious.” Everybody can tell when you are doing something you love. It’s obvious. When you talk about what you’re doing your eyes light up, there is excitement in your voice, and nobody can get you to shut up about it :) It’s infectious. Sometimes I’ll get excited with you just from listening—even when it’s an area I could care less about!

So what is your passion? And why aren’t you living it out? I don’t care how normal (or unorthodox) you think your passion is, if you purpose it in your heart to live it out and line it up with the Word of God to bring glory to the Father, you can be an earth shaker. A business mogul. A fashion icon. A TV fitness guru. A sold-out, Spirit-filled, President of the United States of America.

Don’t let those that laugh at you keep you from your pursuit. Let’s be real: most of them don’t want you to go after your dreams because they are sitting around not pursuing theirs. The prospect of you doing something you love and wildly succeeding at it makes them uncomfortable…and maybe even a little jealous. If they’ve given up on their dreams, or bought into the lie that says they are insignificant and can’t possibly make a difference in this world, then you going after your passions just might get them all kinds of messed up.

You have to be ok with the fact that a lot of people are going to hope you don’t succeed. You have to know from the start that when you embrace the greatness that lies within you that people who have settled for average will oftentimes try to convince you to settle for average as well. On the one hand, as referenced above, your passion is contagious; on the other hand, to some people, you are absolutely scary.

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I’ve made up my mind that I’m not going to maintain mediocrity so that I can keep other people feeling comfortable. Does that decision ruffle some feathers? Yes. Does it damage some relationships? Unfortunately, yes. But that decision also unleashes the potential for greatness to flow out of me. It’s a decision that’s well worth the cost. I hope you join me.