9.28.2010
9.24.2010
Provision
A few months ago, I had 2 dreams that I didn’t understand. So I took them to my friend, and my most reliable dream interpreter, Stephanie (shoutoutcafe.com). Sparing you the details of the dreams, the overriding theme of them both was that finances would not be an issue in my life. That’s good news to hear! Especially when you’re a worship leader!
For the next few days, I was really happy thinking about the dreams I’d been given. I was telling some of my friends how awesome it was, and just thanking God for the reassurance. However, a few weeks passed and I found myself worrying about money again. I was in the process of moving and facing the prospect of more bills and purchasing new things, and I was trying to make sure all the numbers would be right.
Well, I don’t remember the specific day it was, but it hit me that I had kind of lost hold of the promise the Lord had given me. I realized that I was trying to do things in my own power instead of just relying on Him. So I made up my mind to wholeheartedly trust in Him…even when I don’t understand anything about how something is going to work. I decided to take Him at his word, and believe exactly what He had said to me.
Wouldn’t you know that things are going just fine :) God is taking care of my needs and then some. Needs have been met by people seemingly coming out of the woodwork. I’ve actually had to turn down some people’s offers of generosity because I have no physical room for it! Praise the Lord!
I don’t want you to hear me wrong today. I’m not suggesting that we serve some “cosmic lotto god” that we just ask for material things we want on a whim and see them appear before our eyes; I’m betting that if you ask God for a Ferrari it will not magically manifest in your driveway. Nor am I suggesting that we should neglect our finances or fail to intelligently plan for the future. No. What I am saying is that if you put your hope, faith, and trust in the God of Israel you will always be taken care of.
God will make a way for you. If you are a born-again believer and follower of Jesus Christ, then you have nothing to worry about when it comes to having your needs met—spiritually, emotionally, physically, financially, mentally, etc. The promise of provision covers everything.
I’m not the only one that shouldn’t be worrying about making things work, making ends meet, making sure needs are met. You shouldn’t either. Yes, I had a dream that was reassurance from the Lord, but all Christians have promises of provision from God in the Bible. For example, 2nd Corinthians 9:8 says, “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” Here are a few other verses that address this topic specifically: Matthew 6:31-33; Matthew 7:11; Luke 12:28; Psalm 37:25; Psalm 84:11.
God provides, my friend. Take it, bank on it, believe it, and stand on it. Amen.
For the next few days, I was really happy thinking about the dreams I’d been given. I was telling some of my friends how awesome it was, and just thanking God for the reassurance. However, a few weeks passed and I found myself worrying about money again. I was in the process of moving and facing the prospect of more bills and purchasing new things, and I was trying to make sure all the numbers would be right.
Well, I don’t remember the specific day it was, but it hit me that I had kind of lost hold of the promise the Lord had given me. I realized that I was trying to do things in my own power instead of just relying on Him. So I made up my mind to wholeheartedly trust in Him…even when I don’t understand anything about how something is going to work. I decided to take Him at his word, and believe exactly what He had said to me.
Wouldn’t you know that things are going just fine :) God is taking care of my needs and then some. Needs have been met by people seemingly coming out of the woodwork. I’ve actually had to turn down some people’s offers of generosity because I have no physical room for it! Praise the Lord!
I don’t want you to hear me wrong today. I’m not suggesting that we serve some “cosmic lotto god” that we just ask for material things we want on a whim and see them appear before our eyes; I’m betting that if you ask God for a Ferrari it will not magically manifest in your driveway. Nor am I suggesting that we should neglect our finances or fail to intelligently plan for the future. No. What I am saying is that if you put your hope, faith, and trust in the God of Israel you will always be taken care of.
God will make a way for you. If you are a born-again believer and follower of Jesus Christ, then you have nothing to worry about when it comes to having your needs met—spiritually, emotionally, physically, financially, mentally, etc. The promise of provision covers everything.
I’m not the only one that shouldn’t be worrying about making things work, making ends meet, making sure needs are met. You shouldn’t either. Yes, I had a dream that was reassurance from the Lord, but all Christians have promises of provision from God in the Bible. For example, 2nd Corinthians 9:8 says, “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” Here are a few other verses that address this topic specifically: Matthew 6:31-33; Matthew 7:11; Luke 12:28; Psalm 37:25; Psalm 84:11.
God provides, my friend. Take it, bank on it, believe it, and stand on it. Amen.
9.19.2010
9.18.2010
Unity
It's not my custom to do this, but this clip is something that speaks straight to my heart. If we all could take this stance on things, we would see a united Church that could change the world overnight.
9.14.2010
When God Shows Up
This passage has been on my heart for over a week now. Let me give you just a little background info as to what is going on here.
“When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord. And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple.” --1st Kings 8:10-11
King David had it purposed in his heart to build a temple for the Lord. This was a huge deal not only because of the magnitude of the project, but because there had never been a permanent place for the God of Israel prior to this point. From the time the Israelites left Egypt (“Let my people go!”; parting of the Red Sea; living on manna in the desert; etc.), they had been a nomadic people. The presence of God moved, and they moved with Him. Although He didn’t need a place to dwell, God told David that his desire would be fulfilled in order to plant the Israelite people (2nd Samuel, chapter 7).
The opening Scripture picks up the story when the temple has just been completed. King Solomon, David’s son, is now on the throne. All of the finest things have been used in constructing and decorating the temple, and everything is in order for the grand opening. All of the people of Israel have assembled for the massive dedication of the building, and there is much anticipation and celebration in the air.
As one of the last things to do, Solomon has the ark of the Lord’s covenant brought into the temple. This ark is where the manifest presence of God had dwelled among the Israelite people; it was movable—enabling the Israelites to take the Lord’s presence with them wherever they roamed. Thus, by bringing the ark into the temple, the dynamic of how the Lord rested among his people changed. A once nomadic people became a people with roots. Just as the Lord now dwelt in one place, so did His people.
So after the priests placed the ark in the inner sanctuary of the temple, they come out to where they could see the throngs of people. I'm betting they had prepared an elaborate service that may have contained songs, sacrifices, praise, prayers, worship, and loads of symbolic illustration. They may have had leaders from the different tribes and family heads all scheduled to do something in the service. But then, “…the cloud filled the temple of the Lord. And the priests could not perform their service because…the glory of the Lord filled his temple.” WOW!!!
Does that not hit you?! On such a huge day in the history of Israel, on such a magnificent occasion, all the plans of the priests got wrecked because God showed up. His glory manifested in such a thick way that they literally could not perform their service. I love it!
So I ask: How many times have we let structure and order get in the way of actually encountering the glory of the Living God? Have we resolutely clung to the predetermined lines of our “service” because it would be somewhat uncomfortable to depart from it? It seems to me that God showed up that day and was shouting, “Here I am! Behold me! I am ALL that you need!”
It makes me wonder what the goal of our worship is. Is it to usher in the presence of God? To ask Him to invade us and change us from the inside out? Or is it to fulfill other desires within us that want something familiar, something that makes us smile on the way out the door as we go to eat a big lunch? If it’s the latter, then we need to check ourselves. We need to reexamine our motives and change the way we live out our faith. If it’s the former, then we should yearn for the excessive outpouring of the Spirit. We should pray that 1 Kings 8:10-11 happens every single time we come together!
I am not saying we should discard all preparation and planning; there are multiple places in the Bible that speak on how the Church should have order. What I am saying is that we should not be so stuck to our outlines that we neglect to heed to what the Spirit of the Lord is doing around us. We should not sacrifice genuine encounter and the impulsive ebb and flow of the Holy Spirit on the altar of familiarity and structure.
Let us seek after the Lord. Let us not box Him in. I pray that the unfathomable things of God start to manifest among us as we yearn for fresh fire and revelation straight from Heaven. Amen.
9.12.2010
Song of the Week #11
I freaking love these guys. They are on tour now... you should go see em in Nashville--I'll be there.
9.08.2010
Are You Tired?
Are you tired? If the answer is yes, then it’s from one of two things: 1. pushing real hard, or; 2. inactivity.
If you are feeling wore out (I’m talking spiritually here, of course) and it’s from inactivity, then the answer for you is simple: go do something. Get off the couch, get off of Facebook, and quit drowning yourself with distractions. Remove yourself, even if for only an hour, from your circumstances and situations. Get somewhere that you can free your mind, heart, soul, body, and spirit, and seek after the Lord; I promise you that you will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13). If your thing is service, then make time to do something for God and other people. A little time in His presence and/or serving Him will start to transform your life.
If you have been pursuing after the Lord in whatever manner it is He has called you to and you are just feeling fatigued, then I’m talking to you today.
* * * * *
I was sitting on the couch last night after taking a run in the heat. I was all sprawled out sweating on everything, breathing hard, feeling tired. I didn’t really want to even get up to eat supper b/c just chilling on the couch sounded better at the time.
As I was sitting there, I got to thinking about how tired I felt. I can remember sitting on the couch months ago and feeling just as tired. I can remember how much running just one mile used to suck…but I had just run farther and harder than I had in a long time.
Then, the spiritual application of what I had been doing hit me: every single time I feel tired from running myself to death, I am making myself ready for an even harder run next time.
Yes, during the middle of the run I almost always think, “Ugh, how much longer?” or “It would be so much easier to just walk the rest of the way.” But the fatigue I feel is only temporary. Over the next few days, my body always feels better because I am conditioning it. I feel more invigorated, I have more energy, and I sleep better at night.
The parallels hold true in my spiritual conditioning—every single time I run after God, I get myself ready for a deeper run. Feeling tired, at times, is part of it. But the exhaustion doesn’t last if I am conditioning the right way; I recover with even more energy, drive, revelation, and conviction than before.
* * * * *
This is just an encouragement to those of you who are feeling a little tired from running hard after the Lord. I implore you to keep pushing and pushing and pushing… He might be preparing you for something bigger than you can wrap your head around right now. Be assured that your journey will never be more than you can handle through Jesus Christ, and that He will definitely make provision for you along the way.
If you are feeling wore out (I’m talking spiritually here, of course) and it’s from inactivity, then the answer for you is simple: go do something. Get off the couch, get off of Facebook, and quit drowning yourself with distractions. Remove yourself, even if for only an hour, from your circumstances and situations. Get somewhere that you can free your mind, heart, soul, body, and spirit, and seek after the Lord; I promise you that you will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13). If your thing is service, then make time to do something for God and other people. A little time in His presence and/or serving Him will start to transform your life.
If you have been pursuing after the Lord in whatever manner it is He has called you to and you are just feeling fatigued, then I’m talking to you today.
* * * * *
I was sitting on the couch last night after taking a run in the heat. I was all sprawled out sweating on everything, breathing hard, feeling tired. I didn’t really want to even get up to eat supper b/c just chilling on the couch sounded better at the time.
As I was sitting there, I got to thinking about how tired I felt. I can remember sitting on the couch months ago and feeling just as tired. I can remember how much running just one mile used to suck…but I had just run farther and harder than I had in a long time.
Then, the spiritual application of what I had been doing hit me: every single time I feel tired from running myself to death, I am making myself ready for an even harder run next time.
Yes, during the middle of the run I almost always think, “Ugh, how much longer?” or “It would be so much easier to just walk the rest of the way.” But the fatigue I feel is only temporary. Over the next few days, my body always feels better because I am conditioning it. I feel more invigorated, I have more energy, and I sleep better at night.
The parallels hold true in my spiritual conditioning—every single time I run after God, I get myself ready for a deeper run. Feeling tired, at times, is part of it. But the exhaustion doesn’t last if I am conditioning the right way; I recover with even more energy, drive, revelation, and conviction than before.
* * * * *
This is just an encouragement to those of you who are feeling a little tired from running hard after the Lord. I implore you to keep pushing and pushing and pushing… He might be preparing you for something bigger than you can wrap your head around right now. Be assured that your journey will never be more than you can handle through Jesus Christ, and that He will definitely make provision for you along the way.
9.05.2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)