Monday, May 31, 2010

Psalm 127:1-2

Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchmen keeps awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors; for He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.


We are to walk by the Spirit. If what we are doing is not done with the strength that God provides then we are laboring in vain (1 Peter 4:11 "whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen") It is the Lord that gives us the ability to do anything. Galatians 5:18 says that "if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law". Verse 14 says that "the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, 'you shall love your neighbor as yourself'". Romans 13:10 says "Love is the fulfillment of the law". And 1 Corinthians 16:14 says, "let all that you do be done in love".  
I'm trying to put all this together but I'm starting to see that it's not about "the things" we are doing as much as it is about how/why we are doing them. And I think this is only a small part of what this all means.  

Psalm 105:1-7

"Oh give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples. Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; speak of all His wonders. Glory in His holy name; let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad. Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face continually. Remember His wonders which He has done, His marvels and the judgments uttered by His mouth, O seed of Abraham, His servant, O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones! He is the Lord our God; His judgments are in all the earth."

God's intercession

"In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God." Romans 8:27


"Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ?...For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:34-35

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Christ is praying for us

"When we intercede for others, then, we are not so much called to pray to Jesus on their behalf as we are called to pray with Jesus for them. As we dwell in Him and He dwells in us, we become co-laborers, partners with Christ in His work of intercession."
 Stephan Seamands
(from Lazo's blog)


"It is a consoling thought that Christ is praying for us, even when we are negligent in our prayer life; that He is presenting to the Father those spiritual needs which were not present to our minds and which we often neglect to include in our prayers; and that He prays for our protection against the dangers of which we are not even conscious, and against the enemies which threaten us, though we do not notice it. He is praying that our faith may not cease, and that we may come out victoriously in the end." -Louis Berkhof, "Christ is praying for you"

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Brokenness is beautiful. Most gladly.

I am a broken vessel so the water from within can pour out. The more broken I am, the better the water flows. Thank you Lord that we can delight in our brokenness. 


"For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth. For we rejoice when we ourselves are weak but you are strong; this we also pray for, that you be made complete."
2 Corinthians 13:8-9


"And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness". Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me."
2 Corinthians 12:9

The Free Offer of Mercy

"For as the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
For you will go out with joy and be led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands."
Isaiah 55:10-12

Monday, May 24, 2010

The Present

There are always too many sermons I want to watch, too many books I want to read, too many people I want to see. One day at a time. 

"Wherever you are, be all there."
"Live to the tilt every situation you believe to be the will of God."
"Let not our longing slay the appetite for our living."
-Jim Elliot


This moment contains all moments. 
-The Great Divorce C.S. Lewis


In Chapter 6 of Screwtape Letters Lewis talks about the present.
"Your patient will, of course, have picked up the notion that he must submit with patience to the Enemy's (God's) will. What the Enemy means by this is primarily that he should accept with patience the tribulation which has actually been dealt out to him-the present anxiety and suspense. It is about this that he is to say 'Thy will be done', and for the daily task of bearing this that the daily bread will be provided. It is your business to see that the patient never thinks of the present fear as his appointed cross, but only of the things he is afraid of."


This is such an important concept to grasp. Each moment is our appointed cross! Basically, live in the present moment. Be aware of what your purpose is. The gospel. To love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself. Praying continually, being thankful always, and doing the will of God are all present actions. 

Sunday, May 16, 2010

:) Kelley Chris and Taylor Matthew



My computer's broken...I'm be back once it's fixed. I thought Mac Book Pros were indestructible. Apparently not. 




This Friday was the birthday of Kelley Christine Carder! I've known this lovely lady since high school and we roomed together throughout college. I love her like family and I can honestly say my life is made fuller because of her friendship. There is no way I can put into words how much I love her and how much she loves Jesus. She encourages me everyday and is constantly looking for opportunities to just love people. She has so many amazing talents and she does everything with honor. I could go on and on about what she looks like and all she does...but most importantly, she is a child of God. Honestly I'm afraid to say more. She knows and loves His Word. It is literally her daily bread and through her daily surrender and constant communion with God, He fills her to overflowing. It is one of the most beautiful things I've ever experienced. When I think of you Kel, above all, I think of HOPE. I love you Kel!
"But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word." Isaiah 66:2b
"She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue." Proverbs 31:26 




Third note: My brother and another best friend graduated  from Point Loma Nazarene University this Saturday with a major in Business and two minors in Accounting and Graphic Design. Again, how do you explain the most influential and beloved people in your life? I think I'd rather paint a picture or act it out. Taylor is a man that stands out in honor, respect, maturity, talent, and work ethic. He constantly amazes me. He always encourages me to speak less because I'm always blabbing away as he listens and then he says a couple sentences that are super profound and wise and I feel ridiculous. Thank you Tay for teaching me to live in the moment, enjoy, and listen more. I could not have hand-picked a better brother. I thank the Lord every single day for you. I would lay my life down for you and I pray for you with joy and hope knowing that God has sewn you to Himself and is working in and through you in such a powerful and specific way. One day when I was praying for you I had an image of a piece of leather being sewn to a larger piece of leather (and I thought of your name). It may sound crazy but it made so much sense. God has fastened you to Himself. You are His! He is daily forming you into a new creation, sewing and tayloring everything for His perfect plan and glory. I am blessed for seeing it! I love you Tay!

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Another brilliant quote from Lewis

"...but what do we mean when we talk of God helping us?
We mean God putting into us a bit of Himself, so to speak. He lends us a little of His reasoning powers and that is how we think: He puts a little of His love into us and that is how we love one another. 
When you teach a child writing, you hold its hand while it forms the letters: that is, it forms the letters because you are forming them.
We love and reason because God loves and reasons and holds our hand while we do it."


"We love, because He first loved us." 
1 John 4:19

love and service

Galatians 5:13
"For, dear brothers, you have been given freedom: not freedom to do wrong, but freedom to love and serve each other."


Proverbs 31:13-20
13She selects wool and flax
       and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,
       bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still dark;
       she provides food for her family
       and portions for her servant girls.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
       out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
       her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
       and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
       and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20She opens her arms to the poor
       and extends her hands to the needy.


Lord make us like this!

Monday, May 10, 2010

Isaiah 30:15 - excerpts from Beth Moore's Breaking Free, Chp. 29, Broken Pottery



"In repentance and rest is your salvation
in quietness and trust is you strength,"


repentance - "returning more accurately translates the Hebrew rendered here as repentance. Strong's says, shuwbah actually means 'returning'. The word repentance used elsewhere in God's Word usually means 'turning from sin', but often we omit the next step! Acts 3:19 reflects the two-fold step: 'repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord'. If we only turn from our sins but do not turn to God, we lack the power to overcome the temptation the next time it arises! 
rest - "Quiet; repose; a state free from motion or disturbance; a state of reconciliation to God. Peace, A place of quiet; permanent habitation. To be quiet or still; to be undisturbed" -1828 Dictionary (link) 
salvation - being saved or delivered from a calamity or attack, "The Hebrew word for salvation is Yasha, which means 'to be open, wide, or free...It is the opposite of tsarar, to cramp'. Yasha draws the picture of a spacious place in which to move."
[We all know that God wants us to return and rest, but many of us have tried this equation: repent plus be determined to do better on my own strength. This formula has often been my downfall.]


quietness - "Hebrew word means  "to lie quietly, be undisturbed,...to calm". "Have you sometimes experienced defeat (yielding to temptation) because you refused to calm yourself in the presence of God and trust Him?"
trust - "Hebrew word means "there is nothing more we can do". Once we've obeyed God, we can do nothing more. We then wait on Him to bring the victory, knowing that the consequences of our obedience are His problem and not ours."
strength - implying victory, Firmness; solidity or toughness; the quality of bodies by which they sustain the application of force without breaking or yielding. Power of resisting attacks; fastness; as the strength of a castle or fort. - 1828 Dictionary


Isaiah 30:18 - "The Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion."


"Oh, what a disservice we do when we try to humanize God by imagining Him as the best of humanity rather than all-together God! God's compassion demands that He reach out to us even in our rebellion, but His righteousness demands that He bring painful chastisement if we don't grab His reaching hand and return to Him wholeheartedly."

Obedience - God's Right to Rule.

"I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me." -Isaiah 46:9


     "When we receive Christ as our Savior, we literally receive Christ! His Spirit takes up residence in us. We receive His liberating Spirit, but we must understand that the freedom never leaves the bounds of His Spirit.  Therefore, our liberation is expressed as a reality only in the places of our lives where the free Spirit of God is released. We are free when, and only when, He is in control. 
     Reflect again on the words of 2 Corinthians 3:17: 'Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.' Freedom and lordship are inseparable partners in the believer's life. When we read that freedom can be found anywhere the Spirit of the Lord is, we can take it literally. 
     Freedom becomes reality when we yield to the authority of God. We are as filled with the Spirit as we are yielded to His lordship. Although the Spirit of the Lord is always in us, He floods only the parts of our lives where He is in authority. Freedom flows where the Spirit of the Lord floods. 
     This point brings up an interesting question. Have you ever noticed that you can experience freedom in one part of your life and remain in bondage in another? Sometimes we allow God to have full authority in one area while refusing Him in another.
How, then, can we be fully liberated? Can we study God's Word until we finally experience freedom? Can we pray ourselves into freedom? Can we rebuke the enemy so thoroughly that we experience freedom? No. Until we choose to withhold no part of our lives from His authority, we will  not experience full freedom. The answer to liberty is withholding no part of our lives from His authority.
     Again, allow me to stress that obedient lives are not perfect lives. Obedience does not mean sinlessness but confession and repentance when we sin. Obedience is not arriving at a perpetual state of godliness but perpetually following hard after God. Obedience is not living miserably by a set of laws, but inviting the Spirit of God to flow freely through us. Obedience is learning to love and treasure God's Word and set it as our safety."


From Breaking Free by Beth Moore, Chp. 30 God's Right to Rule


Rewards of Obedience - Duet. 11

true


Our souls were made to “run” on the practice of worship, law-keeping, truthfullness, honesty, discipline, self-control, and service to God and our fellows. If we abandon these practices, not only do we incur guilt before God; we also progressively destroy our own souls.
J.I. Packer

via http://christopherlazo.com/

Friday, May 7, 2010

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Relational Power! The Holy Spirit

Sept, 20, 2009
Britt's sermon: Relational Power! 

Face to face

"But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit." 2 Cor. 3:18 (NASB)


"And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into His likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." 2 Cor. 3:18 RSV


When You said, "Seek My face," my heart said to You, "Your face, O LORD, I shall seek". Psalm 27:8

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Happy Birthday Amy! I know it was yesterday but this is for you and every woman.



I have loved you with an everlasting love. - God (Jeremiah 31:3)
"Christianity changes dramatically when we discover that it, too, is a great romance. That God yearns to share a life of beauty, intimacy, and adventure with us. Captivating p.29


Mary responded, "I am the Lord's servant, and I am willing to accept whatever He wants. May everything you have said come true". -Luke 1:38 NLT 
"Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." NASB


*If anyone reads this and they own Captivating read Chp. 2, "What Eve Alone Can Tell".
Every experience of beauty points to eternity. -Hans Urs Von Balthasar


*painting- Gustav Klimt's "The kiss" (painted with gold)

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Acts 17:28

for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His children.'
[Paul's sermon on Mars Hill, Acts 17:22-34]

Attn: JEN!

Jennifer Alderette! Check this out!!! I cried...happy tears.
FORTYONETWENTY 
(Colin and Aimee)

wanna get away?

Tonight's just one of those nights I want to be camping with no assignments, no papers, no technology. Just pure nature. Ok, so that's a bit Romantic, so what? I'm imagining the sounds I'd hear while laying in that tent...the water, the wind, crickets, maybe an owl or wolf. Closing my eyes and imagining I'm there. The smell of dirt and wild flowers, water and smoke from the camp fire. AHHH!!! I gotta go camping! How awesome is creation!?

Sunday, May 2, 2010

If you have a little free time...

GO THROUGH THIS SERIES..."The agony of victory"(click). SO GOOD!


-I just listened to "overturning hindrances to effective prayer"...wow. Exactly where I'm at right now.

The Weight of Glory excerpt.

"The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing. These things - the beauty, the memory of our own past - are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshippers. For they are not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited...
Apparently, then, our lifelong nostalgia, our longing to be reunited with something in the universe from which we now feel cut off, to be on the inside of some door which we have always seen from the outside, is no mere neurotic fancy, but the truest index of our real situation. And to be at last summoned inside would be both glory and honor beyond all our merits and also the healing of that old ache... The whole man is to drink joy from the fountain of joy."

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Happy Birthday Amber!!!

Amber is one beautiful woman of God!
Check out her blog here and see for yourself. 


Her last post:
“I seek the Will of the Spirit of God through, or in connection with, the Word of

God. The Spirit and the Word must be combined. If I look to the Spirit alone without the
Word I lay myself open to great delusions also. If the Holy Ghost guides us at all, He will
do it according to the Scriptures and never contrary to them.”
-George Muller

"Organic Church" by Neil Cole

"The presence of Jesus is crucial to what church is. His presence is life; His absence is death. He is the most essential portion of who and what we are. He should be the most important thing about us and the most recognizable aspect that the world sees. 
In many churches in the West, ministry is done for Jesus, but not by Jesus- and therein lies a big difference. If we evaluate our churches not by attendance or buildings, but by how recognizable Jesus is in our midst, our influence would be more far-reaching and our strategies would be far more dynamic. If we start our entire understanding of church with Christ's presence among and working with us, then we will expect to see much more.


"For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst" (Matt 18:20)

Isaiah 26:8

Indeed, while following the way of Your judgments, O LORD, We have waited for You eagerly; Your name, even Your memory, is the desire of our souls. 

greatgreatgreat songs

BEAUTIFUL
by: Kari Jobe (click it)


My Beloved
Kari Jobe


Soon
Hillsong