So this week I started the book, Radical, by David Platt. All I can say is WOW. This book will rock your world. It has mine. I've only read through chapter 3. I could sit and read it all in one night, but there is so much meat there I want to digest it slowly. And more importantly, I want what I read to actually "take" in me. Meaning, I don't want to just read this book and walk away saying what a great book it was. I want to read this book and do something with it. I want to be changed. Totally and completely changed.
The first chapter of the book is entitled, "Someone Worth Losing Everything For - What Radical Abandonment to Jesus Really Means." If that doesn't stop you in your tracks and make you take a hard look at your life, I don't know what will. This whole chapter is full of hard truths. I mean those truths that make you look at your own Christian walk and think "am I REALLY a Christ follower?"
This chapter has focused on the church as a whole basically and how we have settled with conforming Jesus and His Word to fit "us", not the other way around. Which is a crying shame. We are comfortable with our faith because honestly, our faith has never been challenged. Not like those in foreign countries who risk their very lives to come together and meet and worship Jesus. They risk everything. They don't have comfortable sanctuaries with air conditioning and cushioned pews. They don't have a magnificent praise team. No, what they have is a burning desire for Jesus that drives them to risk everything in order to follow Him...to pursue Him. Could you and I honestly look at ourselves and say we'd do that? Would we risk our families, our jobs, our very lives in order to come together with other believers to seek the heart of God? I'd like to say I would, but when it all came down to it, would I? Would you?
This has caused me to really look inside my heart. To truly examine the level of my committment to Christ. Have I abandoned everything for the sake of following Him? Am I taking His Word literally or just arranging it to fit my life? Am I living a comfortable christianity or am I willing to live radical in my pursuit of Christ? Am I willing to forsake everything...my family, my job, my friends, my hobbies, my time, my money, my life... all for the sake of pursuing the power of the Cross in my life? Phillipians 3:8 says, "Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ". DO I consider my life worth nothing in order to find Him?
Jesus is calling us all to abandon our comforts and everything that is familiar to us and follow Him. To pick up our cross daily and follow Him. To abandon all the attachments that this world has on us, and to follow Him. To consider our lives as nothing, and to follow Him.
I don't know about you, but I want to be a Christ follower who sees that Jesus is worth giving up everything I hold dear. He is worth my total abandonment in every area of my life. He is worth confronting the sin that resides in my heart so that I can have all the fullness of Him in my life. He is worth it all. And He IS Someone worth giving up everything for.
I believe our christian walk is about the journey. It's about the journey of discovering Jesus everyday. Everyday that we spend time with Him and in His Word, He reveals more of Himself to us and provides us with the opportunity to lay down our lives, to radically confront the sin in our hearts, and to pursue Him. You see, the pursuit of Him is the fun part. Jeremiah 29:14 promises us this, "You will seek Me and you will find Me when you seek with ALL of your heart." Did you notice what it said? It didn't say you'll find me when you seek me just a little....or with some of your heart...or with only the parts of your heart you feel comfortable enough to deal with and let go. No, it says we will find Him when we seek for Him with ALL of our heart. That is RADICAL seeking friends. Holding nothing back. Counting everything as loss for the sake of knowing Him. We will find Him when we are seeking Him. When we are radical in our abandonment of all we hold dear in this world...we will find Him. And He is a treasure worth finding.
So, here we are. We have the choice every day we wake up. Will we be radical Christ followers or comfortable christians? I say forget the comfortable....lets go for epic and change the world.
~Stacy
Friday, June 17, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
Your Great Name....Jesus
Have you heard this song by Natalie Grant? Oh my, it is a humdinger. But don't listen to it unless you can take a minute to stop and soak it in. I'm going to post some of the lyrics to this song here, because they are just full of such power I want you to see them...
Lost are saved; find their way; at the sound of Your great name
All condemned; feel no shame, at the sound of Your great name
Every fear; has no place; at the sound of Your great name
The enemy; he has to leave; at the sound of Your great name
Jesus, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain for us, Son of God and Man
You are high and lifted up; and all the world will praise Your great name
All the weak; find their strength; at the sound of Your great name
Hungry souls; receive grace; at the sound of Your great name
The fatherless; they find their rest; at the sound of Your great name
Sick are healed; and the dead are raised; at the sound of Your great name
Jesus, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain for us, Son of God and Man
You are high and lifted up; and all the world will praise Your great name
There is so much truth wrapped up in these words. As I write this blog tonight I have this song on replay on the ipod. I can't get enough of it.
I guess I am coming to a new revelation of the true POWER in His name. Phillipians 2:9-11 says it all,
9 Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor
and gave Him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
I have read that scripture a million times over the years. Knew what it said, knew it was truth. But tonight...well, tonight it has come alive.
Now go back and read the words of that song again. What is it in your life that needs to bow before the name of Jesus? Do you struggle with fear? It bows before the name of Jesus. Anger? It bows before the name of Jesus. There is no struggle, no issue, nothing, that can stand against the mighty name of Jesus. None of these things have to control us. I don't know about you, but that gives me great hope.
The more I have thought about this, I have come to the realization of something in my own life. How much time I have wasted and allowed the enemy to use against me because I have not taken my struggles, my weakness, my issues, and acknowledged that they are powerless against the name of Jesus. How often do we walk around in defeated mode because we don't think we can really overcome something. It seems to powerful. It seems to have too great a hold on our lives. I have news for you and me...there is nothing we deal with that has more power than the name and person of Jesus Christ. We can find victory in every battle with His name.
There is great freedom in that for me--when we realize that we aren't fighting these battles alone. If we are a Christ follower and He lives within us, then we have a power living within us that is greater than anything in this world we may face. God has given us weapons to use in our battles against the enemy, but the greatest weapon that we as Christians have is one word...JESUS.
That name makes people uncomfortable. They can say "God", but not "Jesus". Why? Because something happens when we speak His name. It stirs. It creates. It is power. And to think it is used in such a vain way. The most precious name in all the world.
I urge you to take a moment. Get quiet and still. And just begin to say His name. And as you say His name, remember the power in that name. Remember every struggle you are facing. And as you say that name above all names, allow His presence to meet you right where you are, in the midst of every battle, and remember that those enemies are nothing against the power of His great name. If you don't know Him personally, call on His name as your salvation. The lost find their way through His great name.
He is so many things. Redeemer. Healer. Defender. Saviour. King. He is Jesus.
~Stacy
Lost are saved; find their way; at the sound of Your great name
All condemned; feel no shame, at the sound of Your great name
Every fear; has no place; at the sound of Your great name
The enemy; he has to leave; at the sound of Your great name
Jesus, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain for us, Son of God and Man
You are high and lifted up; and all the world will praise Your great name
All the weak; find their strength; at the sound of Your great name
Hungry souls; receive grace; at the sound of Your great name
The fatherless; they find their rest; at the sound of Your great name
Sick are healed; and the dead are raised; at the sound of Your great name
Jesus, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain for us, Son of God and Man
You are high and lifted up; and all the world will praise Your great name
There is so much truth wrapped up in these words. As I write this blog tonight I have this song on replay on the ipod. I can't get enough of it.
I guess I am coming to a new revelation of the true POWER in His name. Phillipians 2:9-11 says it all,
9 Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor
and gave Him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
I have read that scripture a million times over the years. Knew what it said, knew it was truth. But tonight...well, tonight it has come alive.
Now go back and read the words of that song again. What is it in your life that needs to bow before the name of Jesus? Do you struggle with fear? It bows before the name of Jesus. Anger? It bows before the name of Jesus. There is no struggle, no issue, nothing, that can stand against the mighty name of Jesus. None of these things have to control us. I don't know about you, but that gives me great hope.
The more I have thought about this, I have come to the realization of something in my own life. How much time I have wasted and allowed the enemy to use against me because I have not taken my struggles, my weakness, my issues, and acknowledged that they are powerless against the name of Jesus. How often do we walk around in defeated mode because we don't think we can really overcome something. It seems to powerful. It seems to have too great a hold on our lives. I have news for you and me...there is nothing we deal with that has more power than the name and person of Jesus Christ. We can find victory in every battle with His name.
There is great freedom in that for me--when we realize that we aren't fighting these battles alone. If we are a Christ follower and He lives within us, then we have a power living within us that is greater than anything in this world we may face. God has given us weapons to use in our battles against the enemy, but the greatest weapon that we as Christians have is one word...JESUS.
That name makes people uncomfortable. They can say "God", but not "Jesus". Why? Because something happens when we speak His name. It stirs. It creates. It is power. And to think it is used in such a vain way. The most precious name in all the world.
I urge you to take a moment. Get quiet and still. And just begin to say His name. And as you say His name, remember the power in that name. Remember every struggle you are facing. And as you say that name above all names, allow His presence to meet you right where you are, in the midst of every battle, and remember that those enemies are nothing against the power of His great name. If you don't know Him personally, call on His name as your salvation. The lost find their way through His great name.
He is so many things. Redeemer. Healer. Defender. Saviour. King. He is Jesus.
~Stacy
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
My Desire....
As I write this blog today, I'm completely immersed in a sweet, sweet Presence of Almighty God. Listening to a song by Jeremy Camp, called "My Desire", it has inspired me to write a bit today.
The last several weeks have been quite the dry spell for me spiritually. It has been hard coming off of what seemed like an abundance of spiritual springs of water flowing through my life. But, nonetheless, it has been a growing time for me. God is teaching me lessons on waiting, on patience, on love, on life.
It's never easy when He begins to open up certain pages of our hearts and show us what is hiding beneath things in our lives. We have such a tendency to sweep those "little things" under rugs in our lives. Things that don't seem like that big of a deal really. You know, bad attitudes, little bouts of pride, comments that should have never been spoken, little resentment towards others who don't treat us like we think they should, unresolved moments of anger....you get the picture. They seem small, at times in our eyes, so we just pick up a rug and sweep them under it thinking they are really no big deal. Until one day He picks that rug up because it has gathered quite the pile of rubbish under it. And then our eyes are opened to what's been happening all along.
Let's just admit it, it's just plain easier to NOT deal with things sometimes. It's easier to push them aside, sweep them under a rug and go on about our day, pretending to forget that they are even there. But, deep down we know they are. And when He begins to reveal those things, we are faced with a choice. Will we allow His Spirit to convict and change us, or do we push His conviction aside and thus allow our hearts to become hardened over time because we aren't willing to allow the Potter to form and mold His piece of clay?
This is where I am today. Listening to one of my favorite songs by Chris Sligh, Empty Me, I began to really listen to the words of this song. This is the chorus....
"I know how I can stray
And how fast my heart could change, so
Empty me...Of the selfishness inside
Every vain ambition
And the poison of my pride
...And any foolish thing my heart holds to
Lord empty me of ME, So I can be...
Filled with You"
I sooooo need to be emptied of ME, so I can be filled with Him. Busyness, fatigue, it all can take a toll on us spiritually. We get tired and then we start to allow our time we would normally spend with Him and His Word to become shortened. We do it just a little each day, until one day we realize our time with Him has not been much of a priority as it once was. It becomes easier to let it slide. And just weeks before it was what our hearts was most excited about when going to bed at night....longing to meet with Him as soon as we got up the next morning. I wonder how His heart feels when He awaits to meet with us, only to find the seat across from Him empty...again. I wonder how His heart breaks to know He had so much to show us that day, to pour into us, only to find that we were a no show....again. And why? Because we became filled with us. It's time to be emptied.
I don't know about you, but today, my desire is to take the lid off, pour out all of me, so He can pour Himself back in. All my vain ambitions, all my everything, pour it ALL out at His feet. The selfishness that seems to consume me....the pride that overtakes me.....all of it. I want to be a fragrant offering to my Jesus. A fragrant offering that pours out all of me, to get more of Him. I want the Master Potter to take His creating hands and shape and mold this piece of clay into what He desires my life to be. THIS, is my desire.
~Stacy
The last several weeks have been quite the dry spell for me spiritually. It has been hard coming off of what seemed like an abundance of spiritual springs of water flowing through my life. But, nonetheless, it has been a growing time for me. God is teaching me lessons on waiting, on patience, on love, on life.
It's never easy when He begins to open up certain pages of our hearts and show us what is hiding beneath things in our lives. We have such a tendency to sweep those "little things" under rugs in our lives. Things that don't seem like that big of a deal really. You know, bad attitudes, little bouts of pride, comments that should have never been spoken, little resentment towards others who don't treat us like we think they should, unresolved moments of anger....you get the picture. They seem small, at times in our eyes, so we just pick up a rug and sweep them under it thinking they are really no big deal. Until one day He picks that rug up because it has gathered quite the pile of rubbish under it. And then our eyes are opened to what's been happening all along.
Let's just admit it, it's just plain easier to NOT deal with things sometimes. It's easier to push them aside, sweep them under a rug and go on about our day, pretending to forget that they are even there. But, deep down we know they are. And when He begins to reveal those things, we are faced with a choice. Will we allow His Spirit to convict and change us, or do we push His conviction aside and thus allow our hearts to become hardened over time because we aren't willing to allow the Potter to form and mold His piece of clay?
This is where I am today. Listening to one of my favorite songs by Chris Sligh, Empty Me, I began to really listen to the words of this song. This is the chorus....
"I know how I can stray
And how fast my heart could change, so
Empty me...Of the selfishness inside
Every vain ambition
And the poison of my pride
...And any foolish thing my heart holds to
Lord empty me of ME, So I can be...
Filled with You"
I sooooo need to be emptied of ME, so I can be filled with Him. Busyness, fatigue, it all can take a toll on us spiritually. We get tired and then we start to allow our time we would normally spend with Him and His Word to become shortened. We do it just a little each day, until one day we realize our time with Him has not been much of a priority as it once was. It becomes easier to let it slide. And just weeks before it was what our hearts was most excited about when going to bed at night....longing to meet with Him as soon as we got up the next morning. I wonder how His heart feels when He awaits to meet with us, only to find the seat across from Him empty...again. I wonder how His heart breaks to know He had so much to show us that day, to pour into us, only to find that we were a no show....again. And why? Because we became filled with us. It's time to be emptied.
I don't know about you, but today, my desire is to take the lid off, pour out all of me, so He can pour Himself back in. All my vain ambitions, all my everything, pour it ALL out at His feet. The selfishness that seems to consume me....the pride that overtakes me.....all of it. I want to be a fragrant offering to my Jesus. A fragrant offering that pours out all of me, to get more of Him. I want the Master Potter to take His creating hands and shape and mold this piece of clay into what He desires my life to be. THIS, is my desire.
~Stacy
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