Who is like our God, mighty to save and merciful enough to do so? A great and mighty warrior is our King Jesus, the one and only true God. He is the King of kings and the Lord of all lords; Who can truly fathom His awesomeness? He outstretches His mighty arm to deliver His people, crushing the head of the enemy again and again and again. Unchanging in all of His ways, He is faithful to the end. He is a good Father who loves His children, who inclines His ear to those who call aloud to Him. He is a God of justice and righteousness, how fair and lovely He is. There is none that can stand up against Him, He is the beginning and the end. He has all power and authority, His glory fills the earth like the waters the seas. He is a jealous God, longing for the hearts of His people. He is an all-consuming fire, the ultimate sacrifice, the purest love, the absolute truth, the deepest of treasures and sweetest of fragrances. Just one glimpse from His beautiful face, just one touch from His tender hand, just one word from His powerful voice changes everything. He is the dream giver and destiny fulfiller. He is the fulfillment of all prophecies and the great champion; There is none like Jesus, Mighty Jesus. We will never fully comprehend and understand all of who He is. If we did, worship would not exist. There is such a depth to the Lord that we truly cannot fathom. He is Yahweh, Jehovah, Elohim. What a great and mighty God we serve! He alone is worthy of all glory, honor, power and praise. Yet how often we forget and neglect this truth.
We may tragically negate this truth in our lives, but God cannot be fooled. He alone will receive the glory, and He will make sure He gets the glory. Journey with me to Judges 7 where we meet Gideon and his army about to encounter the Midians. Of course shortly before this the Lord tells Gideon that He is going to save Israel through Gideon. Gideon, unsure and unsettled, lays out the fleece and asks the impossible. Of course, God shows up and does His mighty and miraculous work. Gideon now has the boldness and courage to know that he is truly following the voice of the Lord. They then begin dwindling down the army of Gideon for it is much too big. Did you just catch that? They were going into battle and needed to minimize the number of troops going in. Why? So that all would see and know that it was Almighty God who won the battle! Of course in the end, Yahweh through Gideon and his 300 men defeated the enemy and they were oppressed no more!
I guess one could say it was "rigged" so that in human terms, there would be no way that they could win. But with God on their side, they had the victory. God is longing for a people that will cry out to Him and ascribe the glory that is due His name, to proclaim aloud the splendor of who He is. Perhaps this is why it says that if we fail to cry out, the rocks will. We get so caught up in ourselves and puffed up with pride that it robs the glory due His name. We try to cheat the Lord out of the picture, only dreaming half-hearted dreams and doing the things we are already comfortable with and/or good at. When the enemy comes and encamps upon our lives, we scurry and hide or just surrender, settling instead for his deceptive lies.
Oh, how I long to live a life in desperation for the power and presence of omnipotent God. To live in such a way that if God doesn't show up, I am in trouble. To step out and follow His leading, even if it is to somewhere I have never been. When will the church arise and dare to dream big dreams? When will we go and take back, with Godly courage, those things with which the enemy has taken from us? When is it we will go and crush his head, and stand up against his lies? If God be for us, who can be against us? If what we say and pray and sing about our great God is true, we live contradicting lives.
Only if and when we choose to live lives of such radical desperation for the presence of God, will He come in with His radiant splendor and majestic glory and deliver His people! When we begin to humble ourselves and reflect on who He is, we will be blown away by the awesomeness and hugeness of who He is. We can crowd Him out, we can steal the show. But a life lived without God is no life at all. God is not longing to be a part of our precious little puppet shows in which we assign Him a part and give Him His lines. He is yearning and burning to make Himself known, to be glorified and exalted!
To You alone King Jesus, be all glory and honor and praise! You are worthy of so much more than we could ever say about you or give to you. Our human language fails to even begin to adequately ascribe the greatness that is due Your name. We are nothing without You, such wretched, sinful little mortals. We constantly gratify the sinful desires of our flesh, putting You into a box for a rainy day. But oh great and glorious God, forgive us for such tragedies! Oh how we long for You, how we need You! Only a God like You can deliver Your people. Only a God like You can give victories and heal us and give us eternal life! Would you give us the courage of Gideon and teach us to trust You entirely? We desire for You to be exalted in all the earth King Jesus! Be exalted in our lives! We lift up Your name! King of glory, have Your glory!
Tuesday, March 9
Tuesday, March 2
Prayers That Penetrate
I was reading something recently that has stirred something within my spirit. Prayer: It's a concept that most of us use on a daily basis, remembering to say "grace" before each meal and maybe talking to God a few minutes before bed, perhaps we're even daring enough to seek the Lord in the midst of a crisis. But I have read something recently that has led me to ask a very important question: What kind of prayers do I pray?
Before continuing on, you will need to read Numbers 27:1-11. Yes there are many big names here in this passage, and this may be one of those "breezers" that we rush on through, thinking it has no pertinent significance to our time. But I would beg to differ. While I am no Biblical scholar, it is my understanding that when the patriarch of the family died, the blessing and inheritance would be passed to the sons. So here we have 3 sisters who beseech their great leader, pointing out that this tradition is seemingly biased. So Moses, being the great man of God and leader that he was, goes and seeks the Lord about the matter.
What we have next is a beautiful picture of intercession as Moses begins to plead their case before the Lord. And then it happens. In verse 6 we see that the Lord agreed with the daughters and told Moses to change the laws. Did you just catch that? The courage those women possessed to go before Moses and ask that a tradition/law be changed is just outstanding. But with boldness and confidence they presented their request. But there is something that happens when we take those things before the Lord.
Moses pleaded their case with the Lord, and his prayers shifted something within the spiritual realm. I don't know what would have happened had these 3 sisters not been so bold in their approach. And had Moses not stood in the gap, would things have changed? This raises several important questions for me as I read this and chew upon it.
We live in a time in which we must pray dangerous prayers. We don't have time to waste with our self-centered wish lists before the Lord! We must not pray according to our faith or lack thereof, it would be a tragedy to pray according to how we feel. But we must pray with a tenacity that is unreleasing, praying according to the character of who God Almighty is! Do our prayers line up with the Word of God? Do they carry the same heartbeat as our Maker? Do the prayers we pray shift things in the spiritual realm? Oh Holy Spirit, that you would teach us how to pray...
Before continuing on, you will need to read Numbers 27:1-11. Yes there are many big names here in this passage, and this may be one of those "breezers" that we rush on through, thinking it has no pertinent significance to our time. But I would beg to differ. While I am no Biblical scholar, it is my understanding that when the patriarch of the family died, the blessing and inheritance would be passed to the sons. So here we have 3 sisters who beseech their great leader, pointing out that this tradition is seemingly biased. So Moses, being the great man of God and leader that he was, goes and seeks the Lord about the matter.
What we have next is a beautiful picture of intercession as Moses begins to plead their case before the Lord. And then it happens. In verse 6 we see that the Lord agreed with the daughters and told Moses to change the laws. Did you just catch that? The courage those women possessed to go before Moses and ask that a tradition/law be changed is just outstanding. But with boldness and confidence they presented their request. But there is something that happens when we take those things before the Lord.
Moses pleaded their case with the Lord, and his prayers shifted something within the spiritual realm. I don't know what would have happened had these 3 sisters not been so bold in their approach. And had Moses not stood in the gap, would things have changed? This raises several important questions for me as I read this and chew upon it.
We live in a time in which we must pray dangerous prayers. We don't have time to waste with our self-centered wish lists before the Lord! We must not pray according to our faith or lack thereof, it would be a tragedy to pray according to how we feel. But we must pray with a tenacity that is unreleasing, praying according to the character of who God Almighty is! Do our prayers line up with the Word of God? Do they carry the same heartbeat as our Maker? Do the prayers we pray shift things in the spiritual realm? Oh Holy Spirit, that you would teach us how to pray...
Friday, February 5
"The Crossing"
We be praying to our God, asking for deliverance...
To be freed from all of the things that have so easily entangled us.
He faithfully leads us through the stormy waters...
As we learn to fully trust Him as our Abba Father.
Fearful we start to look to the left and to the right...
Not seeing Jesus now, we have lost our sight.
We dare not look behind at the enemies that pursue us...
For if we do our faith will shrink, becoming less and less.
Teach me to be still and follow only You...
I cannot and will not quit, until this Red Sea...You have brought me through.
To be freed from all of the things that have so easily entangled us.
He faithfully leads us through the stormy waters...
As we learn to fully trust Him as our Abba Father.
Fearful we start to look to the left and to the right...
Not seeing Jesus now, we have lost our sight.
We dare not look behind at the enemies that pursue us...
For if we do our faith will shrink, becoming less and less.
Teach me to be still and follow only You...
I cannot and will not quit, until this Red Sea...You have brought me through.
Monday, January 18
Glory in Intercession
There was something that I read recently that has penetrated my heart and shifted something within me. We speak of the glory of God and how it fills the earth and we long to know His glory. We talk it, preach it, sing it, we yearn for it. The splendor and majesty of God Almighty we will never fully fathom until heaven one day. I think sometimes we tend to think that the glory of God is like a freebie at some garage sale, "while supplies last." Oh how we have belittled the omnipotent and sovereign God of the universe to fit into our little boxes. So then the question at hand is this: Where can one encounter the glory of God? While I propose that I know much of anything, I would like to turn our attention to perhaps a familiar passage of Scripture:
And the Lord said, "Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen." Exodus 33:21-23
Wow! Can you imagine?! Like God just totally told Moses that He would allow him to see as much of Him as possible, but that He would protect him too. Could you imagine God's huge hand covering you? The very thought overwhelms me. What is even more significant to me if you begin reading in verse 12 of this same chapter, Moses is actually interceding for the people of God who have sinned yet again. Moses is pleading and reminding God that they too are His people. As always is the case with our Faithful Father, He keeps His word and says He will do the very thing being pleaded for (vs. 17).
There is glory in intercession beloved! Of course that is not the reason we plead our case before God. We go to Him in the darkest of valleys and in the midst of our fiercest giants and we stand in the gap and wage war with our prayers. We don't pray according to our state of mind or faith, or lack thereof. But we tenaciously pray according to the character of God Almighty. And our prayers and intercession begin to line up with His will as the Spirit intercedes for us and teaches us how to pray. It is in these trenches that I believe God's glory is found.
Too often we want to pray a 1 minute prayer and see the results we're looking for and gaze into His eyes of fire as an added bonus. Oh saints how we have lost the art of intercession and true communion with the Father. No war is fought and resolved in 1 day. Moses had already been given the 10 Commandments on the 2 stones after time with holy God on the mountain. When he came down and saw that the people had sinned greatly and worshipped this golden calf that came out of the fire, his fury raged and he threw the tablets to the ground, crushing them to pieces.
Perhaps just when Moses thought he was on a breakthrough, things turned for the worse. Maybe just when you thought your prayers had been answered, things turned out to be otherwise. Moses persisted and climbed that mountain again, and he interceded. Not only were his prayers heard and answered, but the glory of God was made known in a very real way to Moses that day. Moses was in the trenches of intercession yet again, but in those trenches was the mighty hand of God moving to cover, protect, save, and deliver.
There is something that shifts in the spiritual realm when we dig down deep into the trenches of intercession and plead our case before a just and sovereign God and remind Him of His promises. It is no longer a matter of the giant at the top of the hill taunting you, or the enemy who surrounds you on every side, but a matter of God's mighty hand resting above you and doing the very things that only our omnipotent God can do! Oh saints, there is glory in intercession. May you climb the mountain yet again to drink deeply and wage war...
And the Lord said, "Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen." Exodus 33:21-23
Wow! Can you imagine?! Like God just totally told Moses that He would allow him to see as much of Him as possible, but that He would protect him too. Could you imagine God's huge hand covering you? The very thought overwhelms me. What is even more significant to me if you begin reading in verse 12 of this same chapter, Moses is actually interceding for the people of God who have sinned yet again. Moses is pleading and reminding God that they too are His people. As always is the case with our Faithful Father, He keeps His word and says He will do the very thing being pleaded for (vs. 17).
There is glory in intercession beloved! Of course that is not the reason we plead our case before God. We go to Him in the darkest of valleys and in the midst of our fiercest giants and we stand in the gap and wage war with our prayers. We don't pray according to our state of mind or faith, or lack thereof. But we tenaciously pray according to the character of God Almighty. And our prayers and intercession begin to line up with His will as the Spirit intercedes for us and teaches us how to pray. It is in these trenches that I believe God's glory is found.
Too often we want to pray a 1 minute prayer and see the results we're looking for and gaze into His eyes of fire as an added bonus. Oh saints how we have lost the art of intercession and true communion with the Father. No war is fought and resolved in 1 day. Moses had already been given the 10 Commandments on the 2 stones after time with holy God on the mountain. When he came down and saw that the people had sinned greatly and worshipped this golden calf that came out of the fire, his fury raged and he threw the tablets to the ground, crushing them to pieces.
Perhaps just when Moses thought he was on a breakthrough, things turned for the worse. Maybe just when you thought your prayers had been answered, things turned out to be otherwise. Moses persisted and climbed that mountain again, and he interceded. Not only were his prayers heard and answered, but the glory of God was made known in a very real way to Moses that day. Moses was in the trenches of intercession yet again, but in those trenches was the mighty hand of God moving to cover, protect, save, and deliver.
There is something that shifts in the spiritual realm when we dig down deep into the trenches of intercession and plead our case before a just and sovereign God and remind Him of His promises. It is no longer a matter of the giant at the top of the hill taunting you, or the enemy who surrounds you on every side, but a matter of God's mighty hand resting above you and doing the very things that only our omnipotent God can do! Oh saints, there is glory in intercession. May you climb the mountain yet again to drink deeply and wage war...
Sunday, December 27
Life is Crazy but Life is Good
I have a beautiful family (dad, momma, 3 siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and so on)! I have an exceptional spiritually family! Then I have a God! There is no earthly words to describe Him.
So I have a good life but it's slightly crazy.
Right after this past Thanksgiving is when I really began thinking about this. During that time my cousin from Michigan came to visit. She and I are VERY different. From the very first day she got there we ran from place to place everyday. Between Nutcracker, House of Faith, Christmas at Old Fort Concho, and our many church services I, as well as the rest of my family, had little time for sit down ministry with my cousin. I began to notice how crazy and unexpected the life I live is. Then I realized that God did some pretty crazy and unexpected things too: saving only 8 people from a world-wide flood, speaking through a donkey, burning up not only an offering but the whole alter, stirring a virgins womb, sending flames of fire to hover over peoples' heads. HE created things to be like that.
After my cousin left, we had about a week or so of somewhat normal life (I'm not sure if thats even a possibility any more) when out of the blue a teenager and her baby end up living in our house. Wow, God, ok, so what now? I love them, really, alot, but that was so unexpected! Now my mind ponders this a little deeper. If everything God did was expected what would make HIM so great. Just a rough guess now, but probably 90% of the time, we as humans, are totally not unexpected. You usually guess what your best friend is about to say next. Or what our mom will say when you ask her if you can do something right after you got in trouble.
The point is I believe God blessed me with a crazy and unexpected life. Without it, life would be utterly boring! I love the life I live because it is a gift. I'm not promised another day, another hour, another breath, but there's God watching over me ready to give me a big bear hug when the craziness feels like too much for my flesh.
God you are so good. Thank you for the crazy life. It's the color in my black and white picture.
Jesus Mighty Jesus!
So I have a good life but it's slightly crazy.
Right after this past Thanksgiving is when I really began thinking about this. During that time my cousin from Michigan came to visit. She and I are VERY different. From the very first day she got there we ran from place to place everyday. Between Nutcracker, House of Faith, Christmas at Old Fort Concho, and our many church services I, as well as the rest of my family, had little time for sit down ministry with my cousin. I began to notice how crazy and unexpected the life I live is. Then I realized that God did some pretty crazy and unexpected things too: saving only 8 people from a world-wide flood, speaking through a donkey, burning up not only an offering but the whole alter, stirring a virgins womb, sending flames of fire to hover over peoples' heads. HE created things to be like that.
After my cousin left, we had about a week or so of somewhat normal life (I'm not sure if thats even a possibility any more) when out of the blue a teenager and her baby end up living in our house. Wow, God, ok, so what now? I love them, really, alot, but that was so unexpected! Now my mind ponders this a little deeper. If everything God did was expected what would make HIM so great. Just a rough guess now, but probably 90% of the time, we as humans, are totally not unexpected. You usually guess what your best friend is about to say next. Or what our mom will say when you ask her if you can do something right after you got in trouble.
The point is I believe God blessed me with a crazy and unexpected life. Without it, life would be utterly boring! I love the life I live because it is a gift. I'm not promised another day, another hour, another breath, but there's God watching over me ready to give me a big bear hug when the craziness feels like too much for my flesh.
God you are so good. Thank you for the crazy life. It's the color in my black and white picture.
Jesus Mighty Jesus!
Wednesday, December 23
Boxing Depot
For high quality Boxing Gifts, shop the web's #1 martial arts retailer, Boxingdepot.com. Save big with $2.95 shipping every day.
Thursday, December 17
Come!
Bells are ringing and hearts are singing, but the spirit yearns for more. Gifts are wrapped and trees are trimmed, but the soul is not satisfied. There is a longing that resonates beyond words deep within the reservoir of every human alive. It's a call unlike any other, for it's a commission from the highest ranking official ever, King Jesus. Can you hear it? The voice that sounds like many rushing waters is speaking your name. He calls out to you in the midst of the chaos and invites you to come. Do you hear Him?
Come and rest, all ye who are weary and heavy-laden. Come and drink deeply all ye who are thirsty. Come and eat all ye who hunger. Come and sit at the sweet feet that once bore the spikes pierced by love. Come and gaze upon the eyes of fire that never shut or grow dim or weary. Come away with me my beloved. Can you hear Him? Oh we sing of that call, we long for that kind of commissioning; "Oh come let us adore Him, come and worship Christ the King." Do you hear Him? Thus the beauty of Christmas unfolds before our flesh-laden eyes. And He tenderly speaks ever so loudly with a simple request: Come and just be.
When we cease to stop doing and simply be, worship overtakes our being. Absolute royalty, King Jesus, choosing to be born amidst the stench of a stable: May our praises rise as a fragrant love offering before you today O Lord. The pure and spotless One, slaughtered like a lamb for my sin, on a cross that bore no dignity or respect: May we lay down everything and not waste one precious drop of your blood Jesus. And the One who was beaten beyond recognition laid to rest in a tomb, risen and reigning victoriously over all the earth: May your glory King Jesus fill the earth like the waters fill the seas! Have your glory King of glory!
There is no other call I'd rather answer. Come away my beloved. Oh come let us adore Him. Let us worship Christ the King. Do you hear Him? Silence yourselves. Be still and know that He is God. He still calls. His love beckons us deeply. He still speaks. Do you hear Him? May the deepest yearnings of your heart be consumed by the presence of the One who invites you to come...
Come and rest, all ye who are weary and heavy-laden. Come and drink deeply all ye who are thirsty. Come and eat all ye who hunger. Come and sit at the sweet feet that once bore the spikes pierced by love. Come and gaze upon the eyes of fire that never shut or grow dim or weary. Come away with me my beloved. Can you hear Him? Oh we sing of that call, we long for that kind of commissioning; "Oh come let us adore Him, come and worship Christ the King." Do you hear Him? Thus the beauty of Christmas unfolds before our flesh-laden eyes. And He tenderly speaks ever so loudly with a simple request: Come and just be.
When we cease to stop doing and simply be, worship overtakes our being. Absolute royalty, King Jesus, choosing to be born amidst the stench of a stable: May our praises rise as a fragrant love offering before you today O Lord. The pure and spotless One, slaughtered like a lamb for my sin, on a cross that bore no dignity or respect: May we lay down everything and not waste one precious drop of your blood Jesus. And the One who was beaten beyond recognition laid to rest in a tomb, risen and reigning victoriously over all the earth: May your glory King Jesus fill the earth like the waters fill the seas! Have your glory King of glory!
There is no other call I'd rather answer. Come away my beloved. Oh come let us adore Him. Let us worship Christ the King. Do you hear Him? Silence yourselves. Be still and know that He is God. He still calls. His love beckons us deeply. He still speaks. Do you hear Him? May the deepest yearnings of your heart be consumed by the presence of the One who invites you to come...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)