A Butterfly on a Rock

I like this picture.
Make your own analogies.
I have mine.


picture :
www.kestan.com

Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire

More on Cymbala's book.

We are like the church of Laodicia. In fact, we have so institutionalized Laodiceanism that we think lukewarm is normal. (OUCH {my word })

The early Christians began dynamically in power. They were unified, prayerful, filled with the Holy Spirit, going out to do God's work in God's way, and seeing results that glorified Him.

Then came the first attack. Jesus had warned that difficult days would come. When under attack, when facing a new challenge, in all seasons, in all times, call on the name of the Lord and He will help you.

The work of God can only be carried on by the power of God. The church is a spiritual organism fighting spiritual battles. Only spiritual power can make it function as God ordained.

When we get serious about drawing upon God's power, remarkable things will happen.

It is totally unbiblical to insinuate that people must travel to a particular church anywhere to receive what God has for them.

The name of Jesus, the power of His blood, and the prayer of faith have not lost their power over the centuries.

No church, should be measured by its attendance. What the disciples wanted was not numbers but an essential quality that would keep them being the church God intended. The Bible does not say we should aim at numbers but rather urges us faithfully to proclaim God's message in the boldness of the Holy Spirit. This will build God's church God's way.

Just as the Israelites were warned not to mingle with the Canaanite gods called Baal or Asherah, we must beware of a god in our time called Success. Bigger is not better if it comes at the expense of disowning the truth or grieving the Holy Spirit.

People have lowered the standards in a vain attempt to make churches look more successful than they really are. When He says to do His work in His way, we can be assured that He will produce His results for His glory.

A basic sign of revival is that the wind is allowed to blow where it will. We don't need technicians and church programmers, we need God.

photo by www.ptialaska.net

Fresh wind, Fresh Fire

Sharing Jim Cymbala's words.....because we could all use a dose of what he shares from what God has spoken through him.

"God is attracted to weakness. He can't resist those who humbly and honestly admit how desperately they need Him. Our weakness, in fact, makes room for His power.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of prayer. Only when we are full of the Spirit do we feel the need for God everywhere we turn.

The apostles had this instinct: When in trouble, pray. When intimidated, pray. When challenged, pray. When persecuted, pray.

The British Bible translator J.B. Phillips, after completing his work on this section of Scripture, could not help reflecting on what he had observed. In the 1955 preface to his first edition of Acts, he wrote:
It is impossible to spend serveral months in close study of the remarkable short book... without being profoundly stirred and, to be honest disturbed. The reader is stirred because he is seeing Christianity, the real thing, in action for the first time in human history. The newborn Church, as vulnerable as any human child, having neither money, influence nor power in the ordinary sense, is setting forth joyfully and courageously to win the pagan world for God through Christ... Yet we cannot help feeling disturbed as well as moved, for this surely is the Church as it was meant to be. It is vigorous and flexible, for these are the days before it ever became fat and short of breath through prosperity, or muscle-bound by overorganization. These men did not make 'acts of faith,' they really prayed. They did not hold conferences on psychosomatic medicine, they simply healed the sick. But if they were uncomplicated and naive by modern standards, we have ruefully to admit that they were open on the God-ward side in a way that is almost unknown today.

.....doesn't that stir your spirit......the secret of power in the early church, a secret that hasn't changed one bit in twenty centuries.

If a meeting doesn't end with people touching God, what kind of a meeting is it? We haven't really encountered God. We haven't met with the only One powerful and loving enough to change our lives.

Wherever there is pain, suffering, and desperation, Jesus is. "

More to come....

Today

God creates out of nothing.
Therefore until a man is nothing,
God can make nothing out of him. Martin Luther

.... I may not agree with this prayer in whole....but alas.... it touched me today.

A Puritan Prayer

Lord, High and Holy, meek and lowly.

Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,

where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights;

hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox

that the way down is the way up,

that to be low is to be high,

that the broken heart is the healed heart,

that the contrited spirit is the rejoicing spirit,

that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,

that to have nothing is to possess all,

that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,

that to give is to receive,

that the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,

and the deeper the wells the brighter Thy stars shine;

Let me find Thy light in my darkness,

Thy life in my death,

Thy joy in my sorrow,

Thy grace in my sin,

Thy riches in my poverty,

Thy glory in my valley.

The Kingdom's News

Well, I was reading a brother in Christ's blog this morning and if you are interested take a look at his bird-brained ideas .... (that is a joke) about believers and how passionate they can be....NOT! ( walkingchurch.blogspot.com )
Acquiring the new nature as I have understood.... I am a new creation and recognize my identity (exactly who I am in Christ) ... this is a done deal....but I am still embracing this truth. Along with this I believe that I have the mind of Christ..... I do not utilize it all the time...but He will prompt me ....give me understanding, discernment, compassion....etc...if I focus on Him. Many things will get in the way of this .... so many things that try to keep me from that passion...that new nature's desire to care for others as Christ calls me to....
In my humble opinion.....when that passion or concern or desire to share personal stories of faith...of what is happening in our lives...or in the lives of the saints and unbelievers around us...people are so focussed on themselves and on their own life situations, on their own relationship with Christ (and that is not always a bad thing :) ) ...critical and negative results follow...and coming alongside as He would do... is left so quickly and what happens...the passion gets sucked out of the passionate one.....like a balloon being released untied.... deflated...disappointment and unChristlike reactions occur. It is hard enough to get by in this world...full of those who do not share the Truth...with all the selfishness and greediness in all things...including welcoming others experiences into our own little box of a world... without finding this same response from our brothers and sisters in Christ. It is there, however, and it is rampant....yep, we know that He calls us to and moves within us to that agape love for others...and as with all things...we get in the way....our story is not shared....our focus on ourself is ignored or passed over.... and we become....sometimes....hurt and feel overlooked....even if it is not so obvious...we need to listen to others...we need to be able to share and be listened to... and in some ways this passionate and compassionate sharing ...and sharing of the wonderful and marvellous things that our Holy God is doing in our lives and in the lives of the Body of Christ around us is inhibited...squelched....smothered and others miss the blessing of hearing of the news of the King's Kingdom activities.
I like what Preston and Anabel Gillham said in a small booklet given to me by a saint of God that said.... "walking in the Spirit...or being under Christ's control is not an emotional or 'feeling' concept; it can be, but most of the time it is not. Walking in the Spirit, is something we choose to do and then set our mind on." So when we do this....we can share freely....or not if it doesn't work at the time... He will make it work if we continue to press on with Him in us and as He lives through us...but we also have within us the Ultimate Listener...the One who understands...the One who is all-compassionate and knows our hearts....He leads us to listen to each other and share....and put our thoughts aside. We seldom do this....we need to ...we need to hear each other and give each other time.... a commodity that is not easily had today. How effective is hearing and listening in God's economy.... it is everything....it is what sharing each other's burdens and joys and trials and victories is all about. So many more things I have running through my mind on this train of thought....but I will stop here and think some more on this....I will ask Him to bring some clarity and revelation to me on this....
I guess the truth of the matter is that there are few who hear His voice and follow His instruction as to how to treat others....and hear others and share....we are so detrimental to each other unless we truly act out of His prompting.....
So when my brother over there at walkingchurch....says
"Do we give a 'rat's *ss' or do we even have a pulse on Abba's Kingdom - meaning does this type of dialogue turn our cranks? Don't get me wrong. I am not trying to create a hotline. It bothers me. We claim to be passionate believers (active disciples) but our actions seem devoid of demonstrative dialogue and action."
I have to agree...and suggest that the reasons behind this lack of demonstrative dialogue and action is the same answer as in most things....our self-centeredness and lack of focus on Him...because if we were listening....you gotta think He would be directing us to have a pulse on His Kingdom, and coming alongside of and being passionate about the Holy Hotline of what He is doing in our fellow believers....the Body of the Beloved....and sharing what He is doing in ours....a dialogue that sometimes does not need our voice but our ears....His ears.
May He bring this forward in my life. To hear more than I speak....to come alongside the ones who are desperately trying to share...to find a brother or sister who willingly...with His prompting would listen and rejoice with or weep with them at a time when they need this most.
To be the Church.
Always in love....His love.

The prayer was lifted

Ok, so I was reviewing my prayer journal of late and found that prayer offered up for my son to get a job was answered. This picture represents thankfulness and just praising God, as together we prayed for some different things....some have come to pass....but this job has now come about and thought I would like to share that with those who visit. He started what looked like a part-time job a couple of weeks ago....and I in my hmmm doubting ways...thought ....yes but he needs to work more....guess what? His hours were increased this weekend and he will be working almost (36 hours) full-time hours. Praise God. He likes to remind me that He is totally in control of all things, and is very faithful to answer prayer in His way and in His time, despite me. Yea God and that is a mighty Amen from this thankful mom.

Hmmmmm

Not sure if this is sac-religious or not....but my teens and myself found it kind of funny. A parody.....obvious that if you like "The Message"..... you may not like this.... :)

http://www.stupidvideos.com/video/song_dance/stupid_rap/?c=&p=23&y=406

image courtesy of .... google images and http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/bible.gif

Exalting Him and His Word

So today I was amazed and astounded at the works of evil in this world. This world means my world today. My small little corner of this evil world has been tainted with something I find particularly disturbing. I was attending a training session for work.... not a Christ centered employer by any means...this is my main, full-time job and not my part-time job that is Christ centered, at least in my mind. Sitting comfortably around tables of 5 or 6 employees each, I hear an exclamation of most interesting flavour. A self-pronounced witch.....a studier of wiccan....very well-versed in the occult and very comfortable sharing her faith...or lack thereof.
She seemed by some so very much more acceptable than those of us who have a Christ-centered faith. I am secure in my identity in Jesus, but I tell you the look of this woman, this bewitched, lost child was a little unsettling. Not content in her belief....there is only contentment in Christ. Not happy....joy is in the Lord Jesus. Not at peace....her countenance was disturbing. Not in a good place....in a very angry and contrary state. The reality of this experience was an eye-opener....you see, I live in a little city and forces of darkness....I see now are very much at work here....more than I have ever seen...so open and flagrant....
The heart of Jesus went out to this woman from within me. I could see her discontent....I could feel the doubt, concern, sadness in her life.... only one answer here.... His grace...may He draw this haggard and bitter woman unto Himself.
I stand with Him, He in me and I in Him on holy ground all the time because He is in me....Jesus is alive and more than willing to bring her into the Kingdom of God if only she would ask. His Word, His Power, His Life stood there before her.....she shook Him off today....but I pray for her tonight. May she renounce the evil and embrace all that God is and freely gives to those who turn from their wicked ways.
2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Today

A funeral for an uncle today. I feel alone in my faith there. God is there. Christ is in me and through me and surrounding me. Paul Baloche shared that last night. May they see Him in me.

Dancing naked

Well, I found this little gem today while reading "The Barbarian Way" by McManus, a small unassuming book with some really good analogies of living life abandoned to Christ. Interestingly enough, it has a reference to 2 Samuel 6:21-22: "I will celebrate before the Lord, I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes." The study of these books in the Bible are turning out to be very cool. This was the unwavering answer of David to his wife Michal, when she rebuked him for his outward display of worship before God. He was naked and dancing before the Lord. Ok....so maybe we aren't to all go running around naked....but McManus suggests that we need to find the courage and freedom to be ourselves. We need to let ourselves become the unique individuals that God created us to be. Stop worrying about what everyone else thinks....in and out of the "church".
That thought thrills my soul!
I would add that Jesus is the courage and freedom within me. McManus also says that civilized people measure one another by their robes and signet rings....barbarians measure only heart and actions. They live naked before God and men, and not pretending they are something they are not.

Oh to be a barbarian!

picture from www.okaypants.com

This is the way it is....today

Ok, so I definitely am not patient, or perfect in and of myself....I have a case of my son is home for the summer from school and needs a big shot of motivation to get out there and get a job, or find Jesus ... one or the other would suit me fine.....just having a moment....

Lord, let Your patience show in me to him, and let Your perfection shine through the crevices of my imperfect soul. Strength in this journey comes only from You. Be my strength. Let me turn my thoughts on You when I so often let my thoughts jump into my mouth and out .... give me the words to speak in love to those around me... Let me trust in Your faithfulness and thank You for letting me have feelings and thoughts that are mine...only mine....but let me bring them to You where You will sort and redistribute according to Your thoughts and purpose. Thanks for accepting me when I so do not deserve that gracious gift. Thank You for the peace that is mine in Christ and always there when I need it.

Being The Church

Ok, so here's the thoughts I have about today. I attended a little different kind of church service today. Yep, it was us, as 'The Church' walking and talking and sharing our prayer requests and being....yep, just being in Him. Sharing thoughts, asking questions of each other with no condemnation, no judgements, no hidden agendas, and no lack of the love we have for each other in Christ. We met at a local park, discovered some beautiful trails with a lake and flowers and wildlife and just the sweetest communion with God, His saints and nature. See the thing that is so cool here is that we really don't know each other that well. Some of us, know one other or two or what have you...but the huge part of this particular day of blessing for me was that I probably shared more today with 'The Church' than I have ever shared with my regular church. I guess the Lord allowed us the freedom to be real, not perfect, but able to come alongside each other because of our bond in Christ. There was some tentativeness felt, I guess as I let the Lord lead me in this. Sometimes this is hard for me, because I get in the way of His gentle guidance so often....but today....He touched me and gave me assurance that this was a very good thing to have been a part of. I was moved to ask for prayer for my son, who needs Jesus in his life, and who needs a job this summer. I was moved to pray some unshared prayers as well, and I think this is ok. He was there, in us and amongst us. He heard them all.
This verse spoke to me last night and I shared it today. It makes my heart leap.

1 Samuel 16:7
But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

With Him living in and through me He is showing me how to do the same.

Longing

My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. Isaiah 26:9

When young people in love are apart, they long to be with each other again. When a parent is separated from his or her child, the parent misses the child intensely. When a spouse can no longer be with a long time marriage partner because of disease, death, or divorce, that person's soul can ache to be reunited to the one they have loved. I wonder does my spirit ache to be with God? Do I end each day and begin the next longing to be in the Presence of God? I want to recognize my God-hunger and not only satisfy it by spending time in His Presence, but also communicating my desires, affections, and thoughts to Him during these times of longing. He knows and He replaces these aches of the soul with Himself.
Father, I do ache sometimes even in Your Presence. I know the piece of my soul that sometimes I feel is missing is only found in You. Please, dear Father, let me remember that You are very real and present in my life today and every day. You fill me and replace that ache with Yourself. Thank You for that. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine; according to his power that be at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20,21

Thoughts based on a devotion from:
www.SearchGodsWord.org

Well, here's a thought

Replacing Numbness

Brennan Manning in his book The Importance of Being Foolish, writes: Consider how our churches have explored and exploited our need to replace the numbness in our lives with a passion for something, anything. We've created worship in which music is meant to stir the emotions but the soul is left unmoved, in which the words spoken are little more than manipulations of the heart. We have created cathartic experiences filled with weeping and dancing in the Spirit that leaves us with the sense that we have touched God but that fail to give us the sense that God has touched us. We run to churches where the message feels good and where we feel energized and uplifted - but never challenged or convicted. "It is not surprising that spiritual experiences are mushrooming all over the place and have become highly sought-after commercial items," writes Henri Nouwen. "Many people flock to places and persons who promise intensive experiences of togetherness, cathartic emotions of exhilaration and sweetness, and liberating sensations of rapture and ecstasy. In our desperate need for fulfillment and our restless search for the experience of divine intimacy, we are all too prone to construct our own spiritual events."


HOW DESPERATELY WE WANT TO FEEL..... I want only intimacy with Him by His Hand ...not mine...not others. I want my relationships with others to be the same....because of His workings and weavings...not mine. I look to You, Lord to help me with this because feeling seems so much better than trusting, sometimes.

picture www.arbre-de-lune.fr

So many books....

Neil Cole on "Organic Church" I think Organic Church is a book I want to pick up. Here are some quotes that are posted on the House Church blog.On Tranformation:Church attendance, however, is not the barometer of how Christianity is doing. Ultimately, transformation is the product of the Gospel. It is not enough to fill our churches; we must transform our world. Society and culture should change if the church has been truly effective. (Intro)The measure of the Church’s influence is found in society-on the streets, not in the pews. (Intro)It is not the local church that will change the world; it is Jesus. Attendance on Sundays does not transform lives; Jesus within their hearts is what changes people. (intro)On Reaching Others:Instead of bringing people to church so that we can then bring them to Christ, let’s bring Christ to people where they live. We may find that new church will grow out of such an enterprise, a church that is more centered in life and the workplace, where the Gospel is supposed to make a difference. What will happen if we plan the seed of the Kingdom of God in the places where life happens and where society is formed ? (intro)If you want to win this world to Christ, you are going to have to sit in the smoking section. That is where lost people are found and if you make them put their cigarette out to hear the message they will be thinking about only one thing: “When can I get another cigarette?” (intro)On the Core Message:Everything about church begins and ends with the single question: Who is Jesus to you? Jesus statement about the church has a context that begins with God’s grace revealing the identity of Jesus and ends with the work of Christ on the cross and His awesome resurrection three days later. Even if we get everything else right but skip this important question, we are not truly the church. Church begins with Jesus: who he is and what He has done. It is all about Jesus, and if it begins to be about something else, then it stops being the church as Jesus mean it to be. (7)On "The Church":“We want to lower the bar of how church is done and raise the bar of what it means to be a disciple.” If Church is simple enough that everyone can do it and is made up of people who take up their cross and follow Jesus at any cost, the result will be church that empower the common Christian to do the uncommon works of God. (27)The conventional church has become so complicated and difficult to pull off that only a rare person who is a professional can do it every week. Many people feel that to lower the bar of how church is done is close to blasphemous because the Church is Jesus' expression of the Kingdom on earth…This results in a passive church whose members come and act more like spectators than empowered agents of God’s kingdom. (27)Many a church continues long after the soul of the church has departed because the building itself keeps them going. A building can become an artificial life support system that keeps a church alive even though it died long ago. (37)When you imagine the amount of resources, energy and time invested in a service held only one day a week, it is remarkable. With all the importance placed on this event, you would expect there to be a lot of scriptural directives to make sure people get it right. But if you search all of the New Testament looking for the commands or injunctions having to do with this important weekly event, you will find them sadly missing. Instead you will find verses, chapters, and entire books that speak to how we are to live together as a spiritual family (40)We have come to understand Church as this: the presence of Jesus among His people called out as a spiritual family to pursue His mission on this planet. (53)

Again, my thoughts are it is nothing we are doing but Christ in us, but there are some great thoughts to ponder in this article if you are focusing on Him and doing "church". Life is church. We are His Body.

Prayer by Thomas Merton

Dear God: I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following Your will does not mean I am actually doing so. But I believe this. I believe that the desire to please You does in fact please You. I hope I have that desire in everything that I do. I hope I never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this, You will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it at the time. Therefore, I will trust You always for though I may seem to be lost, and in the shadow of death, I will not be afraid, because I know You will never leave me to face my troubles all alone. (Thomas Merton)

picture by www.christianartforyou.com

Disturbed

I came across this prayer from a brother in Christ. His blog is brokenstainedglass. Interesting guy and thoughts. It reminds me that when life is too comfortable, and too easy, when we aren't in a restless thought and process, we are either totally abiding in Christ or we are out of that place of "Divine Discontent". May I always be listening. May I be disturbed as He disturbs me.

"A prayer from Sir Francis Drake that I refer to in the book.
Disturb us, Lord
when we are too well pleased with ourselves;
when our dreams have come true because we dreamed too little
when we arrive safely because we sailed too close to the shore
Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess
we have lost our thirst for the Waters of Life;
having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity;
and in our efforts to build a new earth,
we have allowed our vision of the new heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly -
to venture on wider seas where storms will show your mastery;
where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars.
We ask you push back the horizons of our hopes,
and to push us in the future with strength, courage, hope and love. "

Filling the empty space

Widowed? Abandoned? Alone? Jesus will fill up that big empty space in your soul.

However......the world would say otherwise. Read this great advice????

(Know When You've Got it Good You made a list, you've dated some sexy singles, and finally one came along that fits the bill perfectly. So why can't you seem to fully enjoy the relationship? You have to let yourself trust again. It takes time, effort, and risk, but if you've found the one, the reward is worth it. Have faith that you've made the right decision. After all, ultimately the only person who knows what's best for you is... you. ) By MSN...news?

Riggghhht....maybe not!

pictures www.goes.org.uk
www.actingforum.org

Forgiveness

Well, I started listening to a series on forgiveness by Frank Friedman. This man will never know what his teaching on the life we live in Christ has done for my journey with the Lord. He is a man who speaks the Truth in love. He speaks Jesus.

He did this series a while ago, I think and I was just talking to a brother about this today. Here it is, on the radio. God is intervening in His most glorious way and shedding light into and on my life in Christ.

I can't do it. Forgive. My life is not my own. Jesus is a forgiver. I can' t, but I can through the cross of Jesus. I need to fix my eyes on Him.