Wanting to give up something for Lent this year or desire a more strict focus on Jesus as you head towards Easter season?
Why not give up your time to spend in His Word?
I used to give up Oreos in Middle School for lent…no joke ;) It was a sacrifice for me back then and likely prepped me for more food fasting later on.
While I absolutely believe in and do fast food, if you just fast without adding time with the Word of God and intentionally seeking His heart during a fast, it’s more like a diet;)
This past year I shared a message that I believe God dropped in my heart titled, “Give in or Give Up”. I spoke at a couple of young adults service in Kenya. It’s a lot like 3D for those of you connected to my home church in Tulsa :-)
The concept came from this scripture;
Those who try to hold on to their lives will give up true life. Those who give up their lives for me will hold on to true life. (Matthew 10:39 NCV)
We can either give in to the enemy’s plans for our lives, OR surrender ourselves to Jesus Christ and give up our lives for Him.
So what does this have to do with lent?
Whether or not you participate in this 40 day fasting ritual, there’s something to be said about going deeper with Jesus and learning to give up our lives for Him.
In the hour that we’re living, there’s certainly a constant need to surrender ourselves to the way of the cross and allowing Jesus to truly be Lord of our lives.
I think of the 21 Egyptian men who were just martyred for their faith in Jesus Christ in Libya and I recognize their life was not their own. Their lives weren’t taken from them, they willingly gave them up to Jesus long before the moment of their physical death.
We too are invited to submit ourselves to His way and to learn His heart.
I invite you to join me on this journey of “Giving Up” our lives to be more like Jesus during the 40 days of Lent.
I’ll be posting short devotionals of scripture and questions to guide us into a more intimate fellowship with His heart and His way for our lives. Let’s give up our time for something intentional–more of Him! :)
Feel free to comment or hashtag your comments with #giveup40
I am not one to use face make-up like foundation or concealer.
If anything I dust some light homemade bronzer on my face for a subtle glow. HOWEVER, I recently bought concealer a couple of weeks ago.
The reason for this is that for the past two years as I’ve had some complications mainly resulting from a car accident and international travel, I’ve had such poor sleep. It’s not that I CAN’T SLEEP, it’s that I have a bleeding kidney and other crazy things so I’m in the bathroom most of the night.
Truthfully I’ve not been very open about what I’ve been walking through because for the most part I look “fine” to the outside eye. It’s been a looooong long road and a few close friends know, but it’s hard to talk about and even writing this much is vulnerable.
I feel cold sweats writing this. Just kidding! :-P
I share this to say that most nights I sleep under 5 hours and sadly, I don’t have an adorable baby/toddler or a PHD for getting this amount of sleep.
I’ve had puffy eyes from the urinary issues and the concealer was a must-grab for the dark circles particularly on days when make-up is more necessary than other days.
That being said, here’s a recap of my morning yesterday…. We were in a town in Oklahoma at one of our supporting churches for a missions convention to help them raise funds for missions in 2015.
I was up all but 3 hours of the night.
Stephen had to speak at 2 morning services and he ingested food he was allergic to and sparing details, it was a fun night for both of us.
I dozed off finally for another 30 minutes before I had to leave for the 2nd, NOT the 1st service because I’m already that cool ;)
I was pushed for time and I had to pack up our hotel room.
It had poured all night and the freshly curled before bedtime hair was now a mess.
On went the concealer and eye make-up.
I went to curl my hair, dropped my curling iron and grabbed it…WITH MY HAND! If I didn’t have my lavender essential oil, I would’ve been in major pain, but I applied it quickly and then I tried to do something with my hair and ran out the door.
((Yes I brushed my teeth too—don’t worry! I lost my toothbrush in all of our traveling on Saturday, but grabbed one at the front desk the night before…actually Stephen did—my hero! ))
I was a hot mess walking out of this hotel and the wind was SO intense that all the attempts at making my hair look in any way decent are now gone…
…and honestly I was not in the best mood. I was trying to think of a worship song and nothing was coming to me. I had just had worship on in the hotel room, but my tired brain was now drawing a blank.
I ended up at a GOLF COURSE, NOT the church and had to drive a little further to get to church late. Awesome.
“Hi! I’m the Guest Speaker’s wife, late and distracting everyone as I make my way to the front row. Keep your eye on me because with my kidney issues, I WILL be distracting you more and going to the bathroom during service.” Sighs.
I took my place on the front row and thankfully worship was absolutely powerful. I immediately was grateful for the words to a song in front of me and my tired brain and I belted out singing SO loudly (and likely off key).
I didn’t want the enemy stealing my praise even after a hard night.
The Senior Pastor got up to pray for healing in the service and instructed people to press in with worship and focus on Jesus.
His wife, who was on the platform directing the choir leaned over and whispered into his ear.
He then called out for a gentleman by the name of “Mike” to come forward.
As Mike walked forward, his wife and a friend assisted him. He is fighting cancer and has been given a short amount of time to live.
A few gathered around him to pray and I darted across the sanctuary.
Compassion flooded my being and I began to weep over this man.
I saw his frail state.
I saw the pain in his eyes.
I felt a glimpse of the hurt he had been walking in.
More than that, I felt the love of God.
I stood adding my faith in agreement for his healing. My heart broke.
I knew my husband’s message would be good and I was expectant.
But I was distracted.
Distracted by the love and compassion that I felt over this stranger I’d never even had the privilege of meeting.
I am far from perfect and have some really rough days especially with crazy sleep, but I can’t hold back compassion. I’m thankful for God revealing His love and heart for others through difficult times.
You see while I might not share the details of my health journey with everyone, I’ve allowed God in to the details.
I’ve allowed His hope, His great love, and His compassion into my heart.
I’ve stood with close friends in desperate need of healing with a greater awareness of their suffering.
I’ve had some ugly things said and done to me during this journey from people who don’t understand what I’ve been walking through. And that has taught me even more so to be aware of what others might be walking through.
In the midst of all of this, I’ve felt God’s love through my suffering in a way I’ve never experienced.
It would be easy to shut down and not feel. It would be excusable to wallow in self-pity all day and not reach out to others.
With minimal sleep, there are so many excuses I could have for not partnering with God in this season.
The easy way would be to conceal what I’m going through and not allow God in.
I think of the song, “Let It Go” and how when the character Elsa is singing it, she looks down at her gloves and recites what her parents told her, “Conceal, don’t feel, don’t let them know….”
While the story line in the movie Frozen is a bit different from what I’m sharing here ;) , I think it’s very telling of where some of us find ourselves.
We conceal our feelings. We conceal our bad times. We shut down. We cut God out of the equation questioning Him and believing lies. We get angry and act from a place of hurt, rather than a place of love and compassion.
This is what the enemy would LOVE for our lives. He would LOVE for us to feel alone.
He fears us feeling the heart of God. He fears what would happen if we will allowed God to turn bad things around for good in our lives.
He wants us to suppress what we feel so that we will never move out of our comfort zones and minister to others with compassion.
And ultimately the enemy wants us to deny God and conceal the hope and confidence we’ve established in Him.
While concealer might be helpful for dark circles under our eyes on some days, it’s not fixing the dark circles. It’s only covering them up.
While we need healthy boundaries in our lives, we need to be an open book to the Lord and allow His purposes and love in our hearts even in difficult times.
There are “Mikes” out there waiting for your obedience to not conceal your love and zealousness for the Lord.
Take off the concealer and/or your Frozen hand gloves and step out and share the love of Christ with someone.
Please agree with me for Mike and his healing as well as peace and grace for his loved ones in this time :)
Yesterday I shared a quote that is constantly in my head thanks to my husband. “One life twill soon be passed, only what’s done for Christ will last.” -C.T. Studd
This quote helps me put things into perspective for 2015. While I hope to find better health, deepen relationships, spend our finances wisely, I want to be found more in love with Jesus more than all else.
Yesterday I talked about the importance of Prayer in the New Year. Speaking to Him and cultivating His heart to be used in and through our lives.
Today I want to talk about Reaching Others :)
2. Reaching Others
Sometimes the distractions of life keep us from focusing on God and on those around us. I can attest that walking through physical challenges and life adjustments can certainly cloud your responsiveness and interactions with others.
HOWEVER, as believers and Christ followers, we are here to serve others, not ourselves. Yes we need to take care of ourselves, set healthy boundaries so that we don’t burn out, but we need to be looking to serve and love others.
Let’s look at a few ideas of how to reach others with the love of Jesus in the New Year.
1. People who already know Jesus
Just because someone knows Jesus doesn’t mean that life is peachy ;)
Matter of fact these people need encouragement to keep the faith, seek Jesus and love Him rightly. It is in times of discouragement that they need their faith renewed.
Listen to what they aren’t saying. Just because they can keep it together in front of you or smile even in midst of trials doesn’t mean that they aren’t hurting and don’t need prayer.
Remind them of the word of God, include them in social gatherings, give small gifts or gestures of encouragements through the year to remind them that you’re there for them.
Sometimes the easiest thing we can do is to send a text saying, “I’m thinking of you–how are you?” We can’t change people’s lives for them, but we can be there for them in the good and bad days.
Make it a point to pray for your brothers and sisters in the Lord and love on them. We’re in this together! :)
2. People who don’t know Jesus
People who don’t know Jesus certainly need our love and patience. We can reach out to those who are without Him by doing more than smiling and being “polite”.
We can be sensitive during the day to listen to God’s voice over someone. Sometimes people are on the brink of very difficult days and one word from God or one act of His love would change their lives for eternity, not just change their day.
Be BOLD!
Don’t shrink back in intimidation or let the time constraints of your day keep you from reaching out. If you feel you should encourage someone and be there for them, do it! Jesus wants His heart made known.
If you have daily interactions with people who don’t know Jesus, begin to get to know them! Find out their struggles, hardships and victories. Celebrate and comfort them. Invite them to your local church or your home for holidays.
Some people just feel lonely and want to feel loved and accepted. We are Jesus’ hands and feet–invite them into your world!
Pray…implement yesterday’s post and pray for those you know to receive His love. Don’t take for granted your own salvation
3. The Nations
Of course being a missionary I couldn’t skip reaching out to the nations!!! :-)
You may not be able to GO to Madagascar or any other country for that matter in 2015, BUT you can be a part of what God is doing in the nations.
If your local church is not involved in global missions, I’d recommend connecting or partnering with missionaries you might know or someone your church might be connected to.
If your church is involved in missions, one of the easiest ways is to give finances! Your church is involved in going to certain countries, partnering with certain missionaries, or doing specific projects because they believe in them! Ask your pastor/missions pastor how you can get involved beyond finances.
From working in different missions offices I can tell you, there is always something to help with! Maybe you are creative and can think about how to better promote missions in your church? Maybe you can help assemble packets for a trip or help plan a missions banquet.
However God leads you to partner with His heart for the nations, I promise it will be one of the best investments in your life in 2015!!! There is a LOT of work to be done and people are His heart.
Reach out beyond yourself and encourage others with the love of Christ this year! You’ll be thankful at the end of 2015 that you purposed to start the year off focusing on His heart and growing in love with Him.
We are approaching a New Year…2015. Does anyone else feel weird seeing that number already?
I feel old…
There are SO MANY things that if I sat down and was my detailed planner self that I could think of to do/improve in 2015.
I’d LOVE to say I’m going to be that lady that gives up sugar and all sugar substitutes in 2015 and writes a blog about it all year, but let me be honest with you right now…I’m not that lady and this is not that blog ;) I don’t eat excess sugar, but I feel like I NEED dark chocolate occasionally…and my husband would likely agree that I NEED it too;)
While there are some thing that I am considering and praying about working on or towards in 2015. But foremost at the end of 2015, I want to say that I am more in love with the Man I said yes to than I am right now on December 30th, 2014.
The “man” I’m referring to is not my husband Stephen, although I want to love him more too ;) I’m referring to Jesus Christ.
One of my husband’s favorite quotes is by C.T. Studd and it says, “One life twill soon be passed, only what’s done for Christ will last.”
ONLY WHAT IS DONE FOR CHRIST WILL LAST…. hmmmm…
As I’m ending this year of 2014, I have to be honest with myself and ask, “Did I love and serve Jesus well this year?”
I’ve had a crazy year filled with all kinds of fun things like typhoid and surgery in Kenya that I’d like to not repeat. I’ve done many “good things” and things “in the Name of Jesus” or “for missions work”. But I have to ask myself, did I seek Him well? Did I love Him well? Did I let Him search my heart?
If I am honest, I could have sought Him more. I was often distracted by so many things in life, mainly health issues. But other things like stress, concerns of others, “things about Him” and “works for Him”, were in front of my, but seeking Him wasn’t always first and foremost. I’m not coming down on myself or condemning anyone else who is in my boat ;) BUT I am keeping this in mind to be intentional about seeking Him in 2015.
I want to know Him more.
I want to understand His heart more.
I want to hear Him rightly.
I want to hunger for His word.
I want to lose fear in His perfect love.
I want His love to be more perfected in and through my life.
How can I do this? How can WE do this?
Here are a few thoughts that I have for seeking Jesus in 2015. While I am a huge advocate for good health, healthy relationships, wisdom in fiancee etc., I believe if we don’t have Him in first place and priority, we are lost in things that eternally don’t matter and lost sight of what matters.
Many of us want things to change in our lives, but many of us aren’t willing to PRAY things to change in our life. To me, this is where I know I can always grow and be intentional in my relationship with Jesus.
1. Prayer
I’m not talking about boring religious or uncomfortable “prayer”. I’m talking about cultivating a relationship with the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit through speaking and listening.
What I tell people who are struggling with their prayer life to do is literally sit down with a cup of coffee like you would a friend or a counselor. Speak to Him and share your heart, ask Him questions, get to know Him. Sometimes it might feel awkward, but press through that.
Your prayer time might begin during a routine event you do everyday; like the coffee example, in the shower, blow drying your hair, your drive to work, sitting on the toilet (but seriously moms know…it’s sometimes the only quiet part of your day) :-P
Wherever/however it is or looks like, just begin it.
Do it everyday. Even if it’s while buttering your toast! Try these prayer tips;
1.Share your REAL and honest heart with Him
2.Ask Him questions and be ready to hear an answer
3.Make a prayer list if that helps. Use scriptures, personal requests for yourself and make sure to include praying for others and their prayer requests on this list.
4.Pray for the nations. A lot of people think “missions” is for those who feel called to live overseas, but I wouldn’t be willing to live overseas if I hadn’t first prayed for the nations.
Prayer is our way of being able to talk to God, hear His heart, and partner with His heart to make His word come alive in and through our lives.
My prayer is that in this new year, you would pray everyday and at the end of 2015, you’d know Him more through this aspect of your life.
Tomorrow I’ll share some thoughts on reaching others and giving of ourselves for Christ in 2015 :) Happy last day of 2014 tomorrow!!
“We know what it is to lose health and wealth and reputation, but what is the loss of all things compared with the loss of the soul?”-D. L. Moody.
I realize my title is a BIT morbid, but hang with me for a minute. If you haven’t heard, Brittany Maynard, a beautiful 29 year-old woman who is battling cancer with a stage 4 brain tumor is planning to end her life on November 1st. She is newlywed who recently moved to Oregon with her husband, mother, and step-father so that she could take advantage of the state’s “Death with Dignity Act”. This would allow Brittany to end her suffering by taking medications that will allow her to die from something other than suffering in pain from her brain tumor and the complications that would result.
“I don’t want to die but I am dying,” Maynard tells PEOPLE in a new interview. “My [cancer] is going to kill me, and it’s a terrible, terrible way to die. So to be able to die with my family with me, to have control over my own mind, which I would stand to lose – to go with dignity is less terrifying.”
While I have my opinions on this story, that is not the point of my blog. My heart absolutely aches for this girl and I’ve thought about her many times day and night and prayed for her this past week once I heard about her situation. I walked closely with my cousin, Tess who battled cancer for 7 years while we were kids. I remember the pain and the suffering that she faced and how hard it was for my aunt to walk through. It’s horrible and I can’t remotely comprehend having a brain tumor like Brittany so I’m not saying this to be insensitive, but I’d say that dying of a brain tumor is not the worst way that you can die.
A theme for some of our denomination’s missions work in Africa has been centered on this concept of “Lostness”. I wrote about it a little bit last year here. In short, there are many conditions in which a person can die particularly as we look at Africa. There are diseases like Ebola that are prominent in the news right now along with AIDS and other various diseases. There is extreme poverty and unsanitary and unsafe living conditions that many are faced with. However, even as horrible as any one of the above mentioned conditions are, the absolute worst condition for a person to die from is being separated from Jesus Christ.
What has deeply troubled me about Brittany’s story more than her terrifying medical diagnosis or her controversial decision to end her life, is a statement she made about her death.
“When my suffering becomes too great, I can say to all those I love, “I love you; come be by my side, and come say goodbye as I pass into whatever’s next.”-Brittany Maynard.
“Into whatever is next” indicates to me that she sees no hope for her eternal future. That she has no assurance that Jesus Christ is alive, that He died for her, and that she can spend eternity with Him. I realize that I am stepping on some toes here and some people will disagree with this blog, but that’s ok :-) While I don’t want to judge if she knows Jesus for certain, her words seem to indicate she doesn’t have an assurance. I pray that she does. I pray that if she doesn’t at this moment, that she will. I pray that before she dies from either medicine, brain tumor, or else, that she comes to a TRUE PEACE in her soul that can only come from salvation in Jesus Christ.
And I pray the same for all who are lost. All who don’t know Jesus are truly in the worst state possible. For those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior and live rightly for Him, there is an assurance of where we will step “into next”. We have a HOPE that this world and these present sufferings are not our home. That we will live forever with God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit in Heaven forever where there is no more tears or pain. One can die naked, one can die blind, one can die poor, or one can even die of a brain tumor, but if that person knows Him, they die in peace of spirit.
The worst way to die is not being naked, blind, poor, or even of a brain tumor or Ebola. The worst way to die is without the peace of knowing where we are going eternally.
Brittany Maynard thinks that the best way to die is as she stated above, with her loved ones nearby and peacefully in her sleep. She wants to be able to control the timing and forbid the horrors of what the tumor could do to her body. I think everyone if they thought about it would choose to die peacefully and surrounded by those we love. My cousin did this even though she was in great pain. Yet even if we were all assured that we wouldn’t be in pain when we die, that doesn’t assure us we will step into a pain-free peaceful eternity. If we are without Christ, our eternal life (which is FOREVER unlike our physical one) will be anything but pain-free and peaceful. Since we don’t know how, when, and where we will die, the best way to die is to know that you’ve made Jesus the Lord of your life.
Hebrews 9:27 says, “And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment”
For those who know Jesus, we will live eternally with Him after our physical death. There is a hope available to everyone no matter what we are faced with that we can call on Jesus and be born again in spirit.
If you are suffering right now, I pray healing over you reading this in every area; that physically your body would be healed, that your emotions would be healed, and that your mind would be at peace. I pray that no matter what you’re facing today, that you would know that there is HOPE in Jesus Christ. If you’ve never made Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, I invite you to pray this simple prayer;
Jesus, I acknowledge that I have sinned against You. I believe that You died for me, that You rose again, and that You are in Heaven. I want to live for You on this earth and live with You for all eternity. Be my Lord and my Savior. Fill me now with Your love, Your grace, and with Your Holy Spirit so that I can live for You. Thank You for saving me and filling me with hope.
Congratulations!!! You’ve now found the best way to die (again that sounds morbid, but who cares–you’re saved!!)
Revelation 21:14 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.
Romans 8:24-25 – For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
Titus 1:1-2 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies,promised before the ages began
When I read this blog recently titled “Stop Singing Oceans”, I honestly was bothered a bit by it. While I understand what the author (who clearly loves Jesus) intended to say by indicating we sing songs in worship that we don’t fully act upon, I must say that I have to disagree largely with her thoughts overall.
This blog is not a rebuttal necessarily, but merely a composed testimony of my experiences with worship songs. I wasn’t raised going to church, therefore I am coming at this from both sides of being unchurched and being a church attending gal ;-) .
When I truly met and encountered Jesus, I was wild for Him. In my wildness, I wasn’t mature and said and did things that reflected I was definitely a baby Christian. When I began my walk with the Lord, I didn’t know anything other than that I was so in love with Him. I would attend every possible church service that I could and I absolutely LOVED worship nights! I didn’t know that I could/couldn’t should/shouldn’t do this or that. And I certainly didn’t filter my songs to Him. I sang about surrendering my life when I was selfish and not very surrendered. I sang about only loving Him when really I had many other “loves”. My heart was in the right place though and I kept singing.
I still remember the first time I heard the song, “You Said”, while watching a mission’s video of Haiti at the church I got saved at. The lyrics gripped my heart as Rita Springer’s version of this song filled the footage of many broken lives in Haiti.
I cried and that was the first moment I felt called to the nations as a missionary
I became obsessed with the song and constantly sang with tears in my eyes, “You said “Ask and I’ll give the nations to you…” Oh Lord, that’s the cry of my heart…distant shores and the islands will see Your light…Oh Lord I ask for the nations”.
The truth is I had NO idea what I was praying or singing out literally, but I felt it so deep within my spirit. I didn’t know that in fact my first full-time missions assignment would be to live on the distant island of Madagascar some 12 years later.
Fast forward to 2007 when I wrote these lyrics on my mirror (in hot pink lipstick of course) “Heal my heart and make it clean. Open up my eyes to the things unseen. Show me how to love like you have loved me. Break my heart for what breaks yours. Everything I am for Your kingdom’s cause. As I walk from earth into eternity”. These lyrics are from a song called, “Hosanna”, by Hillsong.
I felt those lyrics so passionately in my spirit as I sang them out, but again how could I know the fullness of what I was praying? I’d cry as I prayed and meditated on those lyrics because the truth was, I wanted a healed heart that could understand His heart. I didn’t want to be hardened by the world around me and not be moved in compassion and love for others. I did not know what singing those lyrics would produce in me. When you sing words like that, you can expect opportunity to grow and mature.
Those words ended up launching me into a season of discovering the love of God like never before.
When Stephen and I were getting married, our church wedding coordinator was against us having live worship music for some reason. It was a battle I fought for because we wanted to set the tone of worship for our marriage. We weren’t merely pledging our love to one another, but we were doing so in commitment to the God we love and serve and we wanted to sing about it.
The opening song we sang was by John Thurlow and we sang, “The love that You (Father) have for Jesus. Put it inside of me. Burn it on my heart like a seal, like a seal. That in the famines of Your presence or in the floods of persecution, or in the comfort of the culture, it’s still real…I just want a heart that is fully in love.”
When I had first heard that song, I wrote the lyrics down and knew I wanted to sing it on my wedding day. Stephen and I chose to declare in front of God and all of the witnesses celebrating us that we would stand for Jesus no matter what comforts or what trials we would walk through in our marriage. We had said, “Yes” to Him as singles and we now committing to saying, “Yes” to Him as a married couple.
Little did we know the events that would follow just days after when I got incredibly ill on our honeymoon and then we got into a serious car wreck shortly thereafter. We didn’t know that our “yes” would be tested and tried and that we would spend the majority of our first two years of marriage in doctor’s offices and walking out many physically trying situations.
However even in the darkest and most trying times, our hearts still sing, “I just want a heart that is fully in love”. That song has comforted me more today than when I sung it on the happiest day of my life.
THEN came the time that I first heard the song, “Oceans” by Hillsong at a supporting church of ours that my husband was speaking at. I almost didn’t show up to the services that morning because I was so weak physically. The anointed worship leader and his wife sang this song out with the rest of the band and I let out an ugly cry (kind of like I did the night I met Stephen when he preached about missions ;-)). My spirit came alive and I was infused with this glorious empowerment in my spirit that revived my faith. I knew God was calling me out of comfort. I knew I couldn’t control what was happening to my physical body or anything else in my life, but I could trust in Him. I knew I was being asked to surrender it all. I sang out loudly and boldly. Second service came around and more ugly cries came forth. This song carried me in the following months of our move to Madagascar and it stands as a reminder to many to pray for us whenever they hear that song.
As challenges in life have come, I’ve stood on these lyrics I’ve mentioned above. I believe that God has met me in my places of singing to Him. I believe some lyrics open my heart to cry out to Him and depend on Him to grow and perfect my faith as I seek Him.
I realize that any worship song could be just “lip service” to God and that some people sing “Oceans” and don’t mean a lyric of it.
But what if one person means it? What if one person receives a call into missions because they sing it? What if one person gets freed from an addiction because of it? What if one couple decide to hold onto the covenant they made with one another because of hearing it? What if a brother or sister in Christ sings this to steady their faith in the midst of persecution? Is it worth singing it then??
Worship leaders, I’ll address you and say to you—PLEASE keep singing “Oceans”. You may have a redheaded girl who just needs to remember He’s never failed her and won’t now.
To the worshippers out there, I say to you– sing “Oceans” LOUDLY even if it’s off key ;-)
Maybe the problem is that you aren’t signing it enough! Maybe you just need to sing it more until it becomes so redundant in your head that it finally becomes a conscious thought. As you sing, realize God will honor your words and He will nudge you to step outside of the borders that you’ve erected for your faith. The song says, “there I find You in the mystery in oceans deep, my faith will stand.” You might just be surprised at where you’ll find Him in your everyday life and let’s be honest–everyone’s faith needs to be encouraged. EVERYONE certainly needs to know “I am Yours and You are mine”.
God NEVER says “Stop singing” anywhere in His word.
He loves for us to be free to worship Him and to live lives that reflect His glory and not our man-made statues and limitations. He doesn’t want us to be intimidated by singing songs because somehow we think that we’ll never be able to live extraordinary lives for Him.
If I had not prayed challenging prayers, I wouldn’t have grown in my faith. If I had not dreamed dreams that only God have placed within me, I would be living confined in my own comfort and plans. I certainly wouldn’t be a missionary or writing this blog.
There you have it…My opinion on singing bold and crazy lyrics. Lyrics that our minds may never fully comprehend, but ones that speak life to our spirits and dare us to move beyond our natural lives and into the supernatural ones that depend on a BIG God.
Oh and if you’ve never heard the song “Oceans”, do yourself a favor. Give it a listen.
Today I watched a friend of ours push his little girl on a swing. She was secured inside those bucket type swings with holes for their legs. Her dad would pull the swing up to him and hold it in the air while she anticipated him letting go. Once he let go, she’d say something adorable through her smiles like, “I-Swinging!!”. Whenever Stephen or I tried to give her a push so that she wouldn’t loose momentum, she would say, “No! Off!” or “Daddy! Daddy!” While my heart broke a little at being rejected (only kidding), I thought her trust in her Daddy was adorable and I sort of envied her faith in him. As long as her Daddy was around, she was very secure and content. She trusted that when He let go, that His hands would be there to keep pushing her on that swing.
Sometimes I try to take things into my own hands. I don’t like being out of my comfort zone and when God pulls me out from those securities, I often freeze. I’m like my friend’s daughter up high in the air, not really sure what will happen next. I don’t want my Father letting go because of all the “what ifs” and the “fear of the unknown”. Yet it’s often in the letting go, that I gain momentum from what He’s doing in my life to soar in a new strength. He never leaves my side and is there for the continual push in the right direction as I need it, but He doesn’t hold me with a tight fist. Instead He empowers me to walk out what He’s placed in me. He lets go and watches my life. He sees the joy that comes over my face and the safety I feel of being found in His grace.
Life with Him is a little bit like a swing. Up and down, up and down in the rhythms of grace. Sometimes we’re going really high and fast and love the thrill, and other times we’ve kicked our feet on the ground and need a gentle push to get going again. Whatever season we find ourselves in, when we call on His name, He’s there to intervene and lift us back up again.
Last night I had an all night sleepover in the ER. Loads of fun I assure you ;-) ! In the process of being admitted and everything, there were several staff members whom we interacted with. Often I hear people refer to Christians who have a calling to full-time ministry to mean only those who are in occupational ministry such as pastors and missionaries. The reality is that all Christians have a calling to full-time show the love of Christ by ministering to other no matter what pays their bills.
Last night as I was in the hospital I ran into a very mean nurse. I’m not one to quickly say people are mean, but even though I was in intense pain, I greeted her with a smile and was friendly she was very rude. She even made me cry probably because I was already in pain and her remarks added stress. When she left the room, I looked at Stephen and said that I wanted to leave. There’s been such crazy on going health challenges that I’ve had to face and I didn’t want her to add stress to everything. About an hour went by from when she left and I was dreading having her come back into the room.
Fortunately a tall male nurse came in instead. He spoke in a soft tone (which is ENTIRELY appropriate for 3 am unlike the other lady!) and he began to encourage me to do some of the additional tests the doctors deemed necessary even though I’d be there several more hours. He persuaded me in several other areas and brought me a warm blanket, which I hadn’t been offered in my nearly 5 hours there when I was shaking so intensely. From his gentle entrance to the hospital room to his pleasant tone of voice, peace filled my room and my being and my tears stopped.
As he left the room, Stephen said to me, “he’s a Christian”. I was a bit out of it and asked, “Are you sure?” When this nurse named Tony came back into the room to draw my blood and start an IV, he asked us questions and once he found out we were missionaries, he began sharing more direct encouragement from the Lord. I smiled and looked at Stephen once he exited and said, “You’re right!”
We never saw Tony again, but we only saw the mean nurse one more time who came in huffing and puffing, complaining, and treated me very poorly. At this point I’d encountered another kind nurse who was a single mom so I had enough tolerance for this clearly not so happy nurse. I still smiled and was as kind to her as I could be at 6 am after being awake hooked to machines all night lol.
I’m not saying that we aren’t allowed to have bad days and that every nurse working in an ER should be overly happy and chipper. I can’t even imagine what they deal with on a day-to-day not to mention with the night shift drama. However it was apparent how bright one nurse shined against the other. It was obvious that one possessed a relationship with Jesus Christ and while I can’t properly assess where the other person was with the Lord, it surely wasn’t evident if she knew Him.
You might not be working in an ER where people are in great physical pain, but you are interacting with people daily who are hurting and need the love of Jesus. I love Jesus with all my heart and am a missionary, however I definitely need the kindness of the Lord through others. I’m ALWAYS in need of more of Jesus and His presence manifesting through those around me. When Tony entered the room last night, everything changed and I had the peace that I needed to hear God’s voice even in a difficult moment.
Shine where you are! Be the light of Christ in your jobs, your families, and to all whom you meet. You don’t have to be ordained, have a Christian degree, or working for a ministry to minister! You never know the pain that someone might be facing on any level and one word or gesture from you could be the difference between them knowing Jesus or rejecting Him. It doesn’t take a lot to show the love of Christ to someone. Step out and minister to people around you. I found Jesus in the ER last night and he looked like a man in scrubs being kind and encouraging in a difficult moment. Be Jesus to all you meet today!
I used to have a rule when I team lead missions trip that went something like, “don’t state the obvious”. This meant you will likely be tired, hot, cold, thirsty, hungry, and any combination of those at any given point on the trip. There will probably be crazy smells, lots of traffic, and unexpected things everyday. I didn’t want team members to stand there and complain about the obvious.
It’s easy to adapt this mentality on a 1-3 week concentrated trip where you are out of your element and serving people in a foreign country. It’s NOT as easy to adapt a mentality like this or better on a day-to-day basis. We get impatient. Something frustrates us. We have the ability to cater circumstances to fit our needs and preferences and so we complain when things don’t go as we like. I’m GUILTY!
When I was on a dance team years ago, we had Philippians 2:14-15 on our shirts and it read, “ Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world”. I remember feeling great conviction from this scripture and while I would complain all the time in my heart, that scripture always went through my mind and it made me feel accountable.
While we all may not wear a T-shirt as a daily reminder not to complain, we should meditate on this verse and take inventory of when we are dissatisfied. The verse above states that by not complaining we are able to shine like stars in the midst of darkness and perverse situations in this generation. Are there dark and perverse things around you? Do you want the light of Christ to shine through your life into those places? Then don’t complain about everything and don’t dispute or argue over things that don’t matter eternally.
When Jesus came to the Earth He didn’t get into silly arguments with the Pharisees. He answered them in the spirit of wisdom and stayed true to His Father’s words. He might not have pleased men at times by what He said and did, but He wasn’t complaining. I feel if anyone had a right to complain it was Jesus. I think about the “mess” we’ve made as humans and the times we’ve broken His heart with our sin and rebellion. Even as He stood to be judged and accused on behalf of OUR sin, He kept silent. In all of His innocence He didn’t speak in complaint and accusations.
I believe we can learn to transform our behavior in the area of complaining so that we begin to reflect Jesus to the world around us. When the children of God complained in the Bible, it caused them to wander from the faith of what God had spoken to them. If we are to shine and reflect His purposes for our lives, we must keep a thankful heart and walk forward in what He has for us.
I could easily have a job being a critic. I’m a critical thinker who likes to think through thinks and make improvements. If there was a field like movies or food that I had expertise in, I’d have no problem detecting how improvements could be made and point out the flaws in a given presentation. I believe part of my natural tendency to critique is of The Lord when governed by His spirit. I believe this to be true because Holy Spirit produces excellence in us which is only truly possible by submission to Him. However if not led by the Holy Spirit, a critical spirit can actually shut down our ability to hear from God and to cooperate with His spirit. This is an area where I’ve continual struggled particularly as I’ve seen the good, the bad, the great, and the ugly in ministry.
No one is perfect no matter who they are and how well they might do something. Everyone is flawed because we are human. There is no exception for anyone even those in ministry. While many called into occupational ministry might be really great people, they can never be perfect because they too are humans in constant need of the Perfect One, Jesus. When we have expectations that people or organizations particularly in ministry should be perfect, we will always find inadequacies.
As believers we are to rightly test every spirit. “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.”-I Thessalonians 5:19-22. “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”-I John 4:1. I list these scriptures because I don’t want anyone to think that we are just to accept and endorse any teaching we hear. We need to make sure the word of God is not only being taught with integrity, but lived out rightly as well.
While we do need to make sure we are listening to sound doctrine, we don’t need to openly criticize, exploit and mock people. There is no fruit of the Spirit that results in this and it furthers hurts the testimony of Jesus. I have often been disgusted at times with the amount of arguments and critical things Christians post back and forth on Facebook particularly against other Christians. I wonder what it looks like to those who aren’t Christians to see those who claim to know Jesus being so critical of those in the “same way of life”. I wonder if those outside the Body of Christ feel as if they were to step into a church that they too would be criticized with whatever they might be walking through. If we are so critical of “our own”, how could we ever accept them in their struggles particularly when they know they are in sin?
I’m not making excuses for what the word of God says as it is very clear on defining sin. I can’t excuse someone from sin as it was never a standard set by man. The fact is that men did not write the Bible and if people are preaching from the Bible and it offends people, then the arguments need to be directed towards God as He is the author. However there is a way to communicate the truth of His word in love and in a way that is not critical of others. It’s the goodness of God that leads men to repentance, not critics. God can not be with sin because He is without sin, not because He wants to be mean and exclusive. Sometimes this is how we make Him appear to those who don’t know Him by having a critical attitude.
As believers we must realize that a critical spirit is of the enemy and it hinders us from hearing rightly from God. Satan wasn’t satisfied with his position that God had given him in heaven at the beginning of creation and he wanted to be like God and have more power. Perhaps he thought that he could do things better than God. Maybe he would have changed the way the angels worshiped to look to him more. Whatever his reasoning, he was critical of what God has created and now is eternally damned and unable to worship God.
When we give into a critical spirit and find continual fault in things, we are operating selfishly and saying our opinion is the only right opinion. Again I am not referring to standing by the standards of God’s word, but to a critical mindset. If we believe we are the only ones right and find fault with other things, we position ourselves to not hear His voice and His opinion.
There are many in the world who are critical of the church and if we in the church take the same position as they, how are we supposed to reach them with the love of God? We will continue to see God do amazing things that only He can do and unfortunately we will continue to see ourselves and others at times fall prey to being critical and not reflecting Him well. It’s in the moments where we are tempted to critique and to fault find that we need the help of the Holy Spirit. We need to invite Him in to show us His heart and His opinion. In moving forward He might lead us to pray for that pastor, that elder, that fellow church friend in our private times rather than remain critical of them.
If we don’t take care to eradicate a critical spirit from our lives, it will carry over to how we see God. Let’s pray for God to make us aware of when we are cooperating with being critical and ask Him to help us extend grace, mercy, and restoration.
Are you one who continually looks for faults in people or in a church service? Do you quietly rejoice with a “I knew it” mentality when other people particularly Christians make mistakes? Do you hold on to offenses and project them onto other people and scenarios? Are there stumbling blocks of prejudices in your heart that cause you to be critical? How is your life being reflected before non-Christians? Does it reflect a critical attitude about God or the church to them?
