The wanting...

I just finished Shadow of the Almighty by Elizabeth Elliot the other day. Close to the end, I read this quote. Jim wrote this about one of my favorite verses in his journal just after he and Elizabeth got married...it was finally God's timing for them. It only confirmed what the Lord had spoken to my heart a while back here.

"Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalms 37:4

"It does not say He will give you what you want. It does say He will give you the want. Delight in Christ brings desire for Christ. He gives the heart its desires - that is, He works in us the willing. (Philippians 2:13). This is why He can say in John 15:7 'Ye shall ask what ye will...if ye abide.' The branch takes its sap from the vine, the same surges the vine feels then become the surges of the branch. My will becomes His, and I can ask what I will, if I delight myself in Him. Only then can my desire be attained, when it is His desire." (Jim Elliot)

In the last few months I have found that God has given me these desires. I know they are from Him and I know they are His leading. It's been pretty neat to look back and see that He has given me the want for different things. I have done things I never would have done, I want things I'd never want on my own, and I am in a place that I never thought I'd ever be. I only pray that He changes my desires even more, so that all of my desires become His desires.

I just thought I'd share that with you guys. It blessed me and I hope it blesses you too. :)

learning simple things

The pulse of worship becomes more intense with every line.

Hands raised.

Hearts open.

Over a thousand people sing out an anthem of praise.

We draw near to God.

God draws near to us.

It's so beautiful that would draw near to each one of us. As I sat in the back of the auditorium after worship, I was blown away by this thought: At the same time God was speaking to my heart, He was also speaking to so many others in the room. He speaks to each of us individually. Though hearing the same message and singing the same songs, He sees the hearts of all and has a different plan for everyone. The Spirit is vast. Just thinking about all that He was doing in that room (not to mention the rest of the world) absolutely astounded me. What knowledge! What power! What a great God.

And yet we live as if He is small.

We hear His voice and then forget what He said. We worship Him and live our own lives. We don't remember that the Bible is truly the Word of God. We fail to take the time to come before Him in awe of His majesty. Often you hear people talk about "going deeper" with God. What if we just grasped the simple things? Things like "God is love", and that we were once dead and now made alive in Christ. What if we really learned to pray and worship? What if we learned how to love? I am seeing that I know less about God than I ever have. Just the fact that He speaks to everyone at the same time, on an individual and personal level makes me want to worship. It makes me want to know my God even more.

Hands raised.

Heart open.

My heart singing out an anthem of praise.

When we draw near to God.

God draws near to us. All of us.

For now, I am just coming to Him as a child. I know nothing of His ways and I just want Him to teach me the simple things...for He has more depth than I can even fathom.

It is better...

{Photos via weheartit. I thought they were beautiful.}

"Better to love God and die unknown than to love the world and be a hero; better to be content with poverty than to die a slave to wealth; better to have taken some risks and lost than to have done nothing and succeeded at it."

-Erwin Lutzer, Pastor of Moody Church

There's not much I can add to a statement like that. It sums up my hopes for this life on earth.

I want to live free from slavery to the things of this world.

I long to be so content with loving God that nothing else matters.

I desire to attempt much for God, regardless of the outcome.

Sometimes I wonder if I will really live like that. I fear a wasted life. But you know what? I can't live like that...not without the power of God working in me. I need His Spirit to do in me what I cannot. He is the God of the impossible and He promises to show His power in our weakness.

Thus, I give Him my love, my possesions and all that I do. All things are in His hands.

Justice & Mercy

Have you ever had something pop into your head and you really have no idea where it came from? It's happened to me quite a bit lately. The other day I was getting ready to head to lunch when this thought came to me:

What if I was more aware of the needs around me? What if there was a way to get a lot of people connected and united with the mission to make a difference in our world for the Kingdom? What if I started such a project? How can I help others to help others?

Ideas started flooding my mind. Where did they come from? Sometimes I have a hard time differentiating my dreams from inspiration from the Holy Spirit. I wonder, what is the difference? God has been doing some crazy things in my heart as of late. I almost fear becoming a radical. What will this mean for my life? What will he call me to do? I'm not sure what God is going to do, but I am ready to find out!

I don't know about you all, but I'd love to do more to help people. My problem is that I'm not sure of where to start. Simply giving money to the church and expecting the ministers to impact the world just isn't good enough for me. I want to be a part. I want to make a difference for Christ in this world.

I want to love justice and mercy.

What good is my worship of the Savior if I have no love for the lost, the needy, the broken, the widows and orphans? How can I say that I serve Jesus Christ and NOT reach out to them?

I have a vision.

I see our generation rising up as the Bride of Christ. We can be more unified now than ever before. We have so many things to our advantage. I see this generation leaving behind the comforts of our culture and using our resources to reach this world. I see us rising up to proclaim the glory of Jesus Christ, showing the world that He is worthy by giving up everything for Him. I see the Spirit move in power among us. I hear us proclaiming, "Jesus, we are here for You!" And oh, how I yearn to witness it all come to pass.

This video rocked my world. God has been speaking these very same things to my heart. This was confirmation. Please, take a moment to watch it. I'm not sure about everything he says, but the principle behind this video is worth seeing.

So, this is your invitation. Come and join the revolution. Come and make a difference. I don't know how it will all happen, but I'm giving everything I've got for this purpose - the glory of God, no matter the cost. O grace of God, let me not stay the same. Take hold of me. Consume me.

"If anyone  has material possessions and sees a brother in needy but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with workds or speech but with actions and in truth." (1 John 3:17-18)

Flame of Fire

"He makes His ministers a flame of fire. Am I ignitable? God deliver me from the dreaded asbestos of 'other things.' Saturate me with the oil of the Spirit that I may be aflame. But flame is transient, often short-lived. Canst thou bear this, my soul - a short life? In me there dwells the Spirit of the Great Short-Lived, whose zeal for God's house consumed Him. And He has promised baptism with the Spirit and with Fire. 'Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.'" (Jim Elliot)

In reading "Shadow of the Almighty" about the life of Jim Elliot, I have been struck by the flame of passion that exuded every part of his life. He was indeed consumed with Christ. And he sought to live as Jesus did - for the glory of God. I love reading Jim's prayers. They are bursting with fervor and intensity. I have most definitely been challenged to let go of the 'other things' in my life that are distracting me from my knees, from desperation for God to move in me, and from soaking myself in the Word of God.

This is my prayer and my song as of late:

Here & Now 

Come and consume us

We are the offering

Gladly we lay down

Our lives before the King

Life is but a moment

In all eternity

May it be used up

For Your glory

So come with fire

Come with fire

So come with fire

We pray

Here and Now

We offer up our lives

As a living sacrifice

In worship to You God

For You are

The only righteous Lamb

Slain for the sins of man

So we worship You God

Here and now

Lord we are willing

To burn if you should choose

Nothing we hold back

It is our gain to lose

We choose surrender

A life with You as Lord

Here we are waiting

O Spirit, be outpoured

So come with fire

Come with fire

So come with fire

We pray

Here and Now

We offer up our lives

As a living sacrifice

In worship to You God

For You are

The only righteous Lamb

Slain for the sins of man

So we worship You God

Here and now

More Clearly

Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Blogging, Websites, Video chat...and the list goes on.

Social networking has become a part of our daily lives. Our lives are shared online and we "know" more about each other and are more "connected" than ever before. But do we really know each other? Sometimes it scares me. Who am I really? Who am I portraying? How am I perceived?

These are are the questions that have been on my mind lately. If my goal and my desire is to reflect Christ, I cannot separate my faith from my "networking." It is so easy to create this wonderful me, when in reality I am not perfect. I mess up. I struggle. Not that I do this intentionally; it's just something that I've been made more aware of lately.

Is the cross central to the "me" online?

I have to admit that I like to be liked, admired and respected by those around me. Accolade is appealing. But is that what I should be seeking, unintentionally or otherwise? I'm afraid not.

I love the contrast in Philippians drawn from Paul's life and the life of Christ. In chapter 3, Paul describes all his accomplishments, how he "climbed the ladder" per se and achieved a high status with those around him. You could say he was the man. I'm sure the younger Jewish boys thought, "I'd love to be like Saul!" (His name was Saul at that time.) It wasn't that they were bad things. I mean, he had much of the scripture memorized, he followed the law and he was a very religious person. But after he came to Christ, he said it was all loss? Yeah, all of it was loss to him...like dung.

In the previous chapter, he shows how Christ did just the opposite of climbing up.

"Have this mind among yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus, who though He was in the form of God, did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking on the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:5-11)

Christ lowered Himself through every step of life. He wasn't someone you wanted your kids to aspire to be like. For example, take the time He washed the disciples feet at the last supper. Washing someone else's dirty feet was considered one of the most extremely demeaning tasks that anyone could perform. It was reserved for slaves. No wonder Peter protested so much! Jesus did that! He was constantly taking the lesser place, going lower and lower until he died the most shameful death anyone could imagine. It was total humiliation.

And this is my Master, my role model.

Do I look like Him, or more like Paul when he was climbing the religious ladder?

All I can say is that I am so thankful for God's grace. It disgusts me to think of how full of myself I am sometimes...a lot of times. I am so glad I have a merciful and patient Savior that doesn't give up on teaching me humility! I hope that He may be seen, in every aspect of my life - including online, more clearly.

In a world of self-promotion

With everything in the public eye

We put our best face forward

But in reality, who am I?

I can create a fine persona

Of who I really want to be

But in the darkness of the night

I know what truly lies in me

Show me how desperately I need You

LORD, expose me completely

Let me see what I really am

So that I may see you more clearly

In Your light we see light

So shine on all the parts of me

You are the only One who is worthy

So in me, may You be seen more clearly

There is nothing good in me

So write Your words upon my heart

How easily my mind wanders

So fill up my every thought

My days are meaningless

Without Your purpose driving me

I don’t know what step to take

Without Your Spirit to help me see

Show me how desperately I need You

LORD, expose me completely

Let me see what I really am

So that I may see you more clearly

In Your light we see light

So shine on all the parts of me

You are the only One who is worthy

So in me, may You be seen more clearly

Where the Spirit of the Lord is

This is a generation that longs for purpose in life.

After seeing our parents work the "9 to 5" just to pay the bills and feed the family, we think that there's got to be more to life than what lies behind a cubicle. I know I do.

We are dreamers. And our dreams are huge. My dream is to be part of something bigger than myself...I have so many passions that I long to put to use to make a difference.

But dreaming isn't enough. Dreaming doesn't change the world.

Do you yearn for purpose in life? Do you want to spend every single breath here on earth living with passion? I am convinced that my generation is fed up with living in the "status quo." We are tired (I am tired) of doing and seeing things in every aspect of life (our culture, church, work, relationships and so on) as they have been done and percieved. We're not afraid to go against the flow, but not really sure how we should go about it. In talking with Christ-followers close to my age, I see that we're not sure how the "day in and day out" should intertwine with our dreams...but we do know that God does have a specific purpose for our lives.

We are ready for CHANGE!

How do we become a force for good in the world? How do we know the will of God for our lives? How do we change the world? I am seeing more and more that is is something to be sought after in the Spirit, and that His Spirit must be in control of our lives if we want to impact the world for the glory of God.

I read this the other day:

"John answered, 'A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given to him from heaven.' " - John 3:27

There is so much truth in that statement.

God's thoughts belong to the world of the spirit, man's to the world of intellect. Though the world of the spirit can embrace intellect, the human way of thinking can never comprehend the spirit. Man's thoughts can't cross over into God's. As spoken through the prophet Isaiah, God says, "My thoughts are not your thoughts and my ways are not your ways. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts."

I cannot know the will of God, or anything apart from simply knowing about Him, in my natural self.

"For a man to understand revealed truth requires an act of God equal to the original act wich inspired the text." - A. W. Tozer

I need His Spirit in my life. I can't seem get these verses out of my head lately:

 ⁶Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. ⁷But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. ⁸None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ⁹But, as it is written,

  "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
   nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him"—  

 ¹⁰these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. ¹¹For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹²Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. ¹³And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
 ¹⁴The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. ¹⁶"For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ."

- 1 Corinthians 2:6-16

I can't tell you how living with passion and purpose will look in my life, but I can tell you that I am seeking it. My endevor is to put all else aside, pursue Christ, surrender to His Spirit, search His Word and to obey what He tells me. That has purpose. And I am convinced that as I seek Him, He will be faithful to show me His will for my life...for everyday. I know that where the Spirit of the Lord resides there is boldness, freedom, power and so much more. I hope to become more intimately aquainted with as Francis Chan calls Him, "The Forgotten God." I want to learn more. I need to know more.

I hope that this will be true in me:

 

"Where Christ is glorified, He (meaning the Spirit) will move about freely, pleased and at home." - A. W. Tozer

Have you guys seen this in our generation? Is a great shift comming? Comments are welcome!