This is something that I feel like I have to write out for myself. It’s become one of those things that I feel like if I share with all of you this deep revelation that I have, maybe I can sleep at night.
Let me just start out by saying that this weekend at the Encounter Retreat God moved in me. There was major shift in my spirit. I feel like the Lord revealed to me His character. I got to see a side of him that I never knew existed. Permanent change took place in me and I believe in some other people who were there as well. There was a deep revelation that was just stamped on my heart. It’s been hard to receive it (I’m not going to lie) but never the less it is the truth. Since I have been back from the Encounter I feel like I have been attacked. I am not surprised, our enemy would love for nothing more than to corrupt the revelation God gave me. I have pressed through and thought, what better way to stick it to him then to write it out on here and share it with all of you! So here we go.
When we FULLY receive Christ and all the work that he did for you on the cross, you then can realize that sin is no longer the truest thing about you. You are NOT your sin! God even tells us in his word, “I will put a new heart and put a new spirit in you” (Ezek 36:26). One of the biggest lies that I believe is being told in the church today is that we are nothing more than “sinners saved by grace.” We are SO much more than that. I don’t believe for a second that our loving Daddy God looks at us like that. We are new creations in Christ. I believe that when we have the break through and realize this it’s like God is reminded of when he FIRST created man and said that we were “VERY GOOD”. The crazy thing is, He already looked at us like that to begin with. We are just so complicated and we tend make things harder than what they are, we were too blind to see it! I mean the New Testament calls us saints, holy ones, and sons and daughters of the Most High God! We just need to understand that there is a war going on inside of us! I love how John Eldridge says it, but “it’s a civil war. The battle isn’t between us and God; no, there is a traitor within us who wars against out TRUE heart fighting alongside the Spirit of God in us.”
The Spirit of God is like a rushing wind, it clears the air, and it frees us up from a lifetime at the hands of sin and death. You who have welcomed him in, in whom he dwells…if the alive and present God who raised Jesus from the grave moves in you, he is faithful to do the same thing for you that he did for Jesus. When God breathes in you, you are delivered from the dead life. (Rom 8:2, 9-11)
The real you are on the same side as that powerful God, fighting against your false self. Knowing and understanding that will change your world. Ask God to give you vision to see things from his perspective. Walk in freedom and don’t look back!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Monday, January 31, 2011
The Assault
Have you ever found yourself filled with anxiety? Filled with worry? Or maybe even doubt or fear over something that is in the future, that when you think about it, you can’t control it anyway? Have you ever felt like the wounds of your past just won’t leave you alone? It feels like at times that your heart is under some sort of assault. That’s because it is!
The story of your life is the story of the long and brutal assault on your heart by the one who knows what you could be and fears it. Why does he attack our hearts? The Bible tells us in Proverbs 4:23 “Guard your heart, for from it flow the wellsprings of life. Our enemy wants to take your life! He wants for you to live in fear of the unknown. To live a life filled with worry and doubt, to live in fear period. He’ll even try to steal the focus of our hearts. Sometimes we might focus too much on our future. Or maybe he’ll bring up an old wound and try to make us believe that we really didn’t receive our healing. He is good at what he does! However, we serve a God that is more powerful than he is!!! Here is what the Lord says:
“I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.” Isa. 45:2-3
WE ARE AT WAR! Praise God that we have a High Priest, a Warrior, and a Good Shepherd in Jesus that does all he says he'll do.
In John 10:11-13, Jesus describes himself as the Good Shepherd. He also describes us as sheep. I love this description because it describes and compares us to sheep. Sheep in all honesty, is a defenseless and dumb animal at times. Not to say we are all dumb. But I will be the first to say that I have been guilty. My point to this is that without the Shepherd, they could never find their way! In that chapter he says that he WILL go before us and prepare a way. As our Shepherd he is also is our warrior and defender. When the wolves attack it’s the Shepherd that defends the flock. Jesus is our warrior, he fights on our behalf.
All that we have to do is follow his voice and do as he directs us. In the same chapter it says in verse 14-16 “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.”
Listen for his voice, he is calling to you. You are capable of hearing the voice of God! He is directing you through this unknown path called life. All you have to do is listen and obey his voice. He is FAITHFUL to take care of the rest! Just remember that you are valuable in the Kingdom of God. Otherwise, the enemy wouldn’t be wasting his time on you. YOU ARE A THREAT TO HIS END!
The story of your life is the story of the long and brutal assault on your heart by the one who knows what you could be and fears it. Why does he attack our hearts? The Bible tells us in Proverbs 4:23 “Guard your heart, for from it flow the wellsprings of life. Our enemy wants to take your life! He wants for you to live in fear of the unknown. To live a life filled with worry and doubt, to live in fear period. He’ll even try to steal the focus of our hearts. Sometimes we might focus too much on our future. Or maybe he’ll bring up an old wound and try to make us believe that we really didn’t receive our healing. He is good at what he does! However, we serve a God that is more powerful than he is!!! Here is what the Lord says:
“I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.” Isa. 45:2-3
WE ARE AT WAR! Praise God that we have a High Priest, a Warrior, and a Good Shepherd in Jesus that does all he says he'll do.
In John 10:11-13, Jesus describes himself as the Good Shepherd. He also describes us as sheep. I love this description because it describes and compares us to sheep. Sheep in all honesty, is a defenseless and dumb animal at times. Not to say we are all dumb. But I will be the first to say that I have been guilty. My point to this is that without the Shepherd, they could never find their way! In that chapter he says that he WILL go before us and prepare a way. As our Shepherd he is also is our warrior and defender. When the wolves attack it’s the Shepherd that defends the flock. Jesus is our warrior, he fights on our behalf.
All that we have to do is follow his voice and do as he directs us. In the same chapter it says in verse 14-16 “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.”
Listen for his voice, he is calling to you. You are capable of hearing the voice of God! He is directing you through this unknown path called life. All you have to do is listen and obey his voice. He is FAITHFUL to take care of the rest! Just remember that you are valuable in the Kingdom of God. Otherwise, the enemy wouldn’t be wasting his time on you. YOU ARE A THREAT TO HIS END!
Monday, January 24, 2011
A Heavenly Romance
My heart was really stirred this morning when I woke up. I read something a couple days ago from an email devotional that I get from an author named John Eldridge. It was talking about a sacred romance. It was a small short paragraph but it just intrigued me to the point of wanting to go deeper on the subject. So here I am, wanting to share this with all of you. Hoping that this will either help you or bless you as read what the Holy Spirit laid on my heart.
I am a very sensitive kind of guy. For a long time I hated how sensitive I was. I didn’t understand why 90% of the time I was in the presence of God I cried. Or why when I saw God moving in someone’s life or when I was praying for someone I would ALWAYS cry. It started to drive me nuts. Then, with a help of a very dear friend of mine, they helped me realize that as an artist I was naturally sensitive. But then with the Holy Spirit inside of me that just added to it. As a worship leader I have to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit in worship. Otherwise, I will lead people to myself instead of into the presence of God.
After reading this devotional, the Lord laid something else on my heart. He spoke to me that my sensitivity was not a design flaw. It was put there for a purpose. It was put there for intimacy with him. But it gave me an awakening like never before. I started to put all the dots together. Everything started to make sense.
I cherish and want the little things in life. There is a part of me that wants a beautiful wife and a family so bad at times. I desire it so much that I lose focus. Meaning, I get distracted. Now, please don’t get me wrong. I believe the Lord DOES want us to be married. There is nothing wrong with that! I am just saying that until we give our all to him (and I do mean ALL), we will always live with that feeling that we feel like we have missed something. We will never feel completion.
Our hearts were created by God for a sacred romance. We as individuals tend to feel the longing for intimacy, so we just give it away to anyone or anything that will take the time to love us even a tiny bit even if that means giving our whole hearts away to something or someone. This romance however goes deeper than we could ever imagine. It was designed by a jealous God, a God that won’t relent until he has it all. He is the creator of romance. He wrote the book. The Bible is a beautiful sacred romance love story where all of mankind is caught in the middle of it. Where a God who has it all desired to be near us, surround us, and be intimate with us that he gave his only son to have all of us. What a gift for a first date! He desires us. (Let that soak in for a minute) He longs for us. But our God is a gentleman. He will not force himself on anyone. He wants us to draw near out of pure surrender!
I believe the Lord knows that I want a wife and a family here on earth. But he also knows that the place that he has taken in my heart will NEVER go to anyone else but him. And I will never desire to take HIS place in the heart of another. I only wish to invest in it and watch it grow. That’s what he has called me to do as a man of God.
His love never fails, it never runs dry, and it will never abandon you. Give him your WHOLE heart! Rest in knowing that he will satisfy your soul! I promise!
I am a very sensitive kind of guy. For a long time I hated how sensitive I was. I didn’t understand why 90% of the time I was in the presence of God I cried. Or why when I saw God moving in someone’s life or when I was praying for someone I would ALWAYS cry. It started to drive me nuts. Then, with a help of a very dear friend of mine, they helped me realize that as an artist I was naturally sensitive. But then with the Holy Spirit inside of me that just added to it. As a worship leader I have to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit in worship. Otherwise, I will lead people to myself instead of into the presence of God.
After reading this devotional, the Lord laid something else on my heart. He spoke to me that my sensitivity was not a design flaw. It was put there for a purpose. It was put there for intimacy with him. But it gave me an awakening like never before. I started to put all the dots together. Everything started to make sense.
I cherish and want the little things in life. There is a part of me that wants a beautiful wife and a family so bad at times. I desire it so much that I lose focus. Meaning, I get distracted. Now, please don’t get me wrong. I believe the Lord DOES want us to be married. There is nothing wrong with that! I am just saying that until we give our all to him (and I do mean ALL), we will always live with that feeling that we feel like we have missed something. We will never feel completion.
Our hearts were created by God for a sacred romance. We as individuals tend to feel the longing for intimacy, so we just give it away to anyone or anything that will take the time to love us even a tiny bit even if that means giving our whole hearts away to something or someone. This romance however goes deeper than we could ever imagine. It was designed by a jealous God, a God that won’t relent until he has it all. He is the creator of romance. He wrote the book. The Bible is a beautiful sacred romance love story where all of mankind is caught in the middle of it. Where a God who has it all desired to be near us, surround us, and be intimate with us that he gave his only son to have all of us. What a gift for a first date! He desires us. (Let that soak in for a minute) He longs for us. But our God is a gentleman. He will not force himself on anyone. He wants us to draw near out of pure surrender!
I believe the Lord knows that I want a wife and a family here on earth. But he also knows that the place that he has taken in my heart will NEVER go to anyone else but him. And I will never desire to take HIS place in the heart of another. I only wish to invest in it and watch it grow. That’s what he has called me to do as a man of God.
His love never fails, it never runs dry, and it will never abandon you. Give him your WHOLE heart! Rest in knowing that he will satisfy your soul! I promise!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
