That's What You Are

There's a song we sing at church, called You Are God Alone:
Unchangeable, Unshakeable, Unstoppable
That's what you are.


You are God alone, from before time began,
You were on your throne,
You are God alone,
And right now,
In the good times and bad,
You were on your throne ,
You are God alone.

Those aren't just lyrics, those are biblical standards.  "Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth."  2 Kings 19:15

So let's think about this.  If we really lived as if God was God, ruler of the earth, over all kingdoms, from before time began . . . what we do different?  Would our lives changed?  Are our lives changed? 

Maybe you are already like this.  Nothing holds you back, because you've got God - this great big God who exists outside of the confines of time and space, who created all things, who rules over all.  You've got him on your side, and you go for everything, every time.

I wish I were you.

Because I hold myself back.  I lack faith.  I don't trust.  I go forward, on my own strength instead of His. 

So I need to remember.  It's not my strength, it's his.  He's the one who is unstoppable.  Unchangeable.  Unshakeable.  Definitely not me!

So it's time for me to go deeper, trust more, love more, do more.  That's my prayer for myself, and for you, too.

Unshakeable

I'm amazed at how easily I can be shaken.  Not my faith, necessarily, but my attitude.  If I don't protect myself, don't shade myself under his protective wings, in an instant - boom!  Attitude.

The little things of life get me all ruffled, the external circumstances affect my internal life.  That's not what I want.  I want to be strong, inside and out.  I want to be counted on, by others - of course - but by God. 

I want to be the kind of woman that can God can challenge, can use, can be proud of.
I want to be the kind of woman that scares the devil.
I want to be the kind of woman who laughs at the future (Proverbs 31).

But I can't be that kind of woman if the little things shake me.  If my attitude affects my heart. 

Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you. 
Isaiah 54:10

So I'll focus on Him.  His ways.  His love.  And when I do that, I'm automatically stronger and more settled. 

How about you?  Do you ever feel that way?

Let Faith Arise

I'm such a bad blogger.  I start each week with high hopes of sharing thoughts but life gets in the way.  Here's to trying again!

Last time I talked about a song, and the faith written about in the lyrics.  What is faith?  Hebrews 11 says that faith is believing in what we hope for.  Faith is knowing that what we do not see is real. 

This definition flies against the world's definition:  I'll believe it when I see it.  Seeing is believing. 

So how do we as Christians show the world faith, this faith that is truly rock solid belief in what we do not see?

I think it involves both the individual and the body.  The body's faith is only as good as the individual's.  The individual's faith is strengthened by the body's. 

That means we have to be involved - with each other.  We have to know each other's struggles, bear each other's burdens, live in each other's lives.  And that's not easy.  It's messy, and hard, and uncomfortable.  But as we involve ourselves in each other's messiness, we grow.  We grow individually, and we grow together.  We grow in faith, in word, and in deed.  We learn to trust God as we trust each other. 

When we pull our lives together - on purpose - our faith becomes corporate.  In other words, as my faith grows as an individual, our faith grows together.  We rub off on each other - we really do!!

Hopefully this week I will be able to get back on here and talk about the shield of faith - as a body.  Blessings to you!

Let Faith Arise

We've been singing an awesome song at church lately called "I Lift My Hands" by Chris Tomlin.  The lyrics are below:

Be still, there is a healer
His love is deeper than the sea
His mercy, it is unfailing
His arms are a fortress for the weak

Let faith arise
Let faith arise

I lift my hands to believe again
You are my refuge, You are my strength
As I pour out my heart, these things I remember
You are faithful, God, forever

Be still, there is a river
That flows from Calvary's tree
A fountain for the thirsty
Pure grace that washes over me

So let faith arise
Let faith arise
Open my eyes
Open my eyes

I lift my hands to believe again
You are my refuge, You are my strength
As I pour out my heart, these things I remember
You are faithful, God
You are faithful, God, forever

I love this song.  It's been echoing in my head since Sunday.  (It doesn't hurt that we have a fantastic singer, Kim, to belt it out!) 

I'm struck by two things from this song, and I'm going to share over the next few posts as I turn things over in my mind.  The first is verse 2:  Be still, there is a river that flows from Calvary's tree.  The second is the bridge:  Let faith arise.

What is the river that flows from the tree?  It's the blood of Christ, right?  It flows down from the cross, washing over us.  But wait, that's a gross image, right?  Blood being a fountain for the thirsty?  Blood being grace?  Blood being something that washes us?

That's the foolishness of the gospel that Paul refers to in 1 Corinthians.  The wisdom of the gospel is foolish to the world. 

Oh boy.  There's so much more to say.  More later, and more about faith, too.

In the mean time, what are your thoughts on this? 

Random Post

It's been two months since I've last posted.  I get such big plans to post continually, but I just get behind.  So I have some random thoughts to share with whoever may be out there.

1.  Sometimes life drives me crazy and I don't understand the point.
2.  Sometimes PEOPLE drive me crazy and I don't understand their existence.
3.  Sometimes MEN drive me crazy . . . well, you're getting my point.

Moving on . . .

4.  I really, really loved the show Friends and I wish it were still on.  I know in a way it is, since there are repeats 20 times a day.
5.  I love living in the country.
6.  I love peanut butter ice cream.

What else . . .

7.  I've lost my decorating mojo and it makes me sad.
8.  I'm really in the mood for my friend Elicia's cupcakes.
9.  I'm in the mood for anything sweet.

So . . . those are my really deep thoughts for today.  Hope to catch up with you all soon!

Glory to God

Tonight I will receive a piece of paper that marks a massive change in my life. Tonight I'll be confirmed as a district pastor - not yet ordained, but working toward it. It's just a cheap piece of paper. And for most, it's not a big deal at all. But for me, it is a commemoration of what God has done in my life.

I find myself very emotional today, thinking of how far God has brought me, and how much he has changed me. I find myself recognizing that it's been all God, and the only thing I have done is said yes. When God said, Follow Me, I said yes. When He said, No . . . really. Follow Me. I said yes. When God said, I want this piece of you. And that piece. And that one too. I said yes . . . and yes . . . and yes. Not always quickly, not always easily, but I have kept saying yes and I do not regret it one bit.

Some of you, my Facebook friends, haven't known me long or maybe don't know me well. You don't know the bad, the twisted, the ugly. Some of you do know, and maybe you are as amazed as I am that God could take all that bad, and turn me around.

No one is more amazed than I am.

And so let me state emphatically today, holding nothing back - I serve a risen Savior! God is God, and there are no others. He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. He is all things, and He is everything. He is everything to me. He has changed me, He is still changing me, and I can't wait to see what changes He will make in me.

I'm crying as I write this, because I know where I was. And I know where I am now. And I know where I'm going. And I know that tonight, when all of us who receive these licenses turn around to face the audience, there will be applause. But my applause will be for God. Because it's all about Him.

And I can do nothing but be grateful and overwhelmed. He is so good to me.

Why?

Why is such a common question.  And the hardest.  And the one with the least answers.

I ask myself why all the time.  About the big stuff, and the little stuff. 

But to be honest, it's the little stuff that gets to me.  Does that make sense?  Like, why did that guy cut me off in traffic?  Why was the clerk mean to me in the check out line?  Why does my kid have an attitude when five minutes ago he was loving?

I'm a natural problem solver, so the whys some quick and easy for me.  I like to try to figure things out, to understand a situation, and master it.  But sometimes, there are no answers.  There is no understanding.  What do you do then?

The Sunday School answer is, trust God.  But that's soooooo much easier said than done, yes?  And besides, I'm not talking about God stuff.  I'm talking about little stuff. 

I have to constantly remind myself that God is all about the small stuff.  He's the ultimate detail, the ultimate planner, the ultimate problem solver.  And so when the guy cuts me off, instead of stewing about it, I can talk to God about it.  Oh!  I could even pray for him.  And I could remember the times when I've accidentally cut someone off.  And when the clerk is rude, I can return blessing for insult.  I can talk to God about it.  Oh!  I could even pray for her.  And I can remember the times I've been rude, because I was tired, or sick, or worried.

You see what I'm saying, right?  Maybe I'm weird, but it's the small stuff in life that gets me down.  It's trying to figure out why people do what they do.  That consumes way too much of my time and energy. 

Here's my new why:  Why let that stuff get me down?  Why let it drain me?  Why worry about that junk?  I believe I'll just try to let it go, and - here comes that Sunday School answer - really trust God.