"Be Still and Know that I am God" - Psalm 46:10
What is it about this world that we seem to be in such a hurry? Why does it seem that we are so focused on the beginning and end that we don't even appreciate the now? I feel like this has been me these past couple of weeks. I was looking forward to spring break like two weeks before it happened and now that spring break is now coming to an end for me, I am already looking ahead to the summer and what that has in store. But, what about the time that falls between these dates? What about the now? Why am I not looking forward to the next minute, the next hour, or the next second that I am apart of the Lord's wonderful creation? This my insight on the unhurried life.
We hustle and bustle in this life. We look so far into the future and bask in our pasts that we forget to look at ourselves right now. We don't necessarily "stop, collaborate, and listen," as my home boy Vanilla Ice once said. But, what if we did do that in our faith lives on a daily basis? That doesn't mean every time that we want to talk to God or pray that we need to break out Ice Ice Baby, but it means that we need to do those three steps.
Stop: This step is pretty self-explanatory right? I mean in order to really have an in-depth talk with the Lord and really "Be Still" as it says in that Psalm. That means to stop everything that you are doing. That means shut the phone off, turn the TV off, shut down the Xbox and Play Station, and legitimately sit still. That makes sense right? At least it does to me.
Collaborate: Aight, so this step is all about thinking while you pray. So for me that means that I just pray everything that comes to my mind that I think is good to pray about, which normally is everything because God is like that and wants to hear everything he can possibly imagine because he already knows your prays. Anywho, when I am thinking back about my days then this is the time to just get together with the Lord and have that little "pow-wow" with Him that he most definitely desires. This does not mean though that you have to do all the talking.
Listen: This one is probably the easiest to think about, but actually is the hardest to put into action. I find it that after I just spew my guts out to the Lord that I am tempted to just say alright amen my job here is done, but in order to fully bask in the art of being still you need to be able to listen. You need to be able to quiet your mind, and just tune in to what God could possibly want to tell you in that time of peace. Think about it though. It is kind of hard to have a conversation with someone if as soon as they are done talking they shut you out. What do you think the Father feels like whenever we just pray and don't give him a chance to respond? Just think about that a little bit.
Hey Papa. I just come to you tonight with unending praises. I mean honestly you have done so much for us as your followers. You have given us a gift of eternal life through your Son Christ Jesus. I just thank you so much for giving me a passion and a voice for you Father. I just pray that as all of us go into our new weeks that we can start living in the now, and recognizing your presence in all of creation Lord. I just ask that you help us to want to spend more time with you each day, and that instead of just spewing our prayers to you that we can actually allow you to speak to us in however you please. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Sunday, March 10, 2013
The Plan
What is the plan? What are you gonna do next? Are you going to do this or that? Decisions. Decisions. Our lives are full of them. We make conscious and unconscious decisions too many times to count in just one day, but think about each of those decisions that you make. Think about how much anxiety goes into certain decisions and how easy others are to make. Wouldn't you like for those anxiety filled decisions to be not necessarily easier, but for you to make them with confidence? I am here to tell you that you can have that freedom. We were granted with that freedom. We are free to be used fully by God in all circumstances.
I say this in the most confidence because I personally struggle with this on a daily basis. Control. I want to have control. I want to know exactly what is going to happen, and I try to take God's place in my life. I always try to reject that freedom and think that my life would be better if I was in control of it. That is pride speaking. It is thoroughly exhausting to try and live a fully controlled life with out submission. I mean honestly think about it. You really wouldn't want to know everything that is going to happen, and if the decisions we make are the ones that would lead to an easier path. You want to know why? Because that would take the life out of living. You wouldn't be living if you weren't learning, but that is a whole different topic.
Want to know the promises that the Lord has given us about this? Well of course! God's word speaks so much truth into our lives and can be applied to almost every situation. I mean honestly, I don't understand how people can just not turn to the Lord's word for that peace that they are looking for. In this situation, I think that a couple of verses apply. Romans 8:28 and Jeremiah 29:11 are ones that are most well known.
"And we know that in ALL things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.' - Jeremiah 29:11
Those two verses are the most well known of verses that deal with the purpose and plan of our lives, but isn't there a sense of freedom you feel when you read those verses? I do. I have that sense of freedom that even if I mess up or even if I don't do exactly what the Lord wants me to do at that point that He is going to use it to glorify Him and to make me into who he wants me to be. That is the same for you all reading this as well. If you are contemplating a big decision coming up or worried about what tomorrow brings. I just want to encourage you and inform you that you are free. As it says in Galatians 5:1, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."
You are free. You are free to struggle, free to live, free to make decisions, free from sin, and free to rely fully on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to work through ALL situations to continue on his plan for us. You are being worked through even if you don't think you are. God doesn't make mistakes, and he doesn't just give up on you. He has a plan and is going to use everything you have given him to make that plan possible, so I ask you this. Are you living in that freedom?
Papa. I come to you this afternoon with a heart full of your love and with the freedom you promised us to be fully displayed in the way that I live, and in the way that I present myself. I just ask tonight Lord that you use this knowledge of your purpose and your plan to bring peace to all who read this, and that they fully grasp that no matter where we go or what we do that you are using everything to advance us farther and farther into your kingdom. If something happens that pushes us away from you Lord then use it to shine your forever bright light into our dark hearts, and if something happens that pulls us closer to you then use it make us grow in a close-knit relationship with you. I ask all of these things in the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
I say this in the most confidence because I personally struggle with this on a daily basis. Control. I want to have control. I want to know exactly what is going to happen, and I try to take God's place in my life. I always try to reject that freedom and think that my life would be better if I was in control of it. That is pride speaking. It is thoroughly exhausting to try and live a fully controlled life with out submission. I mean honestly think about it. You really wouldn't want to know everything that is going to happen, and if the decisions we make are the ones that would lead to an easier path. You want to know why? Because that would take the life out of living. You wouldn't be living if you weren't learning, but that is a whole different topic.
Want to know the promises that the Lord has given us about this? Well of course! God's word speaks so much truth into our lives and can be applied to almost every situation. I mean honestly, I don't understand how people can just not turn to the Lord's word for that peace that they are looking for. In this situation, I think that a couple of verses apply. Romans 8:28 and Jeremiah 29:11 are ones that are most well known.
"And we know that in ALL things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.' - Jeremiah 29:11
Those two verses are the most well known of verses that deal with the purpose and plan of our lives, but isn't there a sense of freedom you feel when you read those verses? I do. I have that sense of freedom that even if I mess up or even if I don't do exactly what the Lord wants me to do at that point that He is going to use it to glorify Him and to make me into who he wants me to be. That is the same for you all reading this as well. If you are contemplating a big decision coming up or worried about what tomorrow brings. I just want to encourage you and inform you that you are free. As it says in Galatians 5:1, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."
You are free. You are free to struggle, free to live, free to make decisions, free from sin, and free to rely fully on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to work through ALL situations to continue on his plan for us. You are being worked through even if you don't think you are. God doesn't make mistakes, and he doesn't just give up on you. He has a plan and is going to use everything you have given him to make that plan possible, so I ask you this. Are you living in that freedom?
Papa. I come to you this afternoon with a heart full of your love and with the freedom you promised us to be fully displayed in the way that I live, and in the way that I present myself. I just ask tonight Lord that you use this knowledge of your purpose and your plan to bring peace to all who read this, and that they fully grasp that no matter where we go or what we do that you are using everything to advance us farther and farther into your kingdom. If something happens that pushes us away from you Lord then use it to shine your forever bright light into our dark hearts, and if something happens that pulls us closer to you then use it make us grow in a close-knit relationship with you. I ask all of these things in the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Don't Stop the Madness
Happy Sunday Night all! I hope you all had amazing weekends! I know I did, and I am so blessed by what I was able to do. On Friday, I had the opportunity to go to a Tenth Avenue North concert in Rochester with some of my favorite people. It was glorious. I recommend going to one of their concerts if you want a great show that really is just "worship on steroids" as one of my friends put it. I felt God move in that room on Friday night, and I knew he was working through what Mike (the lead singer) and the rest of the band to bring glory to Him. This post is going to be about a concept and a topic that was brought up by Mike while he was talking about the song "Don't Stop the Madness," which is on Tenth Ave. North's newest record. This post is just going to branch off of that topic and expound a little more into it. So enjoy!
Let me first just give you some of the lyrics of the song, and then I will explain afterwards. Deal? Good. Here are the lyrics:
"All I hear is what they're selling me
That God is love, he isn't suffering
And what you need's a little faith and prosperity
But, oh my God, I know there's more than this
If you promise pain it can't be meaningless
So make me poor if that's the price for freedom
Don't stop the madness
Don't stop the chaos
Don't stop the pain surrounding me
Don't be afraid, love, to break my heart
If it brings me down to my knees, yeah"
Okay, so now what I want you all to do is think about what those lyrics are trying to say. What is this song trying to convey to us?
Well, when I first heard this song and when I looked at the lyrics for the first time I was really put off by the fact that they wrote a song about how we are not supposed to pray for the Lord to make our sufferings stop, and that the band's intentions was to tell us to just get over all the pain and madness. Those were my first impressions, but as I looked more into the song and more into the lyrics I also saw that it never says there that we are not supposed to pray for the Lord to make our situation better, but instead it says that we praise God for our trials because it will bring us closer to Him.
I was reading in James the other day because it is the book of the bible my study is working through at this moment, and I came across this set of verses: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." That was James 1:2-4.
I just think that that hits home for me because it is calling us not to revel in our own self-pity and get down on ourselves when we face times of challenge and opportunities for us to grow as believers, but instead to be encouraged, to have joy knowing that because we are going through this madness and this heartache that it is developing us into better people. It is developing us to be more like Christ.
So go back to the song real quick, and look at where it talks God being love and not in suffering. That is so much of a lie that we hear everyday. We hear that God is love, which is absolutely correct, that he is there with me during the great times and when I am at the high-points of my faith that that is when he is there, but that isn't the only place he is either. He is there in the suffering, the pain, the heartache, the shortcomings, and the falls from grace that we have every once in awhile. He is there through it all and he is working it all for your good! He is transforming your trials into your victories and is continually shaping you through them to become more reliant on Him. God never has told us that our lives were gonna be easy, but instead he said that when we do encounter those struggles that he will use them to his glory.
Papa. You are utterly amazing. You literally are the best dad in the whole world. I mean honestly you just do so much in our lives in order to make us into who you want us to be. You mold us and shape us into perfection because you are not done with us yet. We are your masterpiece Lord, and I just pray tonight that we recognize that these trials and tribulations that we go through are put into our life for a purpose. That we are not mistakes, that theses challenges are not just there to keep us occupied in our life, but to guide us and to bring us closer to you Father. I just pray that we can all see that even though you are love Papa that you are also in the sufferings that we experience. You watch us and love us no matter what happens in our lives, and I claim all of these things as victories in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Let me first just give you some of the lyrics of the song, and then I will explain afterwards. Deal? Good. Here are the lyrics:
"All I hear is what they're selling me
That God is love, he isn't suffering
And what you need's a little faith and prosperity
But, oh my God, I know there's more than this
If you promise pain it can't be meaningless
So make me poor if that's the price for freedom
Don't stop the madness
Don't stop the chaos
Don't stop the pain surrounding me
Don't be afraid, love, to break my heart
If it brings me down to my knees, yeah"
Okay, so now what I want you all to do is think about what those lyrics are trying to say. What is this song trying to convey to us?
Well, when I first heard this song and when I looked at the lyrics for the first time I was really put off by the fact that they wrote a song about how we are not supposed to pray for the Lord to make our sufferings stop, and that the band's intentions was to tell us to just get over all the pain and madness. Those were my first impressions, but as I looked more into the song and more into the lyrics I also saw that it never says there that we are not supposed to pray for the Lord to make our situation better, but instead it says that we praise God for our trials because it will bring us closer to Him.
I was reading in James the other day because it is the book of the bible my study is working through at this moment, and I came across this set of verses: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." That was James 1:2-4.
I just think that that hits home for me because it is calling us not to revel in our own self-pity and get down on ourselves when we face times of challenge and opportunities for us to grow as believers, but instead to be encouraged, to have joy knowing that because we are going through this madness and this heartache that it is developing us into better people. It is developing us to be more like Christ.
So go back to the song real quick, and look at where it talks God being love and not in suffering. That is so much of a lie that we hear everyday. We hear that God is love, which is absolutely correct, that he is there with me during the great times and when I am at the high-points of my faith that that is when he is there, but that isn't the only place he is either. He is there in the suffering, the pain, the heartache, the shortcomings, and the falls from grace that we have every once in awhile. He is there through it all and he is working it all for your good! He is transforming your trials into your victories and is continually shaping you through them to become more reliant on Him. God never has told us that our lives were gonna be easy, but instead he said that when we do encounter those struggles that he will use them to his glory.
Papa. You are utterly amazing. You literally are the best dad in the whole world. I mean honestly you just do so much in our lives in order to make us into who you want us to be. You mold us and shape us into perfection because you are not done with us yet. We are your masterpiece Lord, and I just pray tonight that we recognize that these trials and tribulations that we go through are put into our life for a purpose. That we are not mistakes, that theses challenges are not just there to keep us occupied in our life, but to guide us and to bring us closer to you Father. I just pray that we can all see that even though you are love Papa that you are also in the sufferings that we experience. You watch us and love us no matter what happens in our lives, and I claim all of these things as victories in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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