Wrong.
That's an excuse that the church has adopted from the world.
God can do just as much with your last drop as He can when you're full.
Ask yourself why you keep checking the bucket in the first place...
Your job is to serve, and be in His Word.
God is in charge of the bucket, and the only One who can replenish it (which He does primarily through His Word.)
He will give you what you need to serve Him.
You just keep serving Him.
Saying "no" to the wrong thing is not "self love", it's being a responsible human and making wise use of your God-given conscience...
Saying "no" when your plate is overflowing and you're getting burnt out is not "self care", but is also being a responsible human and using your God-given time wisely.
(This is only one of many examples of world-indoctrination - that has crept into the church - and it's nauseating.)
Please stop equating common sense with self-love.
Please stop equating God's blessings with self-care.
Please stop humouring the culture by buying into the unbiblical agenda of self-centeredness.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: when the Bible says to love your neighbor as yourself it states up front that you love yourself; it's not something you will ever have to learn or put effort into.
Stop equating being irresponsible or lacking common sense with a lack of self-love.
And learning to be responsible or to better use common sense or to humbly appreciate God's blessings are also - you guessed it - not self-love/care.
It's called good stewardship.
Thank you.
"I will forget who I am for who You are
'Cause the truth is all my worth can only be found in Your scars."
One of the biggest lies of the culture you can buy into as a Christian (yes, even "church culture" pushes it, unfortunately) is this idea that "you are enough"
I talk about it a lot and some of you are probably tired of it, but some of you are also probably tired - more than you would readily admit - of the emptiness that comes with being "enough".
Being "enough" was never an expectation or responsibility placed on you by God; you accepted it from the culture, but you can let go of it today. HIS yoke is easy and His burden is light (and being enough is no light burden.) He calls us spread the Gospel, to be set apart, to be holy as He is holy - ongoing things that require His wisdom, grace, and strength (because - you guessed it - we're not enough to achieve them on our own.)
The only "enough" you are is enough of a sinner to need a saviour...
Jesus is that Saviour.
HE is enough, (what a reassuring reality) and that should be more than enough for you.
When you mangle the Bible until it "says" what you want it to 1) you don't know how to read the Bible, and 2) you are still living to yourself.
Even if perhaps we want to believe a certain sin isn't so bad (usually the one we've invested ourselves in and enjoy) if we are living for Jesus and if we believe His Word to be true we MUST see that sin for what it is and repent of it. Your preferences and opinions formed before no longer matter because you have put off that old man and are a new creature in Christ - we die daily to ourselves in favour of the life He offers us in Himself - thus our desire is to love what God loves and hate what He hates. Right?
If that makes you uncomfortable or you hesitate to confirm it, hold up! but be encouraged; we are all human, fall short, and need His grace and help in living for Him, on the daily.
While admitting that a truth makes you uncomfortable doesn't allow you to discard it, it does allow you to identify where you're most likely at, as well as the steps you may need to take (or get truly *biblical-church counseling on) be it salvation, surrender, or sanctification (which never ends, btw.)
"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee."
Psalm 51:10-13
"Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind..." (1 Peter 1:13)
Follow this link to learn more about my book- "Gentle Revolution".
Let's debunk social crutches together!
I can tell you (and deep down you may already know) because it was at the end of mine.
You have found yourself at that tattered, biting bit of rope, and the reality that your desperate, sweaty grip can only hang on for so much longer...
And now you recognize God's loving, patient, steady hand...stretched out to you - ready to relieve you in arms that feel no weight - as it has been all along while you've been clinging to the rope...yourself...your job/finances...your friends...the government...the media...the church...anywhere but the stark truth of your own weakness and God's might.
I don't mean to imply that we always do this deliberately or out of spite; but how much easier if we would deliberately place our hand in His from the get-go, even before trouble comes.
Dwell in His hands. Don't just save them for a "rainy day."
The moment your hand leaves His, the clouds start gathering, and the downpour is inevitable.
His promises are true, weatherproof, and they don't tatter as rope does.
You're not the hero of yours.
Are you ok with that?
No, really. Think about it for as long as it takes.
Are you ok - and humbly surrendered - knowing that God is the point of everything and the theme of every story and He doesn't need your abilities though you and I certainly need His?
The pivotal moment in every story is whether you will turn to or from God and His finished work on the cross through His Son Jesus, either in belief and repentance or denial and rejection.
When we choose to turn to Him we gain not only a cause, but His moment-by-moment aid and comfort in living for it.
Choosing to turn from Him leads to an empty life with no purpose (because He is the purpose and we are in rebellion to that fact) and a continual cycle of trying to be "enough" on our own when that is entirely futile.
Christian, do whatever you can - to whatever scale - to honour Him and bring Him glory: today. Don't wait until doing something will get you noticed or make you a "hero", or that you are confidant enough in to do "on your own."
We must acknowledge that any work done through us is still accomplished by Him working in us, and not of our own merit. We must prayerfully take our motives to Christ and ask Him to renew a right spirit in us; He knows them already.
UPDATE on my new WIP!
I'm so thrilled to be starting on this project! After going back and forth between it and another idea for awhile, and praying for direction and then having this one basically start itself, I feel excitement and anticipation for whatever purpose the Lord has for this work that He has been bringing together during my time in His Word. I would love to be in your prayers as I step into this process, that it would honour and glorify Him, and make a difference in at least one persons life.
In short, "M4P" (my secret-mission sounding project name until further notice 😉) will be a devotional, covering a wide range of topics and incorporating scriptures from Genesis to Revelation. I'm super pumped to be digging into the Bible so closely in this effort, and know that this will be a process that works over me just as much if not more than I'm hoping it may be used to work in others.
Bonus update:
Tucked under the journal in this photo is an incredibly rough sketch of concept cover art that I have 1)intentionally left unseen because it's horrible, and 2)actually begun working with a richly talented artist and friend to transform my concept into something beautiful, so be looking for that reveal in the weeks ahead. Yay!
Consider yourself updated. 😄
If you can only worship to music, you're worshipping the music.
Worship is the overflow of a heart postured in awe and gratitude for all God has done and all that He is; it's surrender...acknowledging our smallness and His greatness.
Music is instituted (though not necessary) to accompany our praise and to quiet our minds and hearts toward worship. If the music is not such as to accomplish this...it's most likely catering to the feelings of the flesh.
Worship takes place as we dwell on His goodness and love, but also on His grace and sacrifice in spite of our sins.
If your church is where you go to hear and be moved by some good beats, feel a good feeling, and get affirmation, I'm sorry to inform you, but you've essentially missed church; this better describes a club.
Church should encourage you, surely, but to live set apart and differently from the world, not indulge your feelings; it should humble you and work growth in you, not just satiate your self esteem.
True worship will bring us to our knees in recognition of who God is, while modern "worship" too often adheres to our self-obsessed culture in trying to make us feel better about who we are.
(image:Pinterest)
Imagine a Friday Flash Sale...that lasted through Christmas...AND New Years Day!
We must get back to celebrating the simplicity of the Gospel.
Our modern "Christian" culture puts such emphasis on "the journey" (everryything is a "journey") that I fear we have been conditioned to be content with nothing less than a testimony that contains crisis, bright lights, and breakthroughs, or the authoring of Mere Christianity #2; without them we sometimes doubt and question: if these things aren't happening and I don't have a shocking past or I'm not being martyred daily in some way, is it real? I fear that some tend to then hold lightly to what they have, holding out for the part of the story that they can insert to have a fully developed, world-rocking, glorious testimony.
News flash, Christian: the simplicity in a story that states you were lost but now you're found, blind but now you see, and the simple yet complete grace that wrote it are where it gets glorious and world-rocking.
In needing our testimonies to be spectacular and film-worthy, we easily step over the line into controlling...and a story that you control, have every detail in place for, and cast yourself in a bigger part than you think was divinely planned for you, promotes self and leaves out the very heart and substance of the message.
It isn't in the details, though they certainly aren't bad and are *important; but you don't have to have everything figured out and know all you can in this moment that you could ever possibly know about God- in fact, you don't and can't, and the growth and learning need to be ongoing to be at all meaningful and lasting; the soul-thrilling wonder that makes a weary world rejoice is simply this: Jesus came to bring salvation, and He still offers it free to anyone who will accept it in believing repentance.
Sure, there's a lot packed in here and there's abundant more wonderful things to learn and know and share, but we have to be willing to simply be a vessel of faith- lost and found; dead and now alive; nothing without Jesus; saved by grace alone- without all the miracles of the old and new Testament packed into a 3 act play where we are a key player.
While it is often a natural part of life, you don't need visible/tangible hardship and breakthrough to confirm that "it is finished", to know that God is Who He says He is and has done what He says He has done; you simply need faith.
Our culture puts so much thought and effort into telling of our "journey" to Jesus, that we risk losing sight of and failing to convey the fact that it was Jesus came to find us, Jesus who provided a way out of our sin, and without Jesus- no matter the rest of the story- you and I would be lost, helpless, and hopeless.
*I do believe the details are important- please don't get me wrong- and I believe they are better effective in discipleship and exhorting new and fellow believers, while winning souls needs to be Jesus. Jesus. Jesus.
Plain and simple.
Profound and humbling.
Happy Thanksgiving, fellow elements!!!
The everything in between includes my hard days, my lessons learned, my opportunities lost, and my bridges burned; but woven through each is a humbling thread of grace, love, and mercy, and a supply of peace, joy, and strength only my God can bring.
I hope today (and every day) you behold Christ's goodness in each aspect of your life and live in awe of Him as He truly works all things for your good.
"Thank you Lord, for saving my soul
Thank you, Lord, for making me whole
Thank you, Lord, for giving to me
Thy great salvation so rich and free"
All the good that I am is Christ in me; only by His love am I anything but dead in my sins.
We deserve Hell. Only by the grace of God do we have life, forgiveness, and the hope of Heaven; there is no other correct response to this reality than to live lives of self-denial and service to Him.
*This is a conscious daily choice we must make, to take up our cross and follow Him.
As my pastor says: "We live better under the weight of the cross."
We all know what happened to Lot's wife...
We cannot proclaim to be Christians and then continue to live a life that is dictated by the world and the "somewhats" of it; being a true, born-again believer in Jesus Christ means putting off our old self and putting on the new, whose first Love and only Master is Jesus Christ who we say we believe in.
We cannot serve two masters, and the world is in a dedicated battle to sway our allegiance- we must be MORE dedicated to Jesus than the world is to distracting us from Him. And that will take discipline, prayer, sold-out faith, a set apart lifestyle, tuning our hearts to sing HIS praise, and taking our thoughts captive in order to cultivate HIS mind within us.
Who are you serving today?
Who do your actions, words, and thought patterns indicate you are serving today?
Be willing to take a personal inventory and acknowledge what areas of your life may need to be adjusted, surrendered, or rededicated.
We can never come to Jesus - humbly and repentant and willing to be taught - enough.
His arms are always open.
Fix your eyes on Him, exclusively.
to me, wonderland is symbolic of this place of where we find our courage, debunk our fears with reality, and encourage others along the way.
unlike Alice- and blessedly- I know where I'm going at the end of the story, and Jesus is in charge and calls the shots in each chapter rather than an aggressively unstable face card.
Our time here is temporary, friends!
What are you giving your time and energy to? Does it further the Great Commission? Does it point others to Jesus? Does it promote truth and holiness?
We are equipped to make a difference in the lives of others for the Gospel, but we have to surrender to do it...
Let's not waste our precious, fleeting moments on empty things that serve only ourselves.
Being for someone should never look like justification or simply wanting that person to feel comfortable and 100% happy all the time. (Jesus came that we might have life- abundantly- He never promised happiness. Life is not always happy, but He offers His peace and joy even when it's not.)
Being for someone looks like exhortation, encouragement, challenging their strengths and weaknesses, dealing out hard truth where they may want sugarcoated validation...
True- revolutionary- empathy won't just stop at empathy.
You, as the empathetic connection, need to then offer up -from a place of championship and love- your bigger picture perspective; don't just enter someone's box of feeling and leave them there...come in with intentional purpose to better understand how to help lead them from it to a place of fresh perspective and growth.
Be willing to stand up, speak up, and do the right thing first.
Don't wait for someone else to; chances are they are waiting for the same thing.
Be willing to start the domino effect by gently revolutionizing your circle of influence.
