What would Jesus do?

I have noticed that many a mother - including myself - are constantly concerned about the affect that either they or their kids have on people around them...at the store, at church, while visiting friends and family, anywhere really. There seems to be a constant pressure to cater to those around us and make adjustments to ensure that they are comfortable or are just unaffected...unaffected by that tantrum being thrown, by that poopie diaper that needs to be changed, by the discipline we just dished out, by the diaper bag that just nearly clocked them in the head. yea.

A few weeks ago I went to Starbucks with my sister. I had both my kids with me. My son is 7 months old and I happen to nurse him, and although I am pretty much used to the whole nursing in public thing (thank you nursing cover!), it still can be a little uncomfortable in certain places. (Don't worry, I'm going somewhere with this!) As I sat in the parking lot waiting for my sister to get there I started to worry about nursing my son in Starbucks and hoping no one would be uncomfortable if I had to feed him while we were sitting in there. As those thoughts began to fill my head, I felt that small whisper of the Holy Spirit, "Many Christians have become like that."

I began to think about that. When is the last time I walked into a grocery store, a friends house, a Starbucks and expected God to move? Was I too worried about not stepping on anyone's toes, making sure they feel comfortable or that they weren't offended? Maybe I am just waiting for the right time or the right opportunity...whenever/whatever that may be.

And as cliche as this blog title might be, I really thought to myself, "What would Jesus do?" Jesus was who He IS all the time. He was and is and will always be an atmosphere changer. He didn't wait for the "right" opportunity...He just did what He saw His Father do, and said what His Father said. And of course maybe He wasn't so focused on getting a pumpkin spice latte but you can be sure if He walked into Starbucks and saw the barista's pain through her smile as she took order after order, or saw the man who is struggling with an addiction hiding away at the back table...he wouldn't walk in and walk out as if it were nothing. As followers of Christ, as representation of Christ to this world, we should be more than passers-by, we should shift the atmosphere by the authority of Christ and do as we have seen our Father do.

John 14:6-14 (The Message) ~ Jesus said, "I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him. You've even seen him!"

Philip said, "Master, show us the Father; then we'll be content."

"You've been with me all this time, Philip, and you still don't understand? To see me is to see the Father. So how can you ask, 'Where is the Father?' Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you aren't mere words. I don't just make them up on my own. The Father who resides in me crafts each word into a divine act. "Believe me: I am in my Father and my Father is in me. If you can't believe that, believe what you see — these works. The person who trusts me will not only do what I'm doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I've been doing. You can count on it."

I have just been reflecting on this scripture and what I felt the Holy Spirit speak to me that day, and I desperately want to grab ahold of Jesus and do those even greater things that He has spoken of. I have seen the Father and I want others to see Him too. I don't want to be an "adjusted" Christian trying to make others feel comfortable around me...trying not to stir up anything or not step on anyone's toes. We don't need to wait for opportunities to live and breathe and be who Christ has called us to be...we need to be the opportunity that others are waiting for.

National Evangelistic Day is coming up this Saturday, January 29th. Go out and spread the love and truth of Christ and continue to radically walk out in the glory of the Lord EVERY DAY!

Eyes on Him.

2 Peter 1:3-11 says, "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

Recently my pastor shared this scripture and it has been weighing on my heart. I had been toiling over various things that I wanted to accomplish and wondering how I could ever fulfill goals I envisioned for the future. I found myself frustrated because I want to increase my time in prayer and in the word, as well as dedicate time to writing and growing in other creative areas but with little time to spare. My cry to the Lord (more like whining) sounding a lot like, "How can I do all of these things? From the moment I wake up until the moment I go to bed I barely have 10 minutes to spare. Whether it be anything involving taking care of the kids, making meals, cleaning up the house, grocery shopping...the list seems endless. Even if the baby naps, Leilani doesn't and it just seems like I barely have a minute to myself! What if I can't do all that You want me to do, what if I am just not good at it!?"

I got all that out and felt the Lord reply, "Stop focusing on how you are going to do anything, stop focusing even on what you want to do and start focusing on Me. You cannot give to anyone what you do not receive yourself."

Um. Whoa. The scripture from 2 Peter is pretty deep but there is one main thing that has stood out to me. It is telling us to add all of these things to our faith---virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. There is a reason why we need to add these things to our faith...because we need to grow in our own understanding of the Lord, His ways and His truth so that we can then be effective and productive by extending what we have received to others from a place of utter and complete love that comes from being transformed by Him. But it isn't about toiling over the "how-to's" or striving to do more of anything other than coming face to face with Jesus and allowing Him to consume you.

Press in with a steadfast heart and don't give up! Grab ahold of Him today. Grab ahold of the heart of your Father who burns with love for you. Ask Him to show you more of who He is for you, so that you can show who He is to someone else.

Psalm 46:10-11 "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."

One & Only First Love.

"I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent." (Revelations 2:2-5)

I don't know about you, but lately I have had such a burning in my heart to return to the love I first had when I came to the Lord. It's not that I don't love Him now, or that I don't love living for the glory of the Kingdom...I just feel as though there are so many different things vying for my attention. (Is vying a word?) Responsibilities of taking care of my kids and home...running errands...not to mention media, internet, tv, the list can literally be endless if we allow it to be.

We can truly be contending for the faith, enduring & bearing, interceeding, all for His namesake and in the process of all this, allow those little things in life, those random hardships and trials to come in and chip away at the precious love we had at first.

I've noticed even for myself that because of this, I've had to deal with fears, anxieties, intimidations and insecurities that I haven't dealt with in a long time. But I take heart and encouragment in Psalm 118:
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!...Out of my distress I called on the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me free. The LORD is on my side; I will not fear...I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the LORD helped me...

I encourage you, that if you also are going through something similar, cling to the Lord and remember your first love. Cast your cares upon Him because He loves you. It is critical that we do so and endure, lifting each other up and encouraging each other on. God is doing amazing things and I don't want miss any of it because of allowing myself to be swept away in anything else other than Jesus. There are so many people and influences in society trying to tell us what to do, how to/not to act, what to say, how to say it, what is acceptable and unacceptable. It can spin us in a million different directions. But, we cannot look to the distractions and false hopes this world offers. There is only One Hope. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus.

As it is stated in Jude (ESV):
"But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, "In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions." It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever."

What is the Lord speaking to you lately? Share your thoughts and let's build each other up! :)

Believe and see the glory of God

I was recently reading john 11:1-44 and was amazed at what the Lord began to show me through it. The passage is about Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, had died and Jesus, along with his disciples, went and raised him from the dead.

I am just going to write a few of the key scriptures that stood out to me...

John 11:3-4, "So the sisters sent word to Jesus, 'Lord, the one you love is sick.' When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it."

John 11:38-40, "Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”

John 11:43-44, "He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”

Think of yourself as the one Jesus loves, think of the body of Christ, think of your family members, friends, neighbors. Think about the things that you are going through, or things that loved ones might be going through. Think about what you want to do for the Kingdom of God, whatever the Lord has put in your heart...or think about what is stopping you from doing it. When I look at the scripture where Martha is telling Jesus that Lazarus was in the tomb for four days and that there would be a stench if Jesus rolled back the stone against the tomb, I think of how often we prevent the Lord from doing a work in our life. I also think about how it is sometimes easy to say we believe that God can do something amazing, but when it comes down it, often find ourselves skeptical or uncertain. Maybe we think it will be too painful, too difficult, too overwhelming, or that it just isn't possible. Well listen to Jesus's words, "...believe and you will see the glory of God."

Jesus spoke, "Loose him, and let him go." I believe that the Lord wants to do that in so many of our lives. He wants to take us to greater places, to open the door for greater things. He is saying, "Church, come forth, Bride, come forth." The "bandages" or whatever it is that has kept me bound, you bound, the body of Christ bound, will fall to the ground and we can rise up to truly live as the Bride of Christ should live. What are you believing for? Do you REALLY believe that God can do it? Do you really believe that you will see it? Whatever it is, get ready, because believe and you will see the glory of God.

THE MISSING PIECE

This might seem like something kind of obvious to most of you, but it really struck me today in a way that made me just think, "WOW."

I had just finished having a conversation with someone who basically found the transformation of a person having a life's background or upbringing in a certain way to then suddenly be radically devoted to a life of following Jesus as quite fascinating. They were basically asking the question, "What makes you 'people' drastically change as if you had never known anything else before in your life and be so extraordinarily devoted to it?" I guess that is my own paraphrasing of the question. This person really was desperately trying to figure out what that "thing" was and put the pieces of the puzzle together. From my perspective it is easy to see that the "thing" or "piece" is Jesus.

Let's think about this for a minute. We have a person, and this can really be any person, who has literally been raised in and grown into certain ways of thinking. They are so incredibly used to the traditions they've been taught, what is considered appropriate, the right ways of doing things, or just what is perceived as acceptable. They are content with themselves, their life, and the way they think things ought to be. There are millions of people out in the world who are apparently content with their lives, living according to what is right based on what seems good to them, whatever makes them happy, etc. There really doesn't seem to be anything missing in their lives. In a way it is basically religion according to the self!

I can certainly speak for myself when I say that most of the time, when I think about people being vulnerable to the Holy Spirit or at a place ready to receive the Lord into their lives, they have to be sensing that missing piece, feeling that empty void where the Holy Spirit should be in their lives. Well today the Lord totally rocked that little old idea of mine.

So going back to the conversation I was having, as soon as I walked away from that conversation some thoughts began popping into my head. The Lord basically made it clear to me that the way of thinking I just mentioned is completely wrong! Why? Because when a person experiences the power of the Holy Spirit, experiences the Truth of Jesus Christ there is no denying it. If they never felt a missing piece in their lives, if they never felt a void in their heart before, as soon as they encounter the power of the Holy Spirit and His truth, they WILL KNOW WITHOUT A SHADOW OF A DOUBT that Jesus Christ is what they NEED MORE THAN ANYTHING they've ever thought they needed before. If they didn't know He was missing in their lives before, they will seriously know it after. If they are made for Him, which they are, everything they've ever believed or thought to be true will look like nothing compared to the truth that is found in Him.

We don't need to wait for people to be "ready" to encounter Jesus. Let them see who He is in WHATEVER you do, because when they see Him, they'll see what they're missing.

The Sesselbahn of Faith

I just recently finished an amazing book written by Hannah Hurnard called Hinds' Feet on High Places. This book is an amazing fictional story about a girl's journey to get to the High Places of the Lord in order to be completely transformed and taken to new heights of love, peace, joy and victory. The story reminds me of the importance of laying down my own will on a daily basis (if not on an minute to minute basis!!!) to trust the Lord, even when it doesn't make sense or when things aren't going the way I think they should. In doing so we soon see that the Lord's ways and will for us was right and perfect all along, and ultimately the only way truly go to the heights of the potential He has called us to. It really is such a powerful story with so many important lessons woven inside.

One thing in particular that I enjoyed about this book was Hannah Hurnard's own testimony in the back of the book describing all of the experiences and lessons which led her to write Hinds' Feet on High Places. I want to quote a good size portion of what she wrote because not only is it a beautiful revelation and description of faith, but I feel that we can all appreciate it, learn from it, and soak up any revelation received from it. In this passage she is talking about the lesson God taught her through a sesselbahn located on the mountain she was visiting in Switzerland. And because I had no idea what a sesselbahn was until I looked it up, it is basically a chair lift, although the one she describes seems to be much less modern.

"It seemed to me then, that the Sesselbahn was one of the loveliest and most fascinating pictures of faith imaginable. For faith has nothing to do with intellectual belief. Faith is obedience. Faith and abandonment to God's will and power are inseparable. Faith is willingness to do God's will. Unwillingness to abandon one's own will and to obey God is unbelief. There they were, those tiny chairs with no sides or backs--only a couple of bars. The cable by whose power they traveled overhead, and at great distance, was quite invisible. Underneath there was nothing but the abyss, and no earthly ground of support. All one saw was two moving chairs, apparently hanging in the air. But they were supported-from above! The power came from above, and by means of that power they were able to travel upward, in defiance of the law of gravity...One only had to be willing to trust the invisible power, sit down on a chair, and abandon oneself completely. No self-effort was possible. Then one would be wafted upward to the heights. It was all a matter of faith and no works-except for the initial work of choosing to abandon oneself to the Sesselbahn...How like that overhead cable the promises of God often seem to be. They look so appallingly frail and unsafe and without earthly support of any kind, apparently leading us to such impossible situations. It seems they certainly cannot be relied upon, for we tell ourselves how easily we may be mistaken and claim what was never meant for us personally, but for great courageous saints of God, prophets, and apostles. But once we abandon ourselves to these promises, and enter into them in the abandonment of faith and obedience, then all the overhead power begins to work. The traveler resting on and in the promise does nothing but remain in it. Having trusted the promise enough to risk everything upon it, up one goes! And no power on earth can hinder arrival at the consummation of the promise and its perfect fulfillment. Though we may seem to meet the most horrifying precipices confronting us, and abysses far below which we could never hope to ascend nor pass over in our own strength, yet in the spiritual Sesselbahn of faith and obedience, everyhing is triumphantly surmounted."

[Hurnard, Hannah. (1975). Hinds' Feet on High Places. Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers.]

Go ye.

Here is a quote from Juan Carlos Ortiz as he wrote referring to the church building in the book Disciple, "it will never again be a cave where believers hide from the world. Jesus never said, 'Sinners, come to the church.' He said, 'Believers, go into the world and make disciples.' The church sits in the pews and sings, 'Come home, come home/Ye who are weary, come home.' We should sing insteand, 'Go ye, go ye/Ye who are seated, go ye.' We have it all upside down. Sinners are dead, lost, deaf, blind. Yet we put up posters for the blind to read. If we can't mobilize the Christians who are supposed tobe alive, how can we ever hope to mobilize the unsaved?"

Wow, what a powerful impression this passage left on me. Interestingly, this book was written in the 1970's so it is incredible to see how relevant these words are for today. In fact, just in the past few weeks I happened to be attending a church service when all of the sudden a wave of saddness came over me. Worship had been going on so naturally I stood there trying to focus my thoughts and attention on worshipping the Lord but I just couldn't shake that overwhelming sense of saddness. I asked the Lord, "What is this? Why am I feeling this way when all I want to do is worship you?" I received an image in my mind of people standing in the church building in the middle of a worship setting and crying out to the Lord. It might sound nice but the thing was that all of these people were as if trying to suck all of they can out of the experience of being in the presence of the Lord and saying things like, "Oh Lord, I need you, woe is me, I have so many problems, just pour Yourself out over me..." Now, I know that we all go through times of struggling and needing to just cry out the the Lord for His help, but this was different. This scenario was of the body of Christ totally not living in the full potential that the Lord has called them to. Not only that, but there was no true worship or glorifying of God in this image. It was all about them and what they needed from Him. Instead of being a body of people who were first seeking the Kingdom of God, living and walking in the grace, power and annointing of the Holy Spirit, they were so desperately caught up in their own problems...a lot like the rest of the world. They couldn't see past their own situations or what was happening in the world around them to instead set their eyes upon the Lord and worship, praise, glorify and lift up His name!

The truth is that we have not been called to stay shut up in a building once a week to try and get as much encouragement as possible to get through the week until next service. But in many ways, this is how the body of Christ is now functioning. God is crying out for the attention of His people...We have to know that we have the Holy Spirit of the Almighty God, the King of Glory living in and through us and it should be evident in our lives. He is all we need, we have everything we need in Him. Instead of acting as if we don't and then need to suck everything out of the worship experience on a Sunday morning to last us until next Sunday, can we know that EVERYDAY He and all that comes from Him is living and active in our lives? Yes, we have the Holy Spirit and now we need to GO!

Too often we leave the "going" to those who are in "ministry." We so readily assume that to go out into the world to preach the gospel or to do missionary work is just someone else's ministry while the rest of us are just called to sit in a church service every Sunday and hopefully make an impact on the lives around us during the week. Well, in reality there is just one ministry and it is the ministry of Jesus Christ which, as part of the one and only body of Christ, we are all called to. But we cannot function to the full potential of the body of Christ if our buildings have become like hide outs or are the only place we come to "experience" God. God is so much bigger than that and being the body of Christ is so much more than that. He is breaking through barriers and mindsets, He is crushing our traditions and man made structures. He's got every area of our lives in His hands, He has already given us all of Himself and He is everything that we need, He is more than enough. Even when things seem difficult He is full of kindness, peace, mercy and love. His ways are perfect and the will He has for our lives is greater than anything we could imagine. Knowing that, can we bust through the walls of our caves giving praise to the King of Glory to answer the call for the Kingdom, "Go ye, go ye"...My answer is yes, what's yours?