In Vogue

In my quiet time this morning, God caused me to pause and ponder this:

"So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it." (Colossians 3:12, The Message)

It's amazing to me that the Lord gave me the Holy Spirit, and I can wear Him every day. I don't want to wear my flesh while His beautiful garments lay on the shelf of my heart. As I trust, surrender and obey, the Lord's compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline & love will radiate. And His colors definitely look the best on me. :)

Lord, I praise You and thank You for giving me the Holy Spirit. It gives me hope & encouragement to know I don't need to go it alone...help me to be in vogue with You. Have Your way in me today, I pray.

"Set Apart" Series, Part One: Can We Really Live This Way?

It doesn't matter where I turn lately, it's all around me: sarcasm and insults that is.

It's in reality shows, news reports, the blogosphere, social media. It's in my church, and even worse, in my home.

God has laid this on my heart as a matter of urgency to discuss among believing Christians, and though I'd much rather write on a Psalm or an encouraging passage, my eyes & heart are locked into this series, and the key is nowhere to be found. So after much prayer, I'll share.

"Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless--that's your job, to bless. You'll be a blessing and also get a blessing."
1 Peter 3:8,9

Disclaimer: I'm not a theologian, so I'm not going to attempt to take apart the meaning of this passage. Rather, I'd like to share some of the insight and ponderings the Lord has laid on my heart--what it has stirred up in me. So, no sermon here...but think along. Pray along. And ask the Lord to reveal His Truth to you in a fresh way...

First and foremost, can we as believers really live this way? I believe we can, but not by mustering up our own discipline or fortitude. Rather, by the power and with the help of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Every action in our Christian lives comes down to Spirit-filled living. Apart from Him, we can do nothing. (John 15:5)

Sure, as a stand-alone, these verses in 1 Peter could be used by any "peace-loving" person or religion. But we are not talking about loving peace, we're talking about loving Christ.

The truth is, if you live this way as a believer, you will be put down, ridiculed or worse. Those who live this way as a non-believer will rarely be persecuted. Have you ever noticed that? Maybe this is because when we do what is right because the Holy Spirit is leading us, the Lord shines through...thus resistance from those who don't know Him. When someone lives with "the common good" as his motive, most of the time, people admire them, even follow them, so to speak. Even Christians can be deceived by these "good people," and if we're not careful, we'll begin to imitate them instead of Christ.

Something else to ponder: Oftentimes, Christians believe that being "agreeable" means you can't speak out on evil or other issues. That is not true. But we must realize when we do speak out, the Lord wants us to do it His way. In Spirit and in Truth. (John 16:13 & Romans 9:1) For me, I'm still learning what that means, and it is a continual process of surrender for Him to teach me.

On the opposite end, I hear & read of other Christians who seem to think that bashing their spouse or boss or pastor or another believer is perfectly within their freedom to do. While I try not to stand in judgment of these actions, they still wrinkle my spirit and make my heart feel sick. Unfortunately, I have been a "basher" a time or two (or two times three) myself, which makes me sicker than anything.

So, in summary today, let's pause and ponder this:
Why are so many Christians fighting?
Have we lost our sympathy and passion for the lost & hurting?
How can we get away from using the same humor and retaliation that the rest of the world does?
Are we busy looking for ways to be blessed, or are we blessing others?
How can we stand up for and help those who can't defend themselves without using the world's methods?

Are we living a "good" life or a Holy-spirit filled life? 

From whom do we receive our advice and counsel on right living?
Why is it so hard to live this way, and how can we start to turn the trend around in the church and in our homes?

Share your thoughts and your ideas, your struggles and solutions if you feel led.

Father, I praise You for giving me Your Word to help me in this life. I am more aware than ever that this is not my real home, because each day I feel a little more uncomfortable than I did the day before. I long for my Heavenly home, yet I know You still have work for me to do here. Help me to be content, not to lose my passion to love and live Your way, and not to grow bitter and sarcastic toward others. Lord, show me how to depend on You more fully to live out these passage of Scriptures in every situation and relationship. It gets so muddy, so complicated, and I often try to figure things out on my own. Cause humility & work salvation in and through me, I pray. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Growing Up is Hard To Do

~Pause~

“I tell you the truth, when you were younger, 

you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; 

but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, 

and someone else will dress you and lead you 

where you do not want to go. 

Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death 

by which Peter would glorify God. 

Then He said to him, ‘Follow Me!”

John 21:18-19

~~~~

It seems as though Jesus would have said everything He had to say to His disciples before He died. But He was gracious enough to show Himself to them after His “mysterious disappearance” from the grave. He didn’t just appear to them, he ate with them and told them what to do next…several times. 

Of all the disciples, Peter probably needed to see Jesus the most…not because he loved Jesus more than the others, but because He was in need of reassurance after he had told Jesus he would be faithful, only to deny him three times. Jesus has the familiar conversation with Peter: The “Do you love me?” question series….all three times Jesus asks him the question, Peter pledges his love to Him—“Lord, you know that I love You.”

The next verses, the ones listed above, are those that really strike me in this conversation. Isn’t this the case with us, though? “…when you were younger, you dressed yourself and went where you wanted…” When we were young Christians, and some of us still are, we pretty much did what was expected of any new believer…we began to live a “Christian life.”

“…but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands…” The more we mature in our faith, however, the more out of OUR control our lives become. We begin to learn the process of suffering, of depending on Him for our next move, and of giving up the more meaningless methods of coping with life.

Just as Jesus stretched out His hands, let others clothe Him, and allowed Himself to be led to the cross, we too will learn to give ourselves up and be led for Kingdom purposes as we become “older” in our faiths. What is really surreal is that each one of us will learn to die to ourselves in different ways. God is creative as He works on us…His masterpiece, His creation. AND…it may take more time on some of us than others to lead us to that place of spiritual old age with Him.

As Peter and Jesus were having this conversation, the verse goes on to tell us what John was doing: “Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them…when Peter saw him, he asked, ‘Lord, what about him?’ Jesus answered, ‘If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? YOU must follow me.’” In other words, we can’t compare our walk with Him to anyone else’s. He is very clear—YOU must follow Him.

Isn’t it cool that John didn’t even have to be asked… He just followed. John followed Him during His ministry, he followed Him at His death, and He followed Him the rest of His life. Let’s ask God to help us do the same….hopefully, without being asked to do so over and over.

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

Will you consider pondering the verses above, as well as the following passage in Mark? Then as He leads, pray...ask Him to teach you from His heart today...

Mark 8:34 -35 says: 

"Then He called the crowd to Him along with His disciples

 and said: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself

 and take up his cross and follow me. 

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, 

but whoever loses his life for me 

and for the gospel will save it.’”

What does “losing your life for the gospel” mean to you? 

What cross has He given you to carry as you follow Him?

Keep Writing?

Pause & Ponder this:

One of the comments I received upon newly joining a writer's site some years back was "Keep writing!" To me, it was a neutral comment. Depending on which mood I happened to be in, I could take it to mean "Keep writing, hopefully next time you won't stink." Or the opposite, "Keep writing. I like what I've just read & want more." Maybe what it really meant was "You have potential." If only the commenter had gone on to explain which they meant...it wouldn't have left me wondering. And what if I don't feel like writing next week, should I keep writing anyway?

The "keep writing" example came to my mind when I was reading Romans 12:11-12 in The Message today.

"Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame.
Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant.
Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder."

Nothing ambiguous about this instruction, is there? We are to "Keep Walking" as believers, good mood, bad mood, and every emotion, struggle & circumstance in-between. We keep from getting burned out when we keep ourselves fueled and aflame by the power of the Word. We keep expectant, cheerfully so, as we keep alert to our Master, working in and through us. We keep going and keep praying during the hard times. There's no other choice.

I had to stop and ask myself today:

Am I keeping on as His disciple, or have I given up in some areas?

Is my walk powered by His fuel or my own?

Do I talk talk of the walk without keeping the walk worthy of my talk?

My friends:

"Since this is the kind of life we have chosen,

the life of the Spirit,

let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads

or a sentiment in our hearts, 

but work out its implications in every detail of our lives."

Galatians 5:25

Living Him out in every detail of our lives is only possible when we surrender our lives to the Lord, keeping Him front and center. I'm praying "all the harder" for that now.

Lord God, help us to live this message large today through the power of the Holy Spirit. You are our Lord. Apart from You, we have no good thing. In Your faithful name we pray, Amen.

Romans 12:1/A POV Shift

Monday Manna is being hosted by Joanne at An Open Book today. I couldn't resist jumping in on the Scripture because I JUST FINISHED WRITING A DEVO ON ROMANS 12:1 for a completely unrelated writing project at my church (literally, the deadline was today). Joanne encouraged me to post some of it. I'm sure the timing is not a coincidence. Joanne posted an INCREDIBLE perspective on it, as far as all the others I've read so far, so go by and read and join in if you can...

Romans 12:1 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

My entire adult life has revolved around serving God, especially in worship and drama. For many years, this is how I understood Romans 12:1:

“…offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God…this is your spiritual act of worship.”

And I lived it out, offering myself to the Lord’s service, wherever He called me. I served Him with my talents, but also with my gifts of shepherding and encouragement. My prayer was for all of it to be holy and pleasing to the Lord, and to live out my call to worship.

An internal struggle came, however, when I noticed some strongholds in my life. Why am I struggling? I thought. I’m supposed to be holy! As I cried out desperately for help, the Lord lovingly showed me what I was missing in this “living sacrifice” kind of faith. He opened my eyes to the whole verse:

“THEREFORE, I urge you…IN VIEW OF GOD’S MERCY, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices…” (emphasis mine)

Once I understood the entire verse (and its context with the preceding chapters), I realized that the emphasis is not on ME living a life of worship. Rather, it is on living with God’s mercies in full view. It’s saying, “Therefore—after eleven chapters of theology showing what you’ve died to, what you’re alive to, and what the Lord has done for you—THEREFORE—In view of those mercies, see worship for what it really is—not a gift you give to God—rather an offering of grateful sacrifice you live for God, knowing you don’t deserve a lick of those mercies.”

But there’s that one last word: sacrifice. I say I’ll give it all, yet I feel an agitated resistance to any discomfort that accompanies it. The only way for me to say “not my will, but Yours, Lord” is to continually focus on God’s character. It takes a mind that is preoccupied with the truth of God—as verse two says—a renewed mind.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

With His renewal (and constant help), I’m able to live out God’s “pleasing and perfect will,” and finally experience true worship—the kind that flows from a grateful heart.

Lord Jesus, I am overwhelmed when I stop to think of all the mercies You have given me. Eternal love and grace and joy, saving faith, strength, the Holy Spirit as a helper, righteousness, eternal life and security and everlasting peace. All of these and so much more compel me to live for you, yet I'm so bad at it sometimes. Forgive me, Lord. Forgive me when I forget to look from this point of view, and strengthen me according to Your Word. Thank You for giving me everything I need for this life and for Godliness. I long to sacrifice my all for you today. In Jesus' name, Amen.

In the Key of HE,

A Woman's Call To Worship/At The Well

It is my privilege to host At The Well from "Joyfully Living" this week, and I want to thank Chelsey so much for her trust in me to do so.

As a young child, I remember every Sunday in my hometown Baptist Church before any other word was spoken, that we would have a call to worship--A song to get us started, get us focused, remind us why we were there. I remember feeling so bummed when the song was over and we had to sit down and listen to announcements before we got to worship again.

I have carried some of that tradition with me into my worship life as a woman. If I don't start my day focused on the Lord, His BIGness and my smallness, then I'm pretty much a mess for the day. My attitude leaks into my words and actions. No matter if the morning is rush rush or lazy or somewhere in-between, I've gotta Gotta GOTTA have a conversation with Him.

One example I've given the kids is the following: When you wake up in the morning, your body is empty, right? Well, you have three choices: 1. Stay empty and don't eat...then feel weak later. 2. Fill up on donuts and chocolate milk...then feel sick later, or 3. Get your fill with a nutritious breakfast...and start the day feeling energetic and full of life.

The same is true of my spiritual life. His call for worship comes to me the moment I start my day. Good morning, Lord. Thank you for this day, for my very life. Before I get into any of the good or the bad, Father, I want to tell You I love You.Then I usually thank Him for the coffee I'm about to brew, because that is a HUGE praise for me. ;) With the first sip, if I've made the proper time, I dig into the Word and end in a time of surrender.

Nowa, somedays I need more "worship snacks" than others, but I can always tell I need one when I begin to feel full of myself or drained by my circumstances.

My goal is to praise Him and pray continually all day long, but sometimes, my attitude gets away, and then it will spiral downward quickly.
The call to worship comes whenever I need to turn my eyes to Him, for whatever the reason.
"He must become greater. I must become less."
John 3:30

Notice I haven't even mentioned music or songs yet? That's because I've learned that a life-changing, Jesus-centered worship has everything to do with my attitude, no matter if I'm singing songs with my mouth, or whether I'm living out my Lifesong in action. As a matter of fact, MOST of the time, my best worship experience in church happens when I've "come to church worshipping" instead of when I've "come to church to worship." Not all the time, but for me, most of the time.

I literally could go on and on for hours on this topic, so I'm glad we get to hang around at the well for awhile and do so. When I'm there, I'd like to chat with younger women and teens about what a living a life of worship looks like. After the attitude, comes action. When we've seen the Lord's majesty, it leaks over into the words we speak, the way we dress and carry ourselves, the way we love others. It spills out into every part of our lives, and hopefully the lives of everyone we come near. It changes the way we view our circumstances and others' too. Worship-filled and focused living is the cry of my heart.

Now it's your turn...type in your name and link below, and if the Spirit leads you to share, please, whatcha have to say on the subject? What advice do you have for the rest of us? And a bonus, but optional question: Do any songs come to your mind when you think of living a life of worship? I've got maybe a dozen or so...My favorite of all time is "Jesus, Be The Centre," but lately, this one has struck a chord within my heart. I couldn't believe it when I found it put to these beautiful graphics on GodTube. I hope you enjoy, and that it speaks worship into your heart as well.

Luke 9:23-24 (NIV)
Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.

In the Key of HE,

Praise in A Minor Key

My big sister ministered to us. Knowing of difficult times we are going through, God led her to send us Psalm 34, the perfect cry of our hearts right now. Sometimes praise isn't a march or an anthem. Sometimes praise is sung in a minor key. So today, I choose to praise Him, and I will use this anointed Psalm to do so:

Psalm 34, NIV(emphasis mine)
Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left.

"I will extol the LORD at all times;
His praise will always be on my lips.

My soul will boast in the LORD;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

Glorify the LORD with me;
let us exalt His name together.

I sought the LORD, and He answered me;
He delivered me from all my fears.

Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.

This poor man called, and the LORD heard him;
He saved him out of all his troubles.

The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
and He delivers them.

Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.

Fear the LORD, you His saints,
for those who fear Him lack nothing.

The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,

keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking lies.

Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.

The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous
and His ears are attentive to their cry;

the face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;
He delivers them from all their troubles.

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

A righteous man may have many troubles,
but the LORD delivers him from them all;

He protects all his bones,
not one of them will be broken.

Evil will slay the wicked;
the foes of the righteous will be condemned.

The LORD redeems His servants;
no one will be condemned who takes refuge in Him."

Lord, Brian and I take refuge in You today. We will never stop praising You, trusting You, depending on You. Thank You for being close to us in our newest wave of trials. We feel it and nestle in it even now. Give us strength and courage for this day. Help us not to forget our commitment to You. It is in Your name that we live and move and have our being, Amen.

Backward Praise

I've been leading kids' worship for almost eighteen years now--long enough that it has become incredibly natural and easy for me to do. Over the last five years, God has laid it on my heart to raise up youth to lead the younger kids in the same way. So I'm on the stage less and less, now directing from the floor more and more. As a result, I've had to learn all the motions backwards. (Yes, I'm in a very contemporary church where we do lots of ACTIVE hand motions and choreography to our songs).

Anyway, if I didn't do the motions backwards, the kids on the stage would be all confused, hands and flip-flops flying every which direction. The older I get, the more concentration it takes to be able to do the motions both ways. It takes extremely intentional thinking on my part. It may sound easy, but...NOT!

This emulates my 'daily living' worship as well. It is so easy for me to spend time in the Word, soaking it up, applying it, teaching it, writing it. It's quite another to mirror the Word to others. That takes extreme focus on my part, as well as intentional surrender to the Holy Spirit. Sounds so simple when I'm reading it and praying it, but...NOT!

James 1:22-25 (NIV) 

Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. 

Do what is says. 

Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says

 is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, 

after looking at himself, 

goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 

But the man who looks intently into the perfect Law 

that gives freedom, and continues to do this, 

not forgetting what he has heard but doing it-

-he will be blessed in what he does.

He is "There"...and Here.

Several years ago, I had the privilege of being one of the team leaders for a women's retreat our church was sponsoring. It was during an extremely difficult season of my life, but it was a commitment I began before that time hit. As the person directing and leading the dramas and tech, it was a hectic weekend, though I wouldn't have traded it for anything.

Everything went beyond well. The Lord showed His favor on the event. The speaker was amazing, and on the Sunday morning of the retreat, revival broke out. The retreat committee leaders served communion to the women attending. So while worship was happening, we stood in a line across the front, a bowl of bread and a cup of juice to dip the bread in. Women were on their knees, some were weeping, many raising both of their hands in complete surrender to the Lord. This is not a normal worship service at my church, so it was like nothing I'd ever experienced. As they would walk up to one of us to take the communion, we would say to them "His body was broken for you. His blood was shed for you. Eat and drink, Sister." So many were crying, a few would even ask for prayer or hold onto our shoulders.

About halfway through, I could not hold the tears back, I started to get really cold and tremble. I was overwhelmed with the brokenness in the room, enveloped in my own neediness as well. Lord, not now, please calm me down. I need to be strong for these women, I thought. I was begging Him to hold the tears back and "keep me together," at least until I wasn't holding a basket of bread in one hand and a juice cup in the other. My limbs began to get very weak, the tears streamed like an overflowing river down my face, and I was about ready to excuse myself.

Then a precious sister in Christ, one I do not know or even remember to this day, walked up to me, I thought to take communion. Instead, she slid in behind me and held up my arms. It freaked me out a little bit. It was awkward. Felt weird and embarrassing. Then she said, "Don't fight it. Just lean on me and let me hold you up until you're stronger." I did, and the streams of tears began to flow even heavier. As I stood there trembling, feeling more vulnerable than I'd ever felt in my life, I was humbled by the awesomeness of the Lord. Of course I wondered where my Kleenex angel was too, but then I got serious again. He did not answer my prayer in a way that I expected, but He was there, and in the form of a sister who listened to His prompting.

That's the power of God, my friends. He's "there" for us. "There" is anywhere we think He's absent. "There" is anywhere we need Him to be. If we will accept His ways, His methods for being there, then He will be. "There" is here. Right now. He's not "way up there." He is here.

Psalm 61:1-4:

"Hear my cry, O God;

listen to my prayer.

From the ends of the earth I call to You,

I call as my heart grows faint;

lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.

For You have been my refuge,

a strong tower against the foe.

i long to dwell in Your tent forever

and take refuge in the shelter of Your wings.

Selah"

As I reflect on the verse "dwell in Your tent forever," I can't help but look back.

When I was a little girl, scared in my bed of what might walk through my door and hurt me any moment, I cried out, and He was there to comfort me. Remind me of His perfect love for me.

When I was a teenager, struggling to figure out life and love with no parents to guide me, He was there. He led others to teach me, and He also guided me through the Holy Spirit in me.

When I was in a season of giving care for others, struggling with loss and depression and grief, He was there. He fed me through His Word, He sent people to take care of our tangible needs. He literally reached into the deepest parts of me and gave me incomprehensible peace.

And those are the big things, the really hard things. He has also been there through the ordinary, the regular and the "smaller" burdens and needs of my life as well.

To and from one end of the earth and back, He will be there.

But sometimes I realize I've called on something else. I have to lay it down, repent. Then lean on HIm, press into HIm. Face the vulnerability, the unlovely. Let Him be there for me. Let Him LEAD ME to the Rock that is higher than I, and higher than anything I could replace Him with or escape from.

"There" is here, my friends. Right now. He's not "way up there." He is here.

"God IS our refuge and strength,

an ever-present help in trouble.

The LORD Almighty IS WITH US;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Selah

Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth.

The LORD Almighty IS with us;

the God of Jacob IS our fortress.

Selah"

(verses from Psalm 46, NIV)

In the Key of HE,