...In the reality of who Christ is and who HE says I am. Everything else is an idol. Counterfeit. The praise of man is good, but it does not compare to hearing Father say "you are mine." And He's saying it-in a gentle whisper at the center of my being. He lives inside of His children. He made us to receive our value and worth and acceptance from an outside source- and how endearing is it when someone communicates that to you? Well the word is full of these instances how Father shows and tells His people what they mean to him. It's a love relationship- Tim Keller talks about Jeremiah and how when they would worship other idols it was like "cheating" on Him! They had united their hearts with Him and then ran to the idols because they wanted to worship them??? What??

It's so subtle and it puts chains on us when our worship goes to our friends, our family, our grades, and our performance. It's when all those have the power to determine our lives and our dispositions, because they DO NOT!! Only when we give them that power are we slaves to them. (to what others think, etc)

JESUS is all powerful.
HE is in control.
HE sings over us! HE LOVES us! He is ENOUGH for us!
HE is reality and this life is but a vapor in the grand scheme of things.

The Kingdom is coming here on earth and He moves our hearts to Himself. When those things that 'bother' us or those people 'hurt our feelings' I pray that this will continue to move us to the heart of God and it will move us to receive and LIVE by what HE says about us! "You are a saint, dearly beloved, child of Mine! In me you have ALL you NEED for life and godliness. I love you more than you know"
And He should know- He did make us. He knows all our thoughts and ways and still loves us. He is the perfect source for life. Christ is ALL and is in ALL. Amen and Amen.

Your reality is that you share in the greatest relationship ever: If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are aboe, not on things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Col 3:1-2) You are one with the creator of the universe! Do not receive unto yourself what the world throws at you- HE is better. Do not run yourself ragged trying to earn the approval of others, for this is impossible. He finds you approved because of what Christ has already done. You owe Him nothing- you are righteous according to Him. That is who you are, and if that is who you are then that is how you live- by your identity. Let Him convict you of your righteousness, for that is your name!

Go and be free in Christ. Enjoy Him and receive all He is offering you : wholeness, completeness, HIMSELF.

Jesus Christ's death and resurrection is not plan "B". His sovereign plan to redeem us for His glory has been in place for all time... before the foundations of time HE chose US in Christ Jesus! There is LOVE expressed in this!
God above, put the world in motion
God above of my hopes and fears
Could it be before the foundations of time we were already IN Christ Jesus? I like to think so. I believe that's what that verse says. And somehow we are bound by time but HE is Not. And right now, we are in Christ resting at the right hand of the father in heaven. How? I love that we can't understand everything that we may enjoy placing our whole being in dependence on Him. Allowing Him to be the author and perfecter of our faith.

HE has given us a new heart. HE makes all things new: the old has gone the new has come! He is faithful to continue to redeem our lives through Christ's work in and through us.
I know my God saves the day and
I know His word never fails and
I know my God made a way for me:
SALVATION is here!

HE brings light to the dark places if we will only surrender and let him. If we will take the first step and deal with our 'stuff' He is faithful to restore and redeem and heal, bringing resurrection power into the places in our heart that we think are dead. Dont be afraid- if you think you are being exposed before him you are deceived. He already sees you- and still He allowed Christ to die in your place- oh man does He LOVE you!

He has made us alive in Christ Jesus and is transforming us by renewing our minds to the specific personal areas He is doing this.

He's not bringing up the hard stuff for punishment but for the sake of wholeness: salvation: healing: VICTORY! FREEDOM! It awaits you on the other side of brokenness. Then your life will change. Others will see. Christ will be so at home in your heart that He explodes into the lives of those around you. And your priesthood will begin, and the world will be changed.

Salvation is here
Salvation is here and He lives in me
Salvation is here Salvation that died just to set me free
Salvation is here Salvation is here and He lives in me
Salvation is here
Cause You are alive and You live in me

I see all around me where God is undoing the legalism that many churches have brought in.
The GOSPEL in all its purity and truth is doing what it should. It's real, and active and alive- sharper than a double edge sword dividing soul and spirit joints and marrow- His Spirit/Salvation is alive and well in you and me- transforming our very minds to line up with what He desires: the very best for us for His glory! Salvation is not a lofty idea but a person!
SALVATION is HERE AND HE LIVES IN ME! I am changed. Constantly.

"When Christians begin to see that it is as godly to be a businessperson, lawyer, homemaker, artist, or doctor as it is to be a missionary, pastor or church leader, they will once again become salt and light. When all believers become priests once again, we will see the end of full time Christian ministry as a separate and superior calling." -michael horton


Go my priestly friends- be-loved and love!

ezekiel 36:26-27: I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

It is my hope that I walk in the Spirit... and when I don't that same Spirit lets me know.

I want so badly to be in control, to control others, to control my life as a whole. Why? In the deepest part of me I become afraid that my efforts to attain self worth aren't good enough (ha, they aren't... they also are not God's best for me!) I am afraid "they" will find out that what "they" think affects me and matters to me. I am afraid that God won't come through.

Yet, He already has.

He has placed a new heart in me and these fleshy episodes are just ways that He continues to make the new heart a reality. Oh it can be painful, confusing, maybe even embarrassing when my flesh is on display, but it's so good- the redemption that comes after. The WHOLE Gospel in my life is that He's forgiven me (done deal) but He's saved me from my self- my need to be in control- my need to be god. A lot of the time this is the core of sin: I have to be as god... and I will do what it takes to stay on my throne. Hm.

And then that failure comes, the rejection, the weakness is all made plain. So I turn to Him- He really is all I have and need. He is the Only One who can help! And like I said, He's making this new Heart in me a reality:

The most recent phrase I heard at church that so resonated with my God-given heart:

"Nothing is more uncongruent with grace than ungraciousness"
(Bob Flayhart)

We talkd about how often the "good christian" is praised for how much he reads, he prays, he attends church..." SICKENING! If he has not LOVE he is NOTHING!!!

It just highlights how God has been moving me to the heart of the gospel-
How do I regard life? How do I regard others? The gospel has a lot to say about this.
I have found that the more that I understand the gospel of grace in my life and the acceptance poured out on me, the more I can accept others. Everyone has their vices and carries their pain and such in different ways.

How do I see the disabled? The "sinners" ? The imprisoned?

The people that get on my nerves?

(and the conviction comes)

Their lives are just as valuable. I cannot place myself above them for Christ paid the same price for them. My worth (again) is not because I did or didn't do something they did, or because I am "better" than them... that's self righteousness and that's buying into the lie that I can create my own worth. My own existence.

I want to walk in the Spirit, where He is constantly meeting my needs so I am full of Him.
THEN I can love out of my fullness. Then I can hear His heart beating in me for His people. Out of what He's given, I can love without needing anything back because He is enough.

The Kingdom is coming little by little, one person at a time, through acceptance an compassion straight from the heart of Jesus in you and in me. Let HIM love you, let HIM love them. (Yes, Even "that person" :)

http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001199.cfm

this is an article that i found quite perplexing, but with some interesting points...

did you know they imprisoned men who didn't marry a long time ago?

"John Calvin intimated that any man who, without the gift of continence, failed to marry was guilty of stealing a husband from a wife.”

i like things that kinda stretch my thinking a little... (or a lot in this case)

i'm not perfect (I know someone who Is)
i definitely don't have it together (For IN HIM all things hold together...)
i can be faithless, prone to be fearful (but when I am faithless HE is FaithFUL, when I am weak HE is strong)
i think i have to deliver myself from this body of flesh (We have ONE redeemer, savior, deliverer named Jesus Christ! )

Ever have a day when you just want to stay in bed? Hide? RUN? Something to not deal with your stuff, to not see your weakness? Where's the glory in that?

God is all over this one!

He wants MORE for us! He wants us to not be satisfied on seeds, but to sow into the truth we so often talk about so He can give us the big delicious fruit! I like fruit better than seeds myself, but it's just the waiting part I do not like. I think the Lord is showing me that even the seeds don't satisfy... they are just shadows of the real deal. i am actually getting ill because of all these seeds in my belly- that is NOT where they belong!

And life is full of waiting. Depending. These can be good things when the One we are waiting and depending on is Him.

As the Lover of our soul writes our story He takes the imperfection and redeems it to perfection, the ugliness He makes beautiful, the disappointment He can turn to hope. He is writing redemption into all our stories if we will just stop and let Him.

Why is it so painful? We are experiencing little deaths each time the resurrections happen in our life... but how incredible is resurrection? God is working death BACKWARDS! He is springing up new life--HIS life and it's beautiful and painful and pleasureable and joyful and tough all in the same moment. Each time a part of the "old Katie/fleshly Katie" dies, He springs up new life in it's place.
This is what he's working towards:

Revelation 21:3-And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, (G)the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will (H)dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them[a],
4and He will (I)wipe away every tear from their eyes; and (J)there will no longer be any death; (K)there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; (L)the first things have passed away."
5And (M)He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am (N)making all things new " And He said, "Write, for (O)these words are faithful and true."

...And somehow, we are seated in Christ at the right hand of the Father participating in this...too much to comprehend, isn't it!?!

Romans 6:3Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection

2 Cor 5:17Therefore if anyone is (A)in Christ, he is (B)a new creature; (C)the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. .

Colossians 3:1
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ,
set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
4When Christ, who is your[a] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

I NEED to know this! I NEED TO KNOW that Jesus Christ is my life- and it's no longer I who lives but HE Lives in me! And when I try to let the old, dead me live it's chaos and frustration. Real abundand life is in Him alone.

Please SOW into this truth so that the beautiful attractive fruit is seen by this world who desperately needs THE Redeemer- He obviously desires to be this for us: what more could He do to demonstrate that He wants a relationship with us: to fill our deepest longing and that is an intimate perfect relationship with One who will never leave or forsake us. HE will do it.

a burden of my heart is for people to know that all their needs can be met in Christ Jesus: then they are free from seeking out other methods to control their world and to make the counterfeit self worth that is actually so empty.

we were MADE to look to an outside source for love and acceptance, worth and security, and Jesus is the only One who is capable of satisfying these needs, even though we try many other methods. From the outward sins of being hateful, substance abuse, etc to ones that may even look good to the Christian community (finding worth in how well "versed" you are or how many profound things you can say) yeilding themselves to self righteousness (idol: making yourself God by getting your righteousness from what you can think or how you can put others down) to diving into a holy huddle because that's where you feel most comfortable yet not allowing Jesus to change your heart - still depending on self to make self feel "good"

Well you know what feels GREAT?
Allowing the life of Christ to live thourgh you and love others.
To testify to being a part of a life that was changed by the gospel of glorious Grace.
To get to tell someone about the gospel and see the relief in their eyes that they are not accepted on the basis of their works, that their works will never be enough, and that Christ not only loves them but he LIKES them, that their story is one deserving of being heard, that they are not a lost cause.

And a GREAT way to know and experience Jesus is to walk in faith, believing that He is loving and LIKING people through you.

“Quit praying about yourself and spend your life for the sake of others as the bondservant of Jesus. That is the true meaning of being broken and poured-out wine in real life.“ - Oswald Chambers (July 15)

lord what would you have me do today to welcome the flow of your life through me? thank you that you are enough and i am complete in You alone. who needs your love, your hug, your listening ear, your acceptance today that they may live for your glory and that you will be seen on this earth a little more tomorrow? open my eyes to see those who are hungry for you- you are worth sharing!

...in a moment of weakness I sat and watched the bachelor. A handsome doctor from Nashville greets 25 women in from of a "chateau" in Paris and tries to narrow it down to 12. There was one girl in particular that probably got everyone's attention: This girl told him first and foremost her goal is to come out of this deal to reproduce.

Hold up.

Did she just say that? What happened to love? What is true love anyway? I think the bach. himself put it best when he told her she was putting the cart before the horse. How does she see relationships? A necessary means to getting what she wants?

Hmm. How often do we maintain friendships our relationships to get what we want for ourselves is the opposite of what I think God made relationships for.

How disheartening would it be to find that someone married you just so they could have your kids, or someone befriended you just so they would ride in your car (ha. right) or just so they could get in with your other friends. . . had an eye on someone else? All that is entering into a relationship for selfish reasons, and then it's a big cycle of being disappointed, and sucking the life out of one another, never experiencing what true love is meant to be (from God's perspective, of course!).

He pursues us because He loves us, in fact, He IS love! It just pours out of Him and onto us if we will just receive it. He didn't call us His children for us to serve Him, to do things FOR Him, or so that He could get something out of us. (Although these are honorable things when done with a pure heart).

It is simply the nature of God to LOVE. And I think He has set a precedent for relationships through that. I enjoy a relationship most when I find I have the ability to make the other person happy. It's not about getting my needs met (such and the need to feel loved, accepted, significant, etc) but it's about receiving from Love Himself and out of that fullness giving in with great joy to those around me. And somehow I am gratified even more when a face lights up or a heart is changed. I think God feels the same way. How exhausting is it to try and draw out of a human what only GOD can do? So often we find ourselves waiting on what we can get or how we can please someone because we are deceiving, thinking that we need their approval. God says that's backwords. It's idols.

There is no better life than one that is lived unto God. Face to face with the creator of the universe. It brings perspective to this life so that we don't sweat the small stuff and are freed up to enjoy the fullness of joy in His presense and loving people because He first loved us-in a magnificent indescribable out of the box kind of way.

Lord You are better than all this world has to offer...

"God's word is not meant to build up our theology but to change our reality." -Beth Moore

This world is fleeting and it's small in the grand scheme of things, but for some reason God chose to become small in intervene in our lives.

He actually is pursuing you now- in this moment- and in many others if you just stop and look.

Is your life bringing you hard times? Desperate times? HE wants you to ask Him for help. He wants to rescue you. He wants to give you a sense of the fact, the truth, the REALITY that HE is your reality! He is creating a dependent relationship between you and Himself and He's using the tough times to do it. What do you have to lose? Choose HIM! Stop fighting the process He's taking you through and surrender to Him. Can you really afford to go through life without Him?

HE is your peace, your guide, your provider, your lover, your stronghold. your refuge, your rock, your Father, who loves you with a perfect love. He wants to express that to you and so He is allowing brokenness in your life (or possibly extravangant blessing, who knows?) to get to the heart of the matter:

YOU and I NEED JESUS.
You and I need the life of Jesus to be our reality: our Living, Breathing REALITY! He is alive in you and me who have surrendered our lives to Him, saying, "do whatever- to me, in me, through me, because I know you love me and your ways are best" We can't escape it, although we try to think that all we can see is reality... well, why do you think the Bible talks so much about faith?

When you go to the word, and to see how God works, and you read the letters about miracles and how the spiritual life is what will exist for eternit, and what has always been before the foundations of time- don't you see that HE is reality. That to focus on Him is true life?

Yes, we live here on this earth with "ordinary jobs, ordinary lives, and some not so ordinary" but the joy comes in seeing Reality Himself in all... and allowing Him to express Himself through the fruit in our lives at all times.

That's what makes an ordinary life not so ordinary. Living in the extraordinary presence of Jesus. Listening to the indwelling Word who speaks in numerous ways- we could not be convinced of the "other" reality if we didn't.

Walk in faith, not by sight, finding in His presence is the Fullness of Joy. . . no other life will bring what He brings.

Here is a sermon i heard right before Christmas at my church here: OMPC.org you can read the transcript in it's entirety and listen to it as well. All quotes from Bob Flayhart. What powerful truth this is: the name of the sermon? "it's a wonderful life" as in that movie :) Many are disillusioned with the Christian life- well this says it so well. The catch to experiencing it is abiding/appropriating whatever you wanna call it. Enjoy !

http://resources.christianity.com/details/ompc/20051219/df351746-b3e9-4159-8c20-8568385ebe3f.aspx

do yourself a huge favor and listen to this sermon a few times.
it's incredible!
it talks about appropriating what is ours in Christ:

“How do we experience the wonderful life? In the midst of our confusion, in the midst of our suffering, in the midst of our trials, how do we experience the wonderful life? And the answer is very simple—three words—three words that I want ringing in your ears: “experience through appropriation”. Remember it, and write it down. “Experience through appropriation”. What is appropriation? To appropriate something means to lay claim to it. It means to personally cause it to come to you. For instance, we—most of us—have bank accounts. If we were to drive down to the bank, and we brought our checkbook and wrote out a check to cash, and we asked for the money, that would be appropriating our money. There is a storehouse of money in the bank, some of which is actually ours. We can lay claim to it. We can withdraw it whenever we need it, whenever we want it. Now, how silly would it be as the teller handed me the cash and I held it in my hands, and I said, “Please, give me my cash.” She’d look at me like I was losing it! She’d say, “What do you mean? You have your cash in your hand.” And I say, “Well, I don’t feel it.” Or I close my eyes, and say, “I don’t see it. I can’t hear it.” Would I be appropriating my money? No, at that point, I would not be. Appropriation means that you lay claim and take what is actually promised you, and you live out of that reality. That is how we experience the wonderful life. With a believing heart, through believing prayer, we approach the spiritual bank whose name is Christ, Who purchased for us, by His life, through His death, and in His resurrection, every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm. If you are a Christian, every blessing Christ has purchased for you is already yours, but it will never be real in your experience unless you personally, by faith, with a believing heart, appropriate it, and claim it to be yours, and believe that as you ask for withdrawals, Jesus always will grant what He has purchased for you.Three elements of the wonderful life of Christ that we are to appropriate so that we can truly say, not just during Christmas, but every time of the year, no matter what kind of circumstances we’re facing, it truly is a wonderful life.First of all, Experience the Wonderful Life by Appropriating the Child’s Love.

...The love of God is constantly bestowing gifts. Look at the gifts—look at verse 3—a light has shined, joy is increased. Undeserved blessings are being showered out upon us because of what Christ has done. But guess what? You and I will never experience the reality of what is actually happening, unless we appropriate that mercy and grace. You will continue to live in self-condemnation, in debilitating guilt, in self-contempt, unless you begin to appropriate with a believing heart, the mercy and love that is actually yours in the gospel. You can be a Christian, saved from eternal damnation, and not be experiencing the reality of the mercy and grace of God. Why? You are living in unbelief, and you are failing to appropriate the mercy and grace that is, in fact, yours...

..We have a God Who does wonders. We have a God who desires to do wonders in our lives, but that power and those wonders are experienced by appropriating. We tap into the power of Christ by faith. Now, you can call this whatever you want. You can call it abiding in Christ. You can call it the Spirit-filled life. You can call it running to the cross. You can call it looking to Jesus. I don’t care about the vocabulary, but you and I don’t tap into the power of God automatically. The power of God is there. It is like a plug, but we tap into the energy, and we do that by faith. We do that by personally trusting the promises of God, by personally appropriating the resources that Christ says are in fact ours. So what things are you facing this Advent that are the Midianites in your life? Where are you facing enemies where you are 450 to 1 ratio? What is in your life right now that is God-sized—way beyond human capability? They have been brought into your life that you might experience the wonder of the power of Christ. The scriptures are filled with God’s power delivering His people rather than their own competency delivering themselves. One of the most ironic elements of “The Chronicles of Narnia” movie—the day before we all saw it, Michael, my youngest son, and I were talking about Joshua chapter 10. There is another battle there; it is the battle with the Amorites. Michael had asked me if I remembered where the story was where God caused stones to fall from heaven, so that more of the enemy were killed by the falling stones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites. And I said, “Yeah, that’s in Joshua 10. That’s the battle of the Amorites.” We talked about how isn’t that so like God to want us to trust Him and His power to do things for us that He doesn’t intend for us to do for ourselves. Well, we get to the movie, and in the great battle scene where Peter and his armies of Narnia are going against the White Witch, and her hoards, great, big, gigantic birds are flying over the battlefield, and in their talons, they have great big rocks, and at Peter’s command, they are let loose and unleashed on the enemy. These rocks are causing the demonic beings to just be slaughtered. I thought, “What a picture in the world of imagination, of A) what happened in Joshua chapter 10, but B), what happens in our lives every day, as we appropriate the power of the gospel.” We may not see winged birds, but if we had spiritual eyes, could we see winged angels, dropping stones on all of our enemies, so that God is clearing a path upon which our feet can walk. Do you feel powerless? Then it is probably that you are not experiencing the wonderful life by appropriating the resources of Christ. We abide in Christ by faith. We are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit by faith, with a believing heart, we go to the treasure source of Christ, and we claim the power that is already ours, and whether we feel it, whether we see it, whether we smell it, whether we hear it, does not matter. We believe that we have been given what we have appropriated, and we move on, confident of the power of God in our lives. Experience through appropriation...

Look at verse 3. “As the farmer rejoices at the harvest”—now again, most of us are not farmers, so we have a hard time understanding the wonder of this passage. How does a farmer rejoice at the harvest? “Wow! No more fear of storms! Wow! No more fear of drought! Wow! No more fear of animals killing my crop! Wow! It’s done! The crop is in the barn! We are safe! Imagine the joy of the farmer, rejoicing at harvest, and in the midst of our darkness, in the midst of our gloom, in the midst of our struggles, we are supposed to believe and appropriate the victory that has already been won for us by Christ. Look at the second part of verse 3. “As the soldier rejoices in dividing the spoil”, what does that mean? The victory has been won, the battle is over, the enemy is defeated, and they are in retreat. When I feel incredibly attacked by the Devil, I’m to appropriate Christ’s victory over Satan on the cross. Whether I feel it, whether I smell it, whether I hear it, whether I taste it, whether I touch it, it doesn’t matter. I’m to appropriate it, as an act of faith.Look at verse 7. “Of the increase of His government and peace, there will be no end.” We are to continually believe that as we appropriate the wondrous work of Christ, his work in us will continue, and increase, but not only in us—in this world, the gospel and the Kingdom will continue to expand and spread and bring forth fruit. If you are a Christian, the victory is already yours. But are you appropriating that victory by faith? ...

A classic illustration—The Promised Land. Why is it called that? Because it was land that God promised Israel. It was theirs. God gave it to them. It was assuredly guaranteed, but what did they have to do? They had to appropriate it. They had to enter the land physically, trusting in God, they had to fight the battles, though God fought most of the battles for them, and they had to claim that which was already promised. That is exactly the Christian life. We have been promised all kinds of mercies, graces, powers, and victories. The gospel is our promised land.

The wondrous Child is our promised land, and in Him are all the resources and riches that we could ever want or desire, but they must be appropriated to be experienced...

Can I just say that Jesus blessed me this Christmas... I had a great time with my family. I didn't have to work on Christmas. I got to see old friends. It was great!

What did He do in my heart?

Well, as Always I have found that He is calling me to trust Him without question, to walk by faith not by sight, even when the world is screaming the opposite. I have to stand on the word that He is faithful:
Psalm 121... I look to the hills- where does my help come from? It comes from the Lord! the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD watches over you— the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

I take this word as truth and as a promise to me! This is my Lord, my precious Lord who continues to amaze me in how He romances me...

He used this Christmas to put me in awe of the fact that HE is REAL!
He produced in my heart a quiet confidence and realization of how necessary it was that He would come to earth. It's not a fairy tale. It's not to give us a reason to have a holiday. It's for His glory and to demonstrate His love for us!

He could have stayed and left us to our own choices. He could have removed himself and not finished the work of the cross. Oh the wonder of a newborn baby, fully God and fully man!

A scripture came alive to me when a few of my friends came over and we practiced to lead our sunday school class in worship for the Christmas party. We decided to read scripture throughout the set and one line just hit me hard:

1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east[b] and have come to worship him." ...

9After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east[e] went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and
they bowed down and worshiped him.


Can you imagine the anticipation the Magi had going to seek out this king?? Can you imagine what it was like to know you are about to encounter God in the flesh? Are you overjoyed at the "stars" all around us/ signs that Jesus is there/fruit of Him living His life in and through you and others?

What if you were there at this scene. What release it would be to throw down that frankinsense and fall on your face and worship him! God himself! Here on earth: Wow!!

He is real. He is a person. And He is JUST AS REAL TODAY as His birth was 2000 years ago.
I am floored. If that birth is real... if those few chapters in the Bible describing it are real, then what about the rest of the story!

Dont you see? There is purpose in Jesus. He came for a purpose, He IS my purpose.
There is love displayed in Jesus. He came to love. He IS love.
There is GLORY in Jesus. He came to bring Glory to Father. He is glory!

And this powerful One lives in you and me by faith! He is just as real as that precious baby! Breath of heaven. I can't help but love Him.

I just finished "She's out of Control" by Kristen Billerbeck. Yes, I read a "chick lit" book. It's about this 31 year old girl Ashley who is a lawyer in California and her crazy life as a single lawyer, her singles Sunday school class (they call themselves the Reasons... hahaha) and her crazy love life... As a wonderful man comes after her heart she feels herself starting to fall and is afraid but she finally surrenders and says this:

...I'm still thinking about life. I'm thinking that living out loud means living truthfully. Not just in my faith and deeds but in my emotions. We live in a world where it's safer to protect your heart from disasters... but you know what? The Bible also says to live free of fear, that fear doesn't come from the Lord. I look it up in 1 John, just to make sure, and there is is: 'There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear...the one who fears is not made perfect in love"

[and we all know that emotions spawn from what we are believing... I think she's saying bring your emotions to truth... For example if you are feeling fear,(p.s. I think fear causes us to miss out), investigate that and receive the truth that the Lord is in control...]

So you're free to take that leap of faith: the reality is you ARE out of control it's just a matter of if you acknowledge it or not. It's just a matter of if you acknowledge that God IS in control and you yield to His guidance. He does love you! And as Ashley lets her heart go...

Jumping off the cliff is how you feel the hand of God underneath you.

Moses himself said: "the eternal God is a dwelling place and underneath are the everlasting arms." What are we afraid of? Who better to trust our hearts and lives to than the Everlasting Arms... strong and dependable and eternal. Powerful and loving. We have nothing to hide and our shame does not define us: Jesus Christ does!

It's a vulnerable spot to be in, jumping off a cliff. Maybe crazy to some, in fact, only a fool in love would do it. But oh to love and be loved so much that you can trust Him enough to take the plunge, believing fully that His outstretched arms were there all along. It may look crazy to the world but no one knows us better than our Creator. We have our little secrets, you know. We know each other. I can trust Him because I know His character and boy does He know mine.

This life can hurt and sometimes we try to stop it for fear of failure or just plain fear. We withdraw because we think the 'ouch' is just around the corner. Perfect love drives OUT fear! "...many of life's mysteries are beyond our understanding. God's grace equips us to trust in His sovereign control. Our faith then frees us from wallowing in constant frustration, confusion and self doubt. We can walk in His faithfulness and trust His ways even when they aren't our way" (Steve mcvey)

I pray that God continues to open my heart to Him to the point that I ask no questions but simply follow Him... let Him carry me in fact. No fear because why? Perfect love! I want to continue to fall deeply in love with Him- how fulfilling is that to yield control to the One who is deeply in love with me?! I hope your heart leaps like mine at this pursuit of which we are the recipients!!

Holy, You are Still Holy
Even when the darkness surrounds my life
Sovereign, you are still Sovereign
Even when confusion has blinded my eyes

Lord, I dont deserve your kind affection
When my unbelief has kept me from your touch
I want my life to be a pure reflection of your Love

So I come into your chambers and I dance at your feet Lord
you are my savior and i'm at your mercy
all that has been in my life until now
Belongs to you, for you are still holy.

holy you are still holy even when i dont understand your ways
sovereign, you are still Sovereign even when my circumstances dont
change
Lord i dont deserve your tender patience when my unbelief has kept me from
your truth
i want my life to be a sweet devotion to you

I love these lyrics (rita springer again)
Showing the value of His presence. Nothing can change who He is... it may feel like He is not good, but He is and that's our security in know the character of God. He is the hope we have.

This is your Life- Your one and only life. And He wants to be a part of every bit of it. It's His after all- He gives each moment for enjoyment of you for His glory. There's a beautiful tension there- it's called relationship- communication is the food of it.

Lord by your mercy expose my unbelief so that I don't miss another second of you! Make me weak in my mind so that I may live in constant awareness of the heartbeat of your spirit!

i remember when rita springer came to encounter and in her lyrics she changed a few words which made them all the more applicable:

i want the joy of the Lord to come down, i want the joy of the Lord to fall down, i want the joy of the Lord in my life
i want the joy of the Lord to lift me ... to change me... in my life...

...and it's time we started DANCING over all these graves
and it's time we give you , o my God, the highest praise
it's time to lift our voice; we're gonna beg for the blessing to fall...

and the cool part:
...and it's time we started DANCING OVER ALL THIS JUNK!

graves = junk.... things that bring death is just the trash of sin and distraction (idols) in our lives and satan will do anything to convince us to think on our circumstances, our selves and miss the whole point:

we MUST RELY on BELIEVE in DEPEND on
JESUS
for EVERYTHING!

I want the JOY of the LORD to change me and move me, not the happiness of cool THINGS, not because things are going "my way" to drive me and me what lifts my spirit. I want Jesus to do that. (Now of course there are millions of ways He can do this and you can recognize it's from Him) But is He not in all things?? Give Him the glory and credit!

And if He is in all things, what about the bad that happens to His children? I think He's in those as well. Have you read Job? ("consider my servant Job...") You are not a slave to your stuff... it doesn't have to control you. People do not have power over you- you are controlled by the Spirit of the Living God who moves in and through you!



Proverbs 20
30Blows that wound cleanse away evil; strokes make clean the innermost parts.
Proverbs 21
1The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.

The Spirit of God is a river of Life inside of you!
The Spirit of God is purifying and life changing. Live in Him. He is reality. Just a moment in His presence makes all other things seem so small. And we carry His presence with us always- it's just a matter of acknowledging it.


Junk is meant to be stomped on, danced over, and lived above.
Who wants to wallow around in it? You and I don't have to do that , you know!
Is that not why we enjoy worship so much? We escape the junk- We may even forget about it for awhile. Because in His presence is the fullness of joy. It's not the worship that does it in and of itself. It's HIM.

In HIS PRESENCE is the fullness of joy. And He is always present. We just have to choose to live there! Seated in Christ at the right hand of the Father. At rest. Rest and peace for the soul is found only in the finished work of Christ at the Cross- it's done.
And that's victory. True victory for this life and the one to come.

"...What is needed, then, is to see God in everything, and to receive everything directly from His hands, with no intervention of second causes (such as other human beings). And it is just to this that we must be brought, before we can know an abiding experience of entire abandonment and perfect trust. Our abandonment must be to God, not to man, and our trust must be in Him,not in any arm of flesh, or we shall fail at the first trial" (Hannah whitall smith)

Not only is there joy in His presence but there is power... Power to live by faith alone and to declare that He is better and I'd rather have Him than anything here. Believing this frees us to accept all things that happen as things from Father meant for good because HE is good.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, (have you felt your world fall apart??) and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled; (aren't there plenty of storms to go around??) though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.
I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in Him will I trust. Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisesome pestilence. He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust. His truth shall by thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day,nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday...(Psalm 46)

Is He not powerful? Is He not in control? Does He not love you dangerously and passionately?

I believe He does. Just ask Him. Everything that comes to you is an opportunity to dive in to the treasure of Jesus that awaits you.

Don't let your mind deceive you. Don't try to outsmart Him- you can't. Logic distracts but faith rescues and restores and transforms you in your mind who you already are in spirit: a new creation for the glory of an indescribable God.

I am just gonna repost something from the summer that I need to chew on again... More to come:) This lesson is taking on another face for me, but here's the first verse.

Monday, July 25, 2005
How you livin'? The SPIRIT of the GOSPEL
Are you living out of your IDENTITY in Christ or on your old thought patterns?Wanna know how to transform your mind? Put on Christ! He has given you a new heart (Ez. 36:26) that's alive to God. You are no longer a slave to sin. You are a slave to RIGHTEOUSNESS: that's your nature... your identity. Jack Taylor said something to the effect of this: being weak in your mind makes the truths of your identity precious. Oh wow, how the Lord has made this truth to me! The more I surrender what I think about things and ask the Lord to reveal the reality of the gospel... well, HE does it! The truth of who I am in Christ sets me free. One thing that gets me a lot is a judgmental mindframe, but the more I recognize that I am totally accepted in Christ the more I no longer have to think of ways to form my own sense of worth...Ultimately by belittling others! YUCK! He has given me total worth and acceptance and I know longer have to live out of my mind. I live out of my Spirit... My identity... And then my mind is transformed by that. Then, when a judgmental thought comes "I am so much more intimate with God than she is" I can take it captive: because the word says that we are not to judge and that we are ALL accepted not by what we do... And God sees the heart (I know I cannot) and ultimately because I am a child of God, and a righteous one at that. So since a righteous person does not think like that, then who's thought was that? Not mine! I refuse to take that as my own and reject this lie; Knowing that "she" is loved and accepted without condition. Knowing that none of us can get any closer or intimate with God that we already are, that thought is a lie, and I refuse to puff my own opinion up of myself (thinking I'm 'better than') to feel good. That's a cheap quick fix. Father offers wholeness and love regardless of my understanding of it or not! Praise God- I am not a judgmental person but a loving person in Christ. So how am I livin? Well, we are similar to a temple on the old testament days. Looking from the outside you can see the walls (like our physical body: plain to the eye) and the outer courts- what makes up our body or our "members" then comes the Holy Place (this is like our soul: our mind will and emotions and what we operated out of before Christ gave us His life. This part is being progressively renewed to truth and changed/sanctified) and the innermost part is the Holy of Holies, separated by a curtain or veil where the Lord resides (this is like our Spirit- where we receive our identity at salvation).The problem is when we were born our spirit was dead to God- we had no other option but to live out of the soul (out of the strength of our minds and how we perceived the world from day one- as twisted as that view may be). We use logic and our own will to make life work. Once we become saved our spirit is reborn (we are a new creation) and we now have Christ as our source. We no longer have to figure out life on our own! He is all sufficient! The sad thing is we had become so comfortable living in and out of our mind we don't realize the freedom that's behind that curtain. Christ, the High priest, actually came to tear that curtain and invite us to intimacy/union/oneness with Him. But our free will (he's not gonna force us to love him or seek him) may continue to live/find life out of the mind. Thank goodness he is faithful to break us, to bring us to dependence on Him where we see that the mind is not sufficient but he is all sufficient. (Some it may take longer than others, sadly b/c some of us are really good at using our own thinking.)Good news: He has torn down the barrier by totally paying the price for our sin (no debts owed by you or me) and giving us His life (residing in our spirit: our own Holy of Holies) and renewing our mind to the truth of our identity. THEN our mind is transformed and we live life out of the Spirit... The truths of our identity penetrate our thinking and we can surrender to HIM, knowing that just when I can't figure it out on my own, He is enough and He gives me His perspective--His godly wisdom, and Christ is my ultimate focus. He has given me all I need in Him. My TRUE identity. My TRUE nature. Progressively, my thinking becomes more in line with His, more often my feelings line up with the truth and I stand changed: More like Christ, in whom Father finds great delight- living in His rest and peace and enjoying eternity today. What a gift the gospel is! Who else but God could give a heart message that changes you daily, frees you daily, and ultimately LOVES you daily and meets every need in Christ Jesus?!!

susan was there...




mom and dad were there...
tommy was there...
toilet paper was, um, EVERYWHERE!
probably about a million bajillion people were there....
Auburn was (and is and always will be) the place to be and the bajillion folks were all at cracker barrel the next morning when we wanted to eat a peaceful breakfast... imagine waiting 45 minutes at 10 am ???

WAR EAGLE anyway! There's nothing like the Auburn Family.

tiger walk with none other than my fantastic white house girls!
here are some more of them...jeannie, rambo, laura beth
me and my beautiful sister, Grace toughed it out in the [bama] section...



More to come...

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Katie B |

you know why i think total grace freaks everyone one out?
because i think living in total grace is also living by total faith. B-l-i-n-d. f-a-i-t-h.

so, there isn't always a blue-print to life. there can't be! you never know what's to come... if this winter will be a cold one, if you find out life changing news or you are in the clear for a while... the "plan" is fluid: moving and changing. it's one thing to prepare- another to plan and bank on something.

there isn't always black and white. see, we like black and white and love the law because then we can follow what WE know to do instead of depending on Father for what He wants us to do, and that's faith. Following the law and living life in general without faith is as filthy rags (i wont say on here what those rags are but they are really really gross and filthy). Our own attempts at righteousness are gross compared to what He wants to do through us: and if it's in faith it shows forth as gold.

I think He wants us to live in total dependence on Him... Lord what would You have me do. Lord what is your heart for me in this moment.

It's still about RELATIONSHIP! (that's abiding, right? remaining in His love! JOhn 15)

Now don't make a law out of this!
"I have to brush my teeth in faith, oh i don't think I did it. God i'm so sorry- aah!"
To me that comment sounds like I am having faith in myself to have faith. Kinda backwards. Kinda focused on my performance. You have to realize (I have to believe this too) that the measure of faith we have is even a gift from God (we have RECEIVED it from Him alone) and we couldn't have it apart from Him. Faith and trust facilitate relationship... and that is ultimately what He wants!

If I am in a relationship with someone, one of the worst feelings is to not feel trusted... another close second is for the other person to not believe in me, or not to think that I would come through for them. A relationship is so incredble when you share life- the little and big things and to can depend on the other person to support you, guide you, feed your ideas, like how you think, make you smile. See, God does this for me! It's just taken years for me to surrender and give up my own gross efforts to let Him do it and Him live gently and uniquely through me.

If life becomes more about "being right" or "doing the right thing" then we've missed the point. It's about a relationship, or should I say, THE relationship! There's a grander bigger story!

Well how do I know what to do? Well the doing is a result of your BEING.
Being in His presense and Hearing Him
Being who He has called you and declared you: Holy, Righteous, Blameless in Christ alone
Being a branch attached to a vine that is more powerful and fruitful than you could ever be alone

Just BE.
Just trust God and that it's not about doing the right thing (there's no Life in checking off a list but there is in a living, breathing relationship!)
so you can be someone (because as a believer you already are those things),
but you do things because it's who you are created to be... it's natural.

Oh there are so many rabbit trails to take from Here but I have been so excited about How God works and How He simplifies things for me.

I CRAVE a blue print for my life because it's easy and because my flesh is to want to take over and be in control instead of yielding all power and decision to Him. I wanna make plans and look to those but lately i find Him letting me just dream. Today He wants to stir my passion and affections for Himself. He wants me to sit [rest] and feast and not worry about the dishes, ha, or the scale.

I dream and think but I dont make plans. It's not time and I can rest in that because Life in me will clue me in when it is time. The question is:

Katie, Will You WAIT on Father to lead the dance... Repent of your foolish idea that You are in Control, Yield to His beautiful plan Believe that He alone is good and Stand firm by the Grace and Power God alone gives still waiting on His "yes" and His "go ahead" yet all the while savoring the moment where You just get to dream.

Well today is a day to dream
Tomorrow? Who knows! But I live on total grace where GOD DOES IT and I am so convinced that any of my own effort coming out reminds me of how incredibly needy I am. It's scary but it's freeing because I relinquish that false sense of security where I think I control my destiny to Him who has had it all along. And it's just better that way.

I'm off to dream with the greatest Dreamer that ever existed...

this week has been a fun busy one and i have lots of thoughts but no time to post... i am just so glad to be His very precious daughter, Holy and beloved because of what He alone has given. All that just to say this weekend can only get better because I am going to AUBURN. so

WAR EAGLE, HEY!!!!!!

I just finished Blue Like Jazz and here are some things that really resonated with me from the chapter on worship- what an incredible book! I tried to hold off b/c everyone was reading it but now i see why: Here's some more Donald Miller for ya:

"I love how the Gospels start, with John the Baptist eating bugs and baptizing people. The religious people started getting baptized because it had become popular, and John yells at them and calls them snakes. He says the water won't do anything for them, it will only get their snakeskins wet. But if they meant it, if they had faith that Jesus was coming and was real, then Jesus would ignite the kingdom life within them. I love that because for so long religion was my false gospel. But there was no magic in it, no wonder, no awe, no kingdom life burning in my chest. And when I get tempted by that same stupid Christian religion, I go back to the beginning of the Gospels and am comforted that there is something more than the emptiness of ritual. God will ignite the kingdom life within me, the Bible says. That's mysticism. It isn't a formula that I am figuring out. It is something God does."

(Yeah, lets forget the routine and ask God what He would have us do! Blind faith! Isn't that what He asks? Not for the cold, comfortable, sure thing)


"...Too much of our time is spent trying to chart God on a grid and too little is spent allowing our hearts to feel awe. By reducing Christian spirituality to formula, we deprive our hearts of wonder."
(How about if we quit trying to figure out what He's doing and just focus on Him and surrender to the beautiful awe of Father!)



"When I think about the complexity of the Trinity the three-in-one God, my mind cannot understand, but my heart feels wonder in abundant satisfaction. It is as though my heart, in the midst of its euphoria is saying to my mind, There are things you cannot understand, and you must learn to live with this. NOt only must you learn to live with this, you must learn to enjoy this."

"At the end of the day, when I am lying in bed and I know the chances of any of our theology being exactly right are a million to one, I need to know that God has things figured out, that if my math is wrong we are still going to be okay. And wonder is that feeling we get when we let go of our silly answers, our mapped out rules that we want God to folllow.
I don't think there is any better worship than wonder."

(I agree with Mister Donald Miller... it would be hard to worship something that we had all figured out ... then it should worship us! Hm. He's trustworthy and greater than we can even begin to imagine.)

thank the Lord for a great game... an awesome last few minutes and friends to scream and celebrate with. how exciting! but there's nothing like being there right in the Middle of a good game! There's nothing like coming back after you've graduated and feeling the A.U. pride well up.

There's nothing like knowing, experiencing, and being right smack dab in the MIDDLE of a movement of people all passionate and in love with the same purpose, united to accomplish one goal. And isn't it funny how are are "working" so hard to achieve results and yet we have no control over what happens. (and no, i'm not really talking about football anymore, but I could be...) We even may make a total fool of ourselves, painting ourselves a color that shows we're for the best team, wearing and saying what we should... and when you win, what abundant joy and fellowship there is...

And when you lose...

If you are an Auburn fan, hopefully this doesn't determine your loyalty. Because Auburn is bigger and better than just football- than the tangible side that the TV flaunts. It's a place, it's a people, it's a spirit. It's a community that has spread worldwide. Nothing is cooler than seeing a shirt in a city far away... I know some have seen one in other countries. It happens and it instantly perks up your spirit and your excitement. Auburn is something special.

Jesus is special-er.

He's special-est.

He's bigger than the church building, than the musicians who represent Him, than the meetings in His name. He is all powerful. He is moving. We can't Him but we see the effects of Him. Jesus in me stirs up the Jesus and you and vice-versa. It's one thing to sit back and watch and celebrate what He's doing but it's another to be right smack dab in the middle.

I wanna be a part! I wanna be connected to the body of believers that shares the same passion that I have and connected to the body that hears his heartbeat and is driven by His Spirit alone. He is something special and unique that evokes irrepressible joy that we can't describe or contain.

May we all get excited about moving with Him as He stirs our hearts to love and live in Him like never before. And may we welcome the flow of His powerful life through us to do it as we die to our own efforts. I want Him to do it. He wins every time.

I think Jesus could quite possibly be a loyal Auburn fan. He's got Spirit. :) I know he'll be hearing lots of prayers from Jordan Hare a week from today! And in His mercy, let it be so...

Gosh, He is so much bigger than a game... just imagine what it would be like for a stadium full to be gathered in His honor ... well someday soon every knee on heaven and earth will bow and I cannot wait to be part of it... something Huge for Someone who deserves our lives.

War Eagle and
Go in Grace!!

1 John 1 1[WE ARE writing] about the Word of Life [[a]in] Him Who existed from the beginning, Whom we have heard, Whom we have seen with our [own] eyes, Whom we have gazed upon [for ourselves] and have touched with our [own] hands.
2And the Life [[b]an aspect of His being] was revealed (made manifest, demonstrated), and we saw [as eyewitnesses] and are testifying to and declare to you the Life, the eternal Life [[c]in Him] Who already existed with the Father and Who [actually] was made visible (was revealed) to us [His followers].
3What we have seen and [ourselves] heard, we are also telling you, so that you too may [d]realize and enjoy fellowship as partners and partakers with us. And [this] fellowship that we have [which is a [e]distinguishing mark of Christians] is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ (the Messiah).
4And we are now writing these things to you so that our joy [in seeing you included] may be full [and [f]your joy may be complete].
5And this is the message [the message of [g]promise] which we have heard from Him and now are reporting to you: God is Light, and there is no darkness in Him at all [[h]no, not in any way].

He has made me to shine! ... But they cannot see the light unless I turn my face to You, Father. (p.p. sara groves)

I think people know Christians are supposed to be these loving people- light- pleasant to be around, a source of fellowship because they are an extension of Life.

I am a little upset at a Christian on TV that has a platform of political ideas and what sounds like judgemental statements on other leaders, writing them off as if they are beyond saving or beyond the intervention of Father, telling them not to even call out to God because of something they had done.

I am SO GLAD that I don't have to earn or achieve the salvation Father imparts to me. He gives it just when I need it. I definitely don't deserve it except for the cross! I am SO glad He does not renig on that promise when I mess up! (The Gospel is the saving power to those who ARE BELIEVING not once believed... there is no present power or life in a historical fact but in Him and the fact that He's alive today!)

I am also SO GLAD that it's not my job to judge or decide the fate of others. I leave that to Father for this man on TV (since there's no possible way I can know His heart) and for myself. (Father, Search me and Know me. I trust and you live inside me you will bring to my conscience that which You want to deal with... humble me to accept it).

When will we understand its more about loving people and less about dividing them, analyzing them, and figuring out their destiny. It seems that people know Christians are "supposed to love and such and the world is just waiting to see it in action. There are hearts that want to believe but are pushed away by those who are focused on 'do' and 'dont'.

Relying on the Spirit brings about LOVE and from that flows the others: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self control. If you LOVE above all else won't you find the rest of these. I believe that this is what our world hungers for- now's our chance to let the Life of the ALL Powerful Resurrected Jesus accomplish it: "for I am with you until the end of the age" We cannot truly and selflessly love without being full of Him.

I am just really pumped about the message of "Your kingdom come" Salvation is Here! Grace is Here! He is Alive and we can participate in it Now! I love what Sara Groves says:

IN MY MIND THE NEW ALBUM IS ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF GOD, HOW IT REALLY DOES EXIST, AND IS AS REAL AS YOUR CAR OR YOUR KRISPY KREME DONUT, YOUR FAMILY, YOUR PROBLEMS. IF WE CAN FIGURE IT OUT, GOD HAS INVITED US TO LIVE in His kingdom in the midst of our regular existence. It is not a place of isolation and perfection, it is not far away where we cannot reach it. It happens at all the places where we intersect with each other. I hope the album is another reminder that the kingdom of God doesn't just come in the rally or worship event. It comes when I speak respectfully to my husband, and refrain from letting my anger spill over onto my kids, when I have an opportunity to gossip and refrain, when I open up my home, when I mess up royally, and have the stuff to go apologize, when I refuse to blame everyone else for my problems. These songs are about the beautiful character that grows out of seeing people through by loving God, and loving people. – SARA GROVES

do yourself a favor and listen to the whole sara groves album (the new one)

i think two of the biggest lies to creep in the mind of the believer are
1: i have something to hide
2: i am the only one who has this "something"

well, newsflash:
1.you have nothing to hide because your identity is that of Christ so that "something" does not define you and satan is just taking your eyes off of Him and onto yourself
2. you are NOT the only one! satan has deceived us all at one time or another into withdrawing and hiding so that the body won't be expressed and community will cease to be formed when this overwhelming shame comes over you and me and prevents us from being able to share what's really going on with our brothers and sisters in Christ...

Your community is there to glorify Him through being His hands His feet His voice His hugs His touch His vessel of love and acceptance to us all that we so desperately need but are too proud to admit. It is formed through people being transparent- you cant really reach out to someone that pushes you away.

What do I have to be ashamed of? Nothing. I am no different than you. You are no different than me- we were both separated from God and now by His grace alone can we live a victorious life. We can stake our fellowship (definition: my acceptance of your acceptance of me) on that fact. WE(none of us!) didn't earn, afford or make this grace that God gave us to rescue us from an independent a.k.a. self-centered life where I have to figure it all out and I have to present myself the way I expect me to be. The shame is only a shadow of the past life, when we had to be perfect and work twice as hard to hide that we weren't. Man has been struggling like this since the time when he covered up in fig leaves in Eden, like that would take care of His shame... like he could "fix it all" by controling and coping in every which way but rely on the One who gave him his life in the first place.

Any time the enemy speaks into your head (and yes he will come first person in a voice sounding like your own) "I am so defective... I am worthless... I can't let anyone know this about me or they'll think _____" (b/c it only matters what GOD thinks) Rebuke it immediately and preach the gospel to yourself:

I am a child of God, born again by the Spirit of God. The sinner me was crucified with Christ, and the old me is dead- I no longer live but Christ lives this new resurrected life through the new me. Those thoughts are not my own but sorry attempts from someone who hates me and wants the worst for me. I choose today to rely on the one who loves me and wants the best for me and has a plan for my life, and i welcome the flow of His life through me. I can't do this life... I can't think thoughts of truth apart from TRUTH himself who has given me access to His mind and His heart and His thoughts through the miracle of the Holy Spirit.
I DENY that i am alone. I receive the life and love of my savior who loves me and gave Himself for me. Don't you see how important it is to believe the gospel?

Isaiah 53: 3He was despised and rejected and forsaken by men, (I have to believe that He sees my darkness )
a Man of sorrows and pains, and acquainted with grief and sickness;(I have to believe He knows my pain)
and like One from Whom men hide their faces He was despised,
and we did not appreciate His worth or have any esteem for Him.
4Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses)
and carried our sorrows and pains [of punishment],
yet we [ignorantly] considered Him stricken, smitten,
and afflicted by God [as if with leprosy].
5But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities;
the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace
and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes
[that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole. (I have to lift up my hands to worship, worship His name)

You are NOT a half-person, a maimed person, a defective person... He has made you WHOLE in Christ, in your spirit, the part of you that identifies you to Him. That's reality and that's what you can live out of. He's paid the price for all imperfections, iniquities (which is twisted thinking) and sorrow and pain so that we could have peace and know that He's experienced it all. There is fellowship w/ Jesus because of that and we also find fellowship with others when we have shared experiences.

The painful stuff? Well that's just Him transforming your mind to line up with the truth. It's a process and a journey as he refines the soul part of you: the part that thinks, feels, and chooses. It's also an opportunity to find intimacy with the one who has felt the same think and who has an exchange for that pain. He gives healing and wholeness.

There's a fight to believe, an urgency almost, to believe God is who He says He is and we are who He says we are: His. Beloved. Your Spirit cries Abba father from deep within and your flesh tries to raise up that old dead you so you can be in control, putting your fig leaves back on... Hiding that which is not a part of you any longer anyway. the enemy is tricky, he is subtle and clever but he is defeated. Shame is not of Father. Love and acceptance is. Receive it from Him he has more than enough to give. Do not be deceived. Be-loved. Love drives out all fear (and shame I would guess since that's pretty much fear of being exposed).

Let Him love you intensely in this moment.

i have talked about this before i think, but it is so cool how when God does give us His life, that Life works in and through us to bring about desires. Now our choice is whether we live out of that Life or out of our fear and own reasoning. (Which is a very human thing to do) God wants us to know that we have ALL we need in Christ Jesus if we'll just depend on Him. Depend on him? Yes, wait on Him, listen to Him, and obey Him. But I think the more you depend on Him it's more natural to obey or to walk in truth... not fear and anxiety.

Just a word from Father mades the world. Just a word from Him stops my world and turns it all around so that my eyes are on Him and I can let Him do anything to me, with me, through me for His glory- surrendered to Him.

And now He's speaking...

It's so cool how He speaks to the hearts of his children and How he uses that to unite them. It's like you can get a glimpse of how He is doing something bigger than us by just talking to other believers and hearing the heartbeat that He's place in them. And then you find yourself exclaiming "Yeah! Yeah! I was just thinking that! I was just teaching about that! I just heard that message the other day, God has really been working on me with that, He has been romancing me too with that! " And community is formed b/c we see we are all from the same Father, with the same heart, and who wouldn't wanna join up for the cause of Dad? Especially when He is stirring hearts like He has been.

I love what April said about what God is doing in her heart and speaking over her life:
"I do not know how long my life will be....i have entered into my 2nd quarter of life and already feel as if the days are moving by to fast. I don't just want my days here on earth to whisper the greatness of God, i want them to boldy proclaim and declare His greatness all over the earth."
I think many share that feeling. Oh He is so worth giving our lives. Our short little lives that He takes much pleasure in. It's funny that we are here, but we are with Him... seated in Christ at the right hand of Father. Eternity and Life today. Rest today. Confidence in Him alone, the Famous and Great God, today, that will hopefully overflow onto the whole earth.

The heartbeats are the same because the Father is the same Father who wills and works in each believer for His purposes great (for His glory!) and small.

i thought i might post some scripture to go along w/ what i've been saying... i have quoted some but not all is obvious and i have put forth the ideas that are contained but not given the references... so here they are:

Romans 5:8But God (O)demonstrates (P)His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, (Q)Christ died for us.
9Much more then, having now been justified (R)by His blood, we shall be saved (S)from the wrath of God through Him.
10For if while we were (T)enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved (U)by His life. (from the greek verb zao: meaning
to live, breathe, be among the living (not lifeless, not dead)
to enjoy real life
to have true life and worthy of the name
active, blessed, endless in the kingdom of God
to live i.e. pass life, in the manner of the living and acting
of mortals or character
living water, having vital power in itself and exerting the same upon the soul
metaph. to be in full vigour
to be fresh, strong, efficient,
as adj. active, powerful, efficacious - and to think we receive "true life" and all that comes with it at salvation!!!)
And there's more:
11(V)And not only this, but we also exult(boast or glory) in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received (W)the reconciliation. (nasb)


Romans6: 8Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
9Because we know that Christ (the Anointed One), being once raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has power over Him.
10For by the death He died, He died to sin [ending His relation to it] once for all; and the life that He lives, He is living to God [in unbroken fellowship with Him].
11Even so consider yourselves also dead to sin and your relation to it broken, but alive to God [living in unbroken fellowship with Him] in Christ Jesus. (amp)

Your old life has no power over you- as a believer, you are secured in Him- unbroken fellowship. Sin makes it feel like it's broken but He never leaves or turns His face- You are totally forgiven! The wrath of God was poured out on Jesus so He CAN have unbroken fellowship with us!

"God gave His life FOR us in order to give His life TO us, in order that He might live His life THROUGH us!"
-Grace Life Manual

Let the gospel change you and how you see things today! It's so relevant to every part of life. It's one thing to believe it, it's another when your walls are broken down and it changes your whole life. What does the gospel mean to YOU? Why is it good news? or is it?

I am seeing a common theme among believers lately: a passion that is unique and an urgency to wholly know Father and then a HUGE motivation for others to know... and brokenness because they down. I think SG is on the same page, most the people i have talked to lately, and several other recent books... so... no doubt God is moving His people to love Him and receive HIS love which, when you WHOLLY experience this, you can't help but want others to know the One who is the substance of your life. i love this song b/c it paints a cool picture of the journey of recognizing that I am a new creation: the old has gone and the new has come. It reminds me of how I am crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives within me. and we are saved BY HIS LIFE. He gives us our very life- the one that is born of the Spirit- brand new and growing for eternity... and yet " I cannot make it, or fake it, and I can't afford it (there's NO way I can earn this life, yet somehow....) It's Mine!
Mine? really? I can have it? But I... I didn't do anything. Don't I owe you something? Don't I...
Really?
It's mine?
I can't believe that.
well that's what faith is for!
But it makes no sense
my ways are not your ways!
Lord?

If it's too good to be true... it JUST MIGHT BE the GOSPEL!


"something changed"

something changed inside me, broke wide open, all spilled out, til i had no doubt that something changed
and every word, i believed it, until I felt it in my own heart, in the deepest part
The healing came

and I cannot make it
and I cannot fake it
and I can't afford it
but it's Mine!

something so amazing in our hearts so dark and dim, when the walls fall
down,
and the Light comes in

(sara groves)

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Katie B |

You Are the Sun
by Sara Groves and Matt Bronlewee

You are the sun shining down on everyone
Light of the world giving light to everything I see
Beauty so brilliant I can hardly take it in
And everywhere you are is warmth and light

And I am the moon with no light of my own
Still you have made me to shine
And as I glow in this cold dark night
I know I can't be a light unless I turn my face to you

Shine on me with your light
Without you I'm a cold dark stone
Shine on me I have no light of my own

You are the sun, you are the sun, you are the sun
And I am the moon

Oh please take this to heart! I think the Lord is just painting a picture of who He is and how He is everywhere with this light analogy: You can't escape it! ANYTHING that we see physically is because light enters our eyes and reflects the shapes and colors, even if it's minimal. And everything we understand spiritually is a result of LIGHT Himself revealing it as He illuminates it to our hearts. He is illuminating light to me. It's very very rare that I am in such physical darkness that I can't see to take a step. He always grants enough and sometimes it's more thank enough- sometimes blinding! And the times when it's just a shade lighter than pitch black He grants us the courage to walk forward, but it's strictly because of Light that we can move forward. Just like light, HE is all around us. He is everywhere showing us more about all that we face. I don't wanna miss it. I don't wanna take it for granted, and if I am the moon, I long to be illuminated by Him to the brightest possible light that He may be glorified, but remember that I am nothing compared to the sun, the source, the creator of all light and beauty that we get to see with our very eyes. (and couldn't see without the light for that matter) gosh i so desire to be a light... the Lord has had me in that place where His presense is overwhelming and life-sustaining and I ache for others to know it.
HOW WILL THEY KNOW?
"i will never be a light unless i turn my face to YOU"
Only in His power and mercy can I be a part of others seeing Him. Lord- Let it be so! Please join me in praying for this! That we'll be so consumed with this Light that we are reflecting it everywhere, all over ourselves and those around us. And that we will see the value and NECESSITY of our Source, our Light.

walk in the light as He is in the light...
wake up o sleeper arise from the dead and CHRIST will shine on you (that's a promise)
will you believe it?


ps- sara groves just put out a cd with incredible lyrics- it's my new fave, especially this song and "loving a person" you gotta check it out :)

"I hope i would leave a legacy of joy, a legacy of real compassion, because i think there is great joy in real compassion. I dont think you can know joy apart from caring deeply about peaople, caring deeply enough about people that you actually do something. But I have a feeling: If my life is motivated by my ambition to leave a legacy, what I'll probably leave as a legacy is ambition. But if my life is motivated by the power of the spirit in me, if i live in the awareness of the indwelling Christ, if i allow His presence to guide my actions to guide my motives, those sorts of things, that's the only time I think that we really leave a great legacy. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, that which is born of the spirit is Spirit. My ambition to be a 'good guy' is a fleshly ambition. When Christ calls us to take up our cross and follow him alot of us think that what that means is we are supposed to lay down our vices and we are supposed to cling to virtues. But i think that unless Christ is lord of our virtues, our virtues become dangerous to us and dangerous to the people around us. I think that when Christ calls us to take up our cross, what He means is you must die not only to whatever vices are in your life, which he will eventually kill off, you must also die to whatever virtues are in your life. your life is not valuable because you are an articulate speaker, your life is not valuable becuase you are a generous person, your life is not valuable because of any of that. If we empty ourselves of everything and allow God to be present then it's no longer us. It's Him. Then it becomes a spiritual thing, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. That's when i think Chrisitanity really begins to make sense."
-rich mullins, a child of God first and foremost, a musician and lover of people who was killed in a car accident in 1997 but has definitely left a legacy - Jesus

I think this shows how knowing Christ and trusting him goes hand in hand with walking in Him and in His power alone. Not our own idea, but his. We simply "empty ourselves of EVERYTHING and allow God to be present..." then He is our life. He fills us. I am pumped about what He's doing and going to do.

"Christianity is not receiving a message of Christ and adding Him to your present belief system. It is a mighty wind and everything is removed and Life is in its place. .. The spirit of God- the levee breaks and life is going to begin" -Tom Nelson on the Acts church and the receiving of the Holy Spirit, who gives us the power to do what He has called us to do.

I can't say it enough: He is life! He is central to everything. Without Him we are clinging to idols that will bring death, disappointment, and darkness. He is light- He illumines life, brings purpose, and is PRESENT in every situation. Without him, we are spiritually dead being, rotten bodies walking around. With Him we are a temple, encasing the Holy of Holies, the glory of God, the light and works from the inside out. Regenerated new creations, no longer slaves to the old dead lifestyle but free to live in Him and the power of the holy Spirit. Is that not repentance? Turning from the old ways to believe the new? Putting our back to the dead life and living Life in Him? Isn't that were life begins? With him? So whatever is not in Him is wood, hay, and stubble. Life begins in Him.

I love what Donald Miller says about light: "You and I, made from molecules, cannot travel at the speed of light and cannot escape time, at least not with a body. Consider the complexity of light in light of the Hebrew metaphor: we don't see light; we see what it touches. It is more aor less invisible, made from nothing, just purposed and focused energy, infinite in its power (it will never tire if fired into a vacuum, going on forever). How fitting, then, for God to create an existence, then a metaphor, as if to say, here is something entirely unlike you, outside of time, infinite in its power and thrust: here is something you can experience but cannot understand. Throughout the remainder of the Bible, then, God calls Himself Light. The perfection of the Hebrew metaphor is eerie..."

God is indescribable isnt he, but it's fun to try to describe Him. Ha, and He only becomes greater. Ever present. Illuminating all He touches.

I had an awesome weekend at sharptop cove. I went with the Trussville Young Life group hoping to share with some girls, hoping to see lives changed or impacted in someway but God had different plans. I definitely got to share, I definitely experienced brokenness for the girls, but my favorite was the moments of solitude I had with Father. I haven't been to sharptop since the encounter retreat, oh about a year and a half or more ago. Then I was at a point, a very different point, than I am now. I remember we were sent out across camp to hear from father and I felt as if I couldn't. I wasn't sure what He was up to but what I did sense was, as I heard the creek across the way, that I have a river of Life flowing out of me... So I was content with that, chewed on that, and went on about my business. It was all a part of Life's plans...

This past weekend, we were also sent out across camp, it was a clear cold night, they turned out all the lights and Father was there. I realized that my favorite parts were the leader's meetings where we had 15 minutes to be still. If God spoke, he spoke, if not that was fine too. I just loved BE-ing there with "BE" (you know... "I am" the unconjugated form is... "BE") that's His name! Yahweh=I am who I am! And this time, under the stars, I was so content even if He didn't speak to just be in that place, alone with my love. My heart of hearts. And as I wept for the girls who were so content and full on the world, I recognized that it wasn't too long ago that I was there. So I got excited that God would break in on them too... and told them that their time would come when that no longer satisfied.

At the end of the weekend I just kept coming back to how awesome being in His presence is. Being totally there... where I always am whether I acknowledge it or not, in HIM and He is in me. I am overwhelmed and overjoyed at this God that knows my thoughts-something a man could never do- and for someone to know THAT much about me is amazing. I mean, He lives inside me! He's there all the time and KNOWS me! Isn't that what we want so often is to be known? There's something about someone just asking you questions and getting in to your life that wins your heart. And God is that person- wanting to know your story from your point of view, but already knows it because that's who He is by our position in Him!

As I continued to reflect on what God has done the past couple of years I wept more- I am so humbled at His pursuit and was able to see it looking back moreso than being in the midst of it. Oh, His hand is in it all: Yesterday, today and tomorrow forever. As i looked at the tons and tons of stars so intricate and complex something welled up in me and my heart was warmed at the thought of FATHER. Father has done an incredible work in breaking down walls inside of me- and I praised Him for that. We have been a lot of places together and I am looking forward to more. There's something overwhelming about being in His presence. There's something perspective-changing about it. There's also something essential about it.

I loved the times of prayer this summer when Sandy would lead us. We would just sit and be silent and be with him. Sense Him. Knowing that He was there and would continue to be there as things picked up during the day. It was so hard to leave that place. "Your presence Lord is LIFE to me."(Kathryn Scott, Breathe on me Now) Because He IS my life, He is my everything. He is I AM and so I like to get a little more specific with His names sometimes:
LIFE be my life and source today.
GRACE be my love and grace toward others and myself.
PRESENCE stir my soul - Being here with YOU, Life, is enough.

http://www.myspace.com/danielbashta
listen to the song pursuit in worship today.... He says "I cant live without your presence, I can't live without your presence" It's so simple. It's where I find my life and energy and purpose. It's powerful because it is HIM! PRESENCE Himself! This mode of prayer is powerful and many movements have come from it... think about the Acts church-

Knowing Him and who He is causes us to be nothing less than active people when we are In Christ and trusting Him to live his life through us. We can't help it! The love of Christ compels us! Kinda funny because GOD is Love! He compels us! He does it! Being filled with him (yes, as a believer you are filled, so live in it- believe it) overflows into loving and joy peace patience kindness goodness faith gentleness and self control to be manifested and those around you to be recipients of such.

Know (Be intimate with) Him and then WALK in Him, all the while KNOWing He will do it.

could it be that He is more committed to our sanctification than our success?
(so that He will get the glory by refining us/ making us more like Christ than making our plans succeed and taking the chance that we might think "I did it"

could it be that the world and our society is all wrong and HE is right?
(I believe so... He is the one source of truth, in fact, HE is THE Truth. Truth himself lives in you and me and aches to break through the lies that pound us each day... )

could it be that HE is reality and all that I see is temporary?
(possibly so... Life IN Christ is real Life... Life himself is real, yet something I cannot see. At the same time it's amazing that He has such power in and over me. LIFE himself is my heartbeat and driving force. HE is my source. Nothing else truly fuels me or gets me going. )

More to come... many more thoughts from my precious Source of all good things... Oh how He has Won my heart...