Letting go.
Everything in this world instructs us to hold on. To believe in self. Think for ourselves. Make decisions based on wise advice from others and what "life" has taught us. To conquer and keep conquering in order that we may experience true happiness. To be organized. To follow a plan, a lifestyle.
What if we were to let go.
That feeling you get when you are driving all alone with the windows wide open, the breeze playing with the strands of your hair, your voice raised to our Lord, an overwhelming sense of joy, delight, excitement exudes you, only to be lifted directly in praise to God. He splashes a brilliant sunset off to your left, dusk makes way for its first star, you sense yourself in His presence alongside His angels, the four living creatures and 24 elders... A moment where you feel once and for all doing exactly what you were created for. You yield to His Spirit...
Abandonment.
You cry out, "Father, you are real! You are awesome and glorious and deserve all praise! I humbly come before you seeking you and only you. Father, use me. Guide me in your steps, show me your way Lord. I want nothing else, but to lean in close to you in the shelter and shadow of your strength to hear you say, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant.' No one is greater than the Lamb of God, no one is greater than He who is called faithful and true. I love you Lord, show me your will for my life. Praise and honor and glory and power be unto you. Thank you, Jesus!"
No organization to it. No seeking self. The only requirement... FAITH.
Recently, my eyes were opened to the realization that faith is very important to God. It seems like a "duh" idea, but so many of us, including myself really don't completely surrender to God and have complete faith in Him with the big and small things in life.
When Jesus taught and lived on earth he didn't acknowledge the intelligence of his disciples or followers, he wasn't amazed at someones wealth or status, he wasn't astonished by the abilities of his disciples and followers. You might be thinking he wasn't really amazed by anything, He is God, nothing could amaze God- He has seen it all... You are mistaken.
Jesus was amazed by faith. Astonished even! Astonished means to be filled with sudden wonder or amazement.
In Matthew chapter 8, verse 5, a centurion came to Jesus asking for help. The centurion's servant is paralyzed and experiencing terrible suffering. Jesus responds by telling the centurion he will go and heal the servant. The centurion responds to Jesus' reply by saying,
"Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one. 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." (Matt. 8:8-9)
Immediately the centurion recognizes that Jesus is no ordinary man...He is God in the flesh. This is made known when he calls Jesus, "Lord" and follows it by saying, "I do not deserve to have you come under my roof."
You see, Jesus had already told him he would heal his servant. The centurion, however, wanted to take the time to acknowledge and declare his faith in Jesus. This is one of those windows down, cruising down the highway moments, with nothing but you seeking the Lord in complete abandonment, recognizing He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords moments.
Listen to how Jesus replies to the centurion's humble statement...
"When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, 'I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith." (Matt. 8:10)
He was amazed by the centurion's faith.
Jesus acknowledged the faith of his followers. He made a point to acknowledge a lack of faith and he blessed or rewarded those who had it.
Not once does he say, "I have not found anyone in Israel with such great knowledge or ability to manage their money or great organization- you fill in the blank."
He is amazed by our faith. Not part time faith. Full time, complete abandonment, letting go faith. Not just a once in a car ride moment, all the time.
"Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, 'Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven." (Matt. 9:2)
He acknowledges our faith.
"Jesus turned and saw her. 'Take heart, daughter,' he said, 'your faith has healed you.' And the woman was healed from that moment." (Matt. 9:22)
In Mark 6:6 Jesus is amazed at their lack of faith.
Over and over Jesus acknowledges faith.
It seems weird or not normal to constantly seek God's favor in all of our decisions. It is completely against what the world teaches us. But in everything, great and small, Jesus would like us to seek Him, to seek the will of the Father. Some things God directly speaks of in His Word. We know that it would be silly to say, "Lord, should I cheat on my final exam?" or "Lord, I really want _______, should I steal it?"
It seems weird to wake up and it be natural to live out your day constantly seeking God, yet it is what God so greatly desires of us.
We are promised in God's Word that in the end we will be rewarded for our faith.
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1)
Live by faith, not by sight.
"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." (Hebrews 11:6)
"Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life." (Revelation 2:10)
Seek, seek, seek Him! Go after Him like a child. If you have ever experienced a child clinging to you and finding sense of without-a-doubt security in you or maybe you recall a time in your childhood when you clung to mom, dad, grandma or grandpa, knowing they would protect you from the scary guy on the sidewalk, or the dark night, or the bad nightmare looming in your memory. God desires that kind of abandonment. Seek Him, cling to Him, call on His Spirit, when you get to those "Should I??" moments, don't rely on your wisdom to make the decision, rely on God's.
Hear Him saying, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Have we forgotten that we love, adore, serve and worship a powerful God?
Recently, the Holy Spirit has led me to discover the power of God. I have always known that God is powerful, but it seems He has opened my eyes to the fact that his power is not limited by any means.
While cleaning my daughter's room I stumbled upon a note card, stuffed in a corner, with a verse from Psalm 147:5 typed on it. The verse reads...
"Great is our Lord and mighty in power..."
It was not by accident that I happened to find this amongst the Barbie dolls, baby dolls, dress up clothes and what not. Our God is powerful and when He is sought, He will be found.
He has revealed His power to me in numerous places in His Word.
I have been reading about Elijah in 1 Kings. One of many examples where God uses His power to show His people who is Lord.
King Ahab of Israel is told by a prophet that he will defeat a vast army of Arameans, so that he may know who is Lord. He is told that he will defeat this army using the young officers of the provincial commanders (232 men). He also assembled the rest of the Israelites (7,000 in all). What is important to understand is that the Lord said: "The young officers of the provincial commanders will do it." With only 232 men, young men, the power of God will defeat a VAST army. I italicized young, because when I think of young, I think less experienced. Without doing any research on "provincial commanders", it seems as though God is saying here that He can defeat a vast army with young, less experienced men and He doesn't need a vast army to do it.
The first battle ends with the Arameans fleeing the young officers of the provincial commanders and King Ahab overpowering some of the fleeing horses and chariots, which inflicted heavy losses on the Armaneans.
The Armaneans did not stop at that.
The Armaneans were foolish in thinking the reason King Ahab and his men defeated them was because, "Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they were too strong for us. But if we fight them on the plains, surely we will be stronger than they." (1Kings 20:23) They go on to devise a plan that includes raising an army like one they had before the first battle, thinking "...surely we will be stronger than they." (1 Kings 20:25).
God had prepared King Ahab by sending a prophet to him.
"...This is what the Lord says: 'Because the Arameans think the Lord is god of the hills and not a god of the valleys, I will deliver this vast army into your hands, and you will know that I am the Lord." (1 Kings 20: 28)
The second battle resulted like this:
"...The Israelites inflicted a hundred thousand casualties on the Aramean foot soldiers in one day. The rest of them escaped to the city of Aphek, where the wall collapsed on twenty-seven thousand of them. And Ben-Hadad fled to the city and hid in an inner room." (1 Kings 20: 29)
Lets take a look at numbers on both sides. The Israelites consisted of 7,232 men. The Aramean army consisted of 127,000 men.
Like King Ben-Hadad I would certainly flee and hide for my life. I would have also humbled myself before the Lord and sought his mercy and grace.
The power of God cannot compare by any means to that of man.
I feel that the Holy Spirit has awakened me to a new understanding of the power of God. Today, we either feel we don't need to call on the power of God- we are comfortable with our situations, our surroundings, we open the door just enough, we are lukewarm- we rely on God's power in some situations, but not all. Also, I think we forget that we can still call on the power of God. Finally, most of us just don't believe that God would use his power in our circumstances or situations.
We also understand from this passage and many other examples throughout God's Word, Daniel, Timothy, Esther, David and others, that God will use the young to act according to His will, His plan. His power can be used by anyone who seeks Him and has faith to believe God can do the unexplainable.
Jim Cymbala, author of Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire and pastor of Brooklyn Tabernacle writes:
"If we prevail in prayer, God will do what only he can do. How he does things, when he does them, and in what manner are up to him. The name of Jesus, the power of his blood, and the prayer of faith have not lost their power over the centuries."
"When it comes to spiritual matters, you and I will never know our potential under God until we step out and take risks on the front line of battle. We will never see what power and anointing are possible until we bond with our King and go out in his name to establish his kingdom. Sitting safely in the shelter of Bible discussions among ourselves, or complaining to one another about the horrible state of today's society, does nothing to unleash the power of God. He meets us in the moment of battle. He energizes us when there is an enemy to be pushed back."
Do you call on God? Do you seek Him? Do you believe He can use you in a powerful way to bring Him glory?
I do.
Jim Cymbala states,
"In every century, on every continent, warriors such as these are the ones who press forward the kingdom of God. They lay aside the distractions of life to do exploits in the spiritual realm. Whether or not they become famous on earth is beside the point. They are heroes and heroines nonetheless."
God spoke so powerfully to Ezekiel that afterwards he sat for seven days-"overwhelmed" (Ezekiel 3:15).
I want the Holy Spirit to overwhelm me with His power, so that I may do not great, but awesome things in mighty ways for my Lord, the one who is, who was and is to come.
It is time we (the world) recognize who is king and to call on His power to move in a mighty way.
I want to end with a vision of the Lord God who is king over all the earth, "who is and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." (Revelation 1:8).
"like a son of man," 'dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance" (Revelation 1:13-16).
While cleaning my daughter's room I stumbled upon a note card, stuffed in a corner, with a verse from Psalm 147:5 typed on it. The verse reads...
"Great is our Lord and mighty in power..."
It was not by accident that I happened to find this amongst the Barbie dolls, baby dolls, dress up clothes and what not. Our God is powerful and when He is sought, He will be found.
He has revealed His power to me in numerous places in His Word.
I have been reading about Elijah in 1 Kings. One of many examples where God uses His power to show His people who is Lord.
King Ahab of Israel is told by a prophet that he will defeat a vast army of Arameans, so that he may know who is Lord. He is told that he will defeat this army using the young officers of the provincial commanders (232 men). He also assembled the rest of the Israelites (7,000 in all). What is important to understand is that the Lord said: "The young officers of the provincial commanders will do it." With only 232 men, young men, the power of God will defeat a VAST army. I italicized young, because when I think of young, I think less experienced. Without doing any research on "provincial commanders", it seems as though God is saying here that He can defeat a vast army with young, less experienced men and He doesn't need a vast army to do it.
The first battle ends with the Arameans fleeing the young officers of the provincial commanders and King Ahab overpowering some of the fleeing horses and chariots, which inflicted heavy losses on the Armaneans.
The Armaneans did not stop at that.
The Armaneans were foolish in thinking the reason King Ahab and his men defeated them was because, "Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they were too strong for us. But if we fight them on the plains, surely we will be stronger than they." (1Kings 20:23) They go on to devise a plan that includes raising an army like one they had before the first battle, thinking "...surely we will be stronger than they." (1 Kings 20:25).
God had prepared King Ahab by sending a prophet to him.
"...This is what the Lord says: 'Because the Arameans think the Lord is god of the hills and not a god of the valleys, I will deliver this vast army into your hands, and you will know that I am the Lord." (1 Kings 20: 28)
The second battle resulted like this:
"...The Israelites inflicted a hundred thousand casualties on the Aramean foot soldiers in one day. The rest of them escaped to the city of Aphek, where the wall collapsed on twenty-seven thousand of them. And Ben-Hadad fled to the city and hid in an inner room." (1 Kings 20: 29)
Lets take a look at numbers on both sides. The Israelites consisted of 7,232 men. The Aramean army consisted of 127,000 men.
Like King Ben-Hadad I would certainly flee and hide for my life. I would have also humbled myself before the Lord and sought his mercy and grace.
The power of God cannot compare by any means to that of man.
I feel that the Holy Spirit has awakened me to a new understanding of the power of God. Today, we either feel we don't need to call on the power of God- we are comfortable with our situations, our surroundings, we open the door just enough, we are lukewarm- we rely on God's power in some situations, but not all. Also, I think we forget that we can still call on the power of God. Finally, most of us just don't believe that God would use his power in our circumstances or situations.
We also understand from this passage and many other examples throughout God's Word, Daniel, Timothy, Esther, David and others, that God will use the young to act according to His will, His plan. His power can be used by anyone who seeks Him and has faith to believe God can do the unexplainable.
Jim Cymbala, author of Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire and pastor of Brooklyn Tabernacle writes:
"If we prevail in prayer, God will do what only he can do. How he does things, when he does them, and in what manner are up to him. The name of Jesus, the power of his blood, and the prayer of faith have not lost their power over the centuries."
"When it comes to spiritual matters, you and I will never know our potential under God until we step out and take risks on the front line of battle. We will never see what power and anointing are possible until we bond with our King and go out in his name to establish his kingdom. Sitting safely in the shelter of Bible discussions among ourselves, or complaining to one another about the horrible state of today's society, does nothing to unleash the power of God. He meets us in the moment of battle. He energizes us when there is an enemy to be pushed back."
Do you call on God? Do you seek Him? Do you believe He can use you in a powerful way to bring Him glory?
I do.
Jim Cymbala states,
"In every century, on every continent, warriors such as these are the ones who press forward the kingdom of God. They lay aside the distractions of life to do exploits in the spiritual realm. Whether or not they become famous on earth is beside the point. They are heroes and heroines nonetheless."
God spoke so powerfully to Ezekiel that afterwards he sat for seven days-"overwhelmed" (Ezekiel 3:15).
I want the Holy Spirit to overwhelm me with His power, so that I may do not great, but awesome things in mighty ways for my Lord, the one who is, who was and is to come.
It is time we (the world) recognize who is king and to call on His power to move in a mighty way.
I want to end with a vision of the Lord God who is king over all the earth, "who is and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." (Revelation 1:8).
"like a son of man," 'dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance" (Revelation 1:13-16).
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