Surrender

The time has come for us to quit playing chess with God over our lives. We cannot win, but we can delay the victory, dragging on the pain of grasping and the poison of possessing. You see, there are two kinds of losses in life. The first is shared by all mankind-the losses that come to us. Call them what you will- accidents, fate, acts of God. The point is that we have no control over them. We do not determine when, where, what, or even how. There is no predicting these losses; they happen to us. We choose only how we respond. The second kind is known only to the pilgrim. They are losses that we choose. A chosen loss is different from repentance, when we give up something that was never ours to have. With a chosen loss, we place on the altar something very dear to us, something innocent, whose only danger is in its goodness, that we might come to love it too much. It is the act of consecration, where little by little or all at once, we give over our lives to the only One who can truly keep them.

Spiritual surrender is not resignation. It is not choosing to care no longer. Nor is it Eastern mysticism, an attempt to get beyond the suffering of this life by going completely numb. As my dear friend Jan describes, "It is surrender with desire, or in desire." Desire is still present, felt, welcomed even. But the will to secure is made subject to the divine will in an act of abandoned trust. Think of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

-Desire, 192-93

You should really go HERE
and watch "Here I Am!"
by Louie Giglio.
It is quite spectacular.

A Holy Protector.

Can I ask you something? Something deep and personal? Something you might not like???? When someone says "the Holy Spirit," what image comes to mind? Think about it for a minute. What kind of picture do you have of what the Holy Spirit is or what He looks like? I was born and raised in a church where the only time you heard His name was when someone got baptized on Sunday morning or we said His name in an old hymn. (Please take note: this post is not about pointing fingers at any church. All churches have their problems and God knows that and will deal with it. That is not my job).

What do you think it means for Him to live inside you after your "re-birth?" I knew when I got baptized that God had made His home in my heart (I think mostly because that is what I was told...and...there was a song). The problem with that was that I pictured a little red, warm, fuzzy place where Jesus and the Holy Spirit chilled on the couch watching my life via television and I had some sort of camera in my eyes so they had like Direct-Emily-Vision (they were inside me, remember?). Hopefully it can go without saying that this is a false image of what it really means to have God living inside you.

Today, I got to spend some time in the Word and truth hit me so hard I nearly burst into tears. I'm not saying that I have kept that image all these years, but as that faded I did not really have any opinion on the matter at all. I had no image! I went from picturing them in a hot fluffy room to being some sort of glowing mist that just followed me around everywhere (which is just as bad, if not worse). My study today was about war. This war we are in against Satan, the rulers, the authorities, the power of darkness, the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Eph. 6:12). Ephesians goes on to talk about how God's armor is the way in which we are able to stand firm. It is how we fight. (Side note: if you have not read about the armor of God in Ephesians 6, I highly recommend it! Some crazy awesome stuff.) This however, is what struck a cord most deeply: "take the...sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (verse 17). Then, I was taken to some verses I did not expect:

"I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations..." -Revelation 19:11-15

I have often heard that this "rider" is Jesus, and it very well could be. To be perfectly honest I really don't know. But, (and keep in mind I could very well be wrong about this) a part of me can't help wonder if this "rider" is the Holy Spirit. That thought has never crossed my mind until today. But today when I read it, oh man, it spoke volumes. The debate that I could see arising on if this character is Jesus or the Holy Spirit (or both??) is really beside the point. No, no, my point is this: whoever this person is He is God. "On His [still talking about the same rider] robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS" -Rev. 19:16. Not only is He God (as if that were not enough) He is a warrior God. That was what drew tears today. This Mighty Man lives with me. This Mighty Man lives with you too if you acknowledge Him as Lord.

God, the Holy Spirit, is not some little person that lives inside your muscles or your brain. He is not some vague mist that follows you around. HE IS GOD. He is a mighty, fierce (yes, I did just describe God as fierce) warrior that is your Defender. He is your Protector. I'll be honest with you, I doubt God as my protector more than anything else the Bible says He is. But, dear friends it is true. It is really true.

It's no wonder Paul says if God is for us, who can be against us?
-Romans 8:31

He who is in you, is greater than he who is the world.
-1 John 4:4

Overwhelming

When you feel overwhelmed...

Demands knock on my door.

Burdens beckon me to answer.

The to-do list stretches for miles.

I whisper, "I feel overwhelmed."

And in the stillness it seems I hear...

"Child, open your heart to Me instead of the demands of the day.

Lay those burdens at My feet, not on your shoulders.

Let go of your list and dare to embrace My grace.

I do not require you to be overwhelmed.

I enable you to overcome.

And with Me, you always will."

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33

Taken from here.

Venturing Forth

It's better to stay in the safety of the camp than venture forth on a wing and a prayer. Who knows what dangers lie ahead? This was the counsel of the ten faithless spies sent in to have a look at the Promised Land when the Jews came out of Egypt. Only two of the twelve, Joshua and Caleb, saw things differently. Their hearts were captured by a vision of what might be and they urged the people to press on. But their voices were drowned by the fears of the other ten spies and Israel wandered for another forty years. Without the anticipation of better things ahead, we will have no heart for the journey.

One of the most poisonous of all Satan's whispers is simply, "Things will never change." That lie kills expectation, trapping our heart forever in the present. To keep desire alive and flourishing, we must renew our vision for what lies ahead. Things will not always be like this. Jesus has promised to "make all things new." Eye has not seen, ear has not heard all that God has in store for his lovers, which does not mean "we have no clue so don't even try to imagine," but rather, you cannot outdream God. Desire is kept alive by imagination, the antidote to resignation. We will need imagination, which is to say, we will need hope.

Julia Gatta describes impatience, discouragement, and despair as the "noonday demons" most apt to beset the seasoned traveler. As the road grows long we grow weary; impatience and discouragement tempt us to forsake the way for some easier path. These shortcuts never work, and the guilt we feel for having chosen them only compounds our feelings of despair.

-The Sacred Romance, 156-157

One of those days...

Today, or perhaps I should say this month, has been one of those days. One of those days where my fear creeps in and tells me His grace has run dry, it tells me His blood has run out for me. For the last while my life seems to be a pattern, sin, repent, sin, repent, sin, repent, etc, etc, etc. Now, I know that this is the pattern of every Christian's life, but lately mine has been intentional sin, intentional hurt, and in my head at least that makes a difference. I am broken right now. My faith is weak. My prayer has been that God won't leave me the way I am, that He won't leave me in my sinful, brokenness. The lie has been whispered into my ear that He has given up on me. But that is not true. His overwhelming faithfulness knocks you to your face when you are unfaithful, because He still loves you in your unfaithfulness. The other night, I felt so hopeless. So, I cried. I cried out to Him and begged Him to save me, to rescue me, to let me know that somehow, someway everything would be okay. I opened my Bible to Micah unintentionally and this is what it said:

"You will again have compassion on us; You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea." -Micah 7:19.

Then, I flipped over some and my eyes rested on the following:

"...though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword,' the mouth of the Lord has spoken." -Isaiah 1:18-20

And since everything we are tempted by is common to man, I wanted to remind you, your forgiven. You're not alone. He has forgiven you. His mercies are new every morning. And He eagerly longs for you to call out to Him. He loves you.

Some favorites...

Tenth Avenue North---These guys are seriously cool. They love the Lord, and their message is Jesus. It does not get better than that.


Winterfest---In high school I had the privilege of attending a conference each winter in Gatlinburg, TN. This was my first experience worshiping God in a room with thousands of people. My best memories of youth group happened there. I learned so much about God. The speakers and worship leaders seriously blew my mind. This was a skit that they did. I still like to go back and watch it.


Barats and Beretta---Recently I was reintroduced to these guys. My best friends from high school and I spent hours laughing at these guys. Now, you can too.