Guess What Folks? It's NOT About You.

        It’s not about you. 

          You ever heard the saying, “Get off your high horse”? If you are not familiar with it, the Urban Dictionary defines it this way ; ”Get off your high horse" is a saying people respond with in an argument, when the other person is acting like a “holier-than-thou” ,  when in reality, they aren't. To simply put it, to tell people to stop acting as if they're the top authority when they aren’t.”

       Well, there you have it folks, the verdict is in. You are not the top authority. All the good people say, Amen. There is no need to wax eloquently about the fact that it’s NOT about you. Deep down we all know that, it’s just a hard pill to swallow sometimes. 

          "It's not about you" begs the question, “If it’s not about me, then who is it about?”. We were created ON purpose, FOR a purpose. We were created for worship. Everything, the trees, the mountains, down to the lowly rocks on the ground, we were all created to worship. Surely you’ve heard the song, that has been floating over the airwaves recently. “If the stars were made to worship, so will I”.  We sing along on the radio, driving down the highway, without a care in the world, but do we really mean what we are saying, or is it just lip service?

          If there is any doubt in your mind, as to what you were made for, it’s as simple as looking to His Word for guidance. Here are a few of my favorites to get you started.

Psalm 150: 1-6  “Hallelujah! Praise God in his holy house of worship, praise him under the open skies; Praise him for his acts of power, praise him for his magnificent greatness; Praise with a blast on the trumpet, praise by strumming soft strings; Praise him with castanets and dance,  praise him with banjo and flute; Praise him with cymbals and a big bass drum, praise him with fiddles and mandolin. Let every living, breathing creature praise God! Hallelujah!”

Revelation 4:10-11  "They worshiped the age-after-age Living One. They threw their crowns at the foot of the Throne, chanting, Worthy, O Master! Yes, our God! Take the glory! the honor! the power! You created it all; It was created because you wanted it.”

Isaiah 43:7  “Every last one who bears my name, every man, woman, and child Whom I created for my glory,  yes, personally formed and made each one.’”

Psalm 100: 1-4   “On your feet now—applaud God! Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into his presence. Know this: God is God. He made us; we didn’t make him. We’re his people, his well-tended sheep. Enter with the password: “Thank you!” Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him.”

Romans 12:1  “Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God’s marvelous mercies? I encourage you to surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship.”

Comfort Leads to Complacency

          What do you imagine when someone says the word “Comfort”? Are you picturing a pillowy sofa, wrapped in a comfy blanket, possibly eating your favorite food? Well, I am. That’s my picture of comfort, oh, did I mention that if it’s raining, it’s even better? It is, we all know that. Comfort, contentment, satisfaction, complacency. Wait, what? Complacency, did I just say that? Does that word fit in with all the others listed? Why yes, yes it does, and here’s why.

            What if I told you that your comfort level, is what is holding you back from fulfilling the purpose that God laid out for you before the foundation of time. Being complacent in your walk with Jesus, is a dream killer. Many times, we become complacent simply because, it feels good. We don’t have to exude any energy. Lets face it, we’re tired. Physically tired because we go and go and sometimes, admittedly I’m not even sure if I’m coming or going. We try our best to keep up with the Joneses, but what we don’t often know, is that the Joneses are up to their eyeballs in debt, or near the brink of destruction. But from a distance, we envy them. We try to match our lives with theirs, just to feel normal. Therefore, we become tired, then we get up and do it all again the next day. 

          Being tired is not a sin itself, but what if being tired results in you becoming complacent. You just want to get through the day, make another dollar, keep the peace in the family, and move on. Where is God in this scenario? Are you so comfortable that you don’t want to move to where God is? He’s over here, doing good things, He’s in the middle of the action, restoring families, feeding the hungry, healing marriages, bringing freedom to the captives, and where are you? Watching from a distance, because you’re not comfortable being around the homeless, the sick? Get ready, here it comes. Get out of your comfort zone! There, I said it. Not just to you, but to myself as well. It’s so easy to get attached to what we know, to what we’ve always been doing. 

          Well, my friend, The Word says, “Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? There it is! I’m making a road through the desert,

rivers in the badlands.” (Isaiah 43:19)

          I don’t know about you, but I want to be a part of what God is doing. I’m tired of being “normal”. God didn't create me to be normal. I can picture it now, God and Jesus, in Heaven, working on making new people, thousands of years ago, then they come to me, and say, “Well, I don't know what to do with her? Should we give her something special, make her creative? Talented? No, no, let’s just make her normal.”.  What? Of course not! He said in His Word that we were not called to be normal, that we are called to be set apart, a royal priesthood. Don’t let complacency deter you from your calling. 

          Listen to what Peter says about it,  “But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted. Friends, this world is not your home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it. Don’t indulge your ego at the expense of your soul.

(1 Peter 2: 9-11)

You are my Hiding Place

You Will Always Be

Highlands Worship Released their second album this week, and I will be sharing some of my favorites here. I'll start with "You Will Always Be". Enjoy!

Your Value

No Wonder We Call You Savior.

        My emotions were wrecked a couple of Sundays ago. To put it nicely, I was a blubbering mess. There, among the crowd of 600 or so who came to Church of the Highlands that day, I was very aware that I had an audience of One.  There was no one there but me and Jesus. At that very moment, I sensed that time stood still.

        His penetrating  presence was not just all around me, but somehow He went through me. As I stood there, soaking in all His Glory, I realized I was residing in the Holy of Holies.

         I was swept into the most inner sanctuary, the sacred place. There at church, pressing in, I poured out of myself, until I was empty. Empty of all the shame, the guilt, the heaviness, the broken heartedness, and filled with light....triumphant light.  I felt as if the veil had been torn, and I was truly experiencing the goodness of the pure presence of God. He washed me in grace, mercy and forgiveness, and my day of atonement had arrived.

         As I was ushered into His presence, the song, No Wonder by River Valley Church (video link) was playing. I want to share the lyrics with you. (I also want to let you know that you can purchase the song on itunes, google play and amazon. I listen to it on spotify as well.)

 I see my Savior
With love in His eyes
His body broken
With no sin to hide
 
 I see my Jesus
Eyes blind with blood
His face is crimson
His cry is love
 
No wonder we call You Savior
No wonder we sing Your praise
Jesus our hope forever
You made a way, You made a way
 
I see redemption
Ravage the grave
The triumph of Heaven
Christ Jesus our King
 
See the light tearing through the darkness
Hear the roar of the rugged cross
Jesus Christ You alone have saved us
We worship You now 

         So, friends, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into “the Holy Place.” Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, acting as our priest before God. The “curtain” into God’s presence is his body.

           So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.
Hebrews 10: 19-25    The Message

Oh, Taste and See.

Be Set Apart.

          I want to take a little peek into Jacob’s journey, and see what steps he took to set himself apart. The story of Jacob, starts long before this, so you might want to get a little back ground history of Jacob and his family first. (Genesis 25-28).

         God told Jacob through a dream that he would have many descendants, more than he could count, that He would stay with him and protect him wherever he went, and he would bring him back to this very place. God said He would be with him until He has done everything that He promised. vs14-15, Genesis 28

          If you feel like you are stuck, just spinning your wheels but not getting anywhere, be sure to remind yourself of this verse from Philippians.

—Philippians 1:6   “I am sure that God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in his grace until his task within you is finally finished.”

           Write it on the wall of your heart, because there’s one thing I know for sure, this won’t be the last time that you feel defeated.

        Just like so many of us, at this time in Jacob’s life, he felt very unsure of his future. So, when he felt like all hell was coming against him, he did what he knew to do, he rested. He rested and trusted in God. Sometimes we just need to be still long enough to hear God telling us that He won’t leave us, that He’ll continue to help us grow in grace, and He will complete the vision that He set out before us. I truly believe that Jacob set himself up for victory from the beginning, because he took time before his journey to rest in God’s presence. How can we set ourselves apart once God has given us a vision? Let’s see what Jacob did and follow his example.

1st-   He praised God, right after he woke up. It was the very first thing he did. He did this while he was still unsure of his future. Let’s set apart the first few minutes of our day to simply thank God and praise Him for what all He has done.

2nd-  Jacob made a stone of remembrance - don’t forget where God brought you from, and where He’s leading you. It’s a journey, it is a process that will take time. Take the time to remember all of your past victories and it will build up your faith and confidence to know that God will complete what He started.

3rd-  He poured oil on it. A sacrifice. Oil was one of the three staples of living. Notice, in verse 18, he poured the oil of sacrifice, and in verse 20, he prayed for food and clothes. He trusted God to provide his basic needs. Now in today’s life, I’m not asking you to go and pour out a bottle of oil from your kitchen, I’m asking you to make a sacrifice. It’s different for everyone. It could be your time, it could be money, a service, a talent, you need to sacrifice, you need to give to God something that you trust Him with. Or better yet, give Him something that you have a hard time trusting Him with. Let it go, and trust Him to provide your needs.

4th-  He renamed it. (God’s House)- The way I see it, you now belong to God, you are His property. God wants to give you a new identity. Satan will try to do the same thing, he wants nothing more than to “rename” you and claim you for his own. Don’t accept the labels that Satan has set out for you. Separate yourself from him, and take on your new identity in God. You no longer need to be known for your past, you’re not living there any more.

5th-  Jacob made a covenant, and sealed it with a promise that he would return a tenth to God. So, he no longer made the whole process about him, but others. He wanted to “give back” what God had blessed him with. See the big picture here, the end result is not just to be a glorified version of yourself, but to become a vessel that is used by God. It’s not about us in the long run, it’s about how many others we can bring to God, because we decided to take the journey ourselves.

God Dependent, Not Independent.

          Throughout the course of self discovery, my hope is that you will thoroughly anchor yourself in His Word, trusting that His plan for your ultimate destination, is far better than anywhere you might have imagined for yourself.

God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!  Ephesians 3:20

          You need to unashamedly welcome the help of the Holy Spirit and let Him be fully operational in your life, if you are to maximize the purpose for which He was given to you.

          The deep-seated counsel of the Holy Spirit is fully accessible to you the moment you become a believer, and is able to guide you, even (and especially) when you are lost and seem to have found yourself off course. Once you realize this, you will become less dependent on yourself, and with time, wholly dependent on God.

          My whole life, people have said to me, “God won’t give you more than you can handle”, well, as good as their intentions were, I call “poppy-cock”. It’s absurd to think that God would make our life so perfect that we never needed to call on His name. If we are able to take care of all of life’s dilemmas, then why is there a need for a Savior?

          Using wise discernment, follow your inner “God-prompting”, and allow the Holy Spirit to have a voice. Can you trust Him for direction, or do you need to see miraculous wonders and signs? I will unwaveringly put my trust in Him, just as the writer of Hebrews did. He encouraged the Hebrew nation with these words,

“Trust in God. Your faith is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It is the certainty of what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead.”Hebrews 11:1

          God set out a straight path before us and we keep running in circles, taking detours, trying to figure out why we’re not making any progress. If you want a different outcome, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done. I challenge you to be confident in your faith and rely on the nudging of His Spirit.

          I have to constantly be aware that I don’t get out of step with God. I’ve had to learn to tune into those God promptings, and overtime, it has taken me on an unexpected direction on my journey of discovering who I am. So I want to leave you with this.

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Romans 12:1-2

The Beginning has Begun.

          Let the journey begin. I’ll go ahead and make you a promise, it’s not an easy one to take, but never the less, it is necessary if we want to live a fulfilled life. A life that is liberating and no longer under tyranny. Through the process, you will gain the benefits of living with hope, knowing that you have a purpose.

          You CAN embrace the freedom that God has given you. Sometimes, it is a daily choice, and other times, it seems, can even be a minute by minute choice. Determine to maximize your potential , and start the process of getting to know your true identity.

          There was once a man who truly loved the Lord, in fact, God himself, said that this particular man was a man that ran after God’s own heart. As much as he had devoted his life to God, he still blew it. Big time, blew it. It was after a huge life altering mistake he made, that he penned these words :

Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean,
    scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life.
Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
    set these once-broken bones to dancing.
Don’t look too close for blemishes,
    give me a clean bill of health.
God, make a fresh start in me,
    shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don’t throw me out with the trash,
    or fail to breathe holiness in me.
Bring me back from gray exile,
    put a fresh wind in my sails!
Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
    so the lost can find their way home.
Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
    and I’ll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
Unbutton my lips, dear God;
    I’ll let loose with your praise.

          Like this man, David, we also need a clean start, a fresh beginning ( a “do-over”!). Let’s begin a life that is tuned into God and His plan and purpose.

          The great news is that you don’t have to do it alone. God has given you a friend to help along the way. Jesus said in the book of John chapter fourteen, that The Friend, the Holy Spirit, that my Father will send you, will make everything plain and clear to you. Isn’t that great!? It’s like having someone to assist you in every aspect of life. He went on to say that He would leave us well and whole, that it was His parting gift to us. Do you know what that means? That we can be made whole. Through this journey, God is going to establish us, restore us, and gloriously complete what He has begun.
          Make the choice today to begin this new life. Today can be the First day of the rest of your life, the Best of your life.