Category Archives: Blog

You Are Not Just One of Many

Jesus departed with His disciples to the sea, and a large crowd followed from Galilee, and a large crowd followed from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and around Tyre and Sidon. The large crowd came to Him because they heard about everything He was doing. Then He told His disciples to have a small boat ready for Him, so that the crowd wouldn’t crush Him. Since He had healed many, all who had diseases were pressing toward Him to touch Him. Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they fell down before Him and cried out, “You are the Son of God!” And He would strongly warn them not to make Him known.

Mark 3:7-12

Imagine this scene with me. Imagine you are just a person in the crowd, a person who needs a touch from Jesus. You heard He had gone down by the lake, so you head that way – you and everyone else. You’re just one in thousands coming for Him, trying to get to Him. Pushing, shoving, reaching for Him. You’d count yourself lucky to even get close.

Can you hear the sounds? People yelling, trying to get His attention. Begging, perhaps, so desperate for their healing. And in the midst of the crying, the yelling for His attention, is the sound of those with demons crying out in loud voices “You are the Son of God”. 

And there you are. One of many. Can’t quite get to Him. Unable to get your voice to rise above the noise of all the others who have come for Him. Unseen by Him. Unheard by Him. Just someone lost in the crowd of many someones.

Ever have those moments? Do you still feel like that sometimes? Just one in a crowd of many. Unheard. Unseen. Can I tell you something?

The truth?

If you have submitted your life to the Lordship of Jesus, then you have been crucified with Christ and you no longer live, but Christ lives in you. (Galatians 2:20)

No crowds. You don’t have to shout above the noise to be heard by Him. He hears every whisper, every thought, every unspoken desire of your heart. He’s here, right here. You don’t have to try to push your way past someone else to get to Him. Because He came for you. His death was Him coming for you because that’s the only thing that would rescue you from eternal darkness and give you eternal life with Him. 

He wants to be with you, so He came for you.

The crowd is gone and there you are, standing in front of Him. Just you and Him. What will you do? What will you say? Maybe nothing.

Maybe just let your heart feel the moment of being alone with Him. Let it be thankful that He came for you because He wants to be with you, and now you and your heart are alone with Jesus. He sees you. He hears you. He’s not going anywhere. So maybe today your heart can just rest from striving to get to Him.

Today, let yourself live in the truth instead of the lie. He is with you and in you and for you. You are not just one of many, you are who He left heaven for, who He died to rescue.

You are His.

Grounding the Planes

Been having trouble sleeping lately. It’s like, the minute I lay down, my mind turns into O’Hare Airport, with thoughts landing and taking off in every direction. At first, it was occasional, but lately, it’s just become my thing. And I don’t want it to be my thing. I also don’t want to take sleep aids, because I can develop an addiction to just about anything and I’ve had my fill of craving things that aren’t good for me.

But, I stumbled across something the other day, and now it’s underlined and had a highlighter taken to it.

Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. (Psalm 116:7)

I want to learn to let this one thought interrupt every other thought. I want to learn to settle my soul with it. To teach my mind to lean into the truth of it.

I don’t think David was telling his soul to rest because once upon a time God had been good to him. I think what David knew was this…

God has been good, and He is being good, and He will always be good to me.

It is what I have most in common with David. The always present, never-ending goodness of God. I’ve also had abuse. Sickness. Grief. Pain. Depression. All the things a fallen world offers us.

So the question becomes, for me, which is greater? What will bring rest for my oft times frantic soul? Will the fear and anticipation of more of what hurts bring peace to the war in my mind? Or will it be the truth that no matter what happens, no matter what comes next, God will be good, because God has always been good to me?

For You, Lord, rescued me from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling.
I will walk before the Lord
in the land of the living. (Psalm 116:8-9)

He has done all of that and more. He entered the darkness of my life with the brilliance of His light and changed my course, forever. He cleansed me with His blood, forgave every single sin, removed my hard heart and gave me a soft one. He showed me what true love looks like, what mercy and compassion can do, and He continually reminds me that I have a home and this earth is not it.

So I’m working on grounding the planes in my mind with these truths. Remembering His goodness. Reminding my soul that He is with me in all things and He will always do what is good and what is right and I have nothing to fear. Calling my soul to remember what it believes about God rather than what it can imagine about what might happen.

I want to encourage you to do that too. Even if your mind isn’t an airport at night, we are all prone to fearful anticipations, to what ifs and what abouts. To wondering if we’ll make it through the worst case scenario presenting itself in our life. But we can do battle against all that and we can have victory in that battle. We can call our souls to rest once more.

We can remember God’s goodness to us at every turn. We can declare to our souls that He has been good, is being good in this very hour, and will be good forevermore. To us. To you. To me.

Are you with me?

Marriage Matters: The Motive of Prayer

Me

I had been asking God for so many years to change my husband. Begging God, really. But I saw little movement over almost two decades. Makes a girl weary, you know? Finally, God made a change, and that change was in me. 

During the very difficult beginning of our restoration season, God allowed me to see things through a very different lens. It was the lens of heaven, seeing my husband with eyes of love and compassion over his brokenness. Seeing him as God sees him…as a child of God, hurting, and in great need of the Father’s healing. For his sake, not mine. And that is where the change came. In the motive of my prayer.

I realized that all those years I wanted my husband to change so that my life would be easier; so that I wouldn’t have to deal with his anger, his pride, or his control. I wanted him to change so that I could relax and maybe be happy for a change. 

You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. (James 4:3)

This was the verse that God first used to address my prayer life, specifically my prayers for my husband. This is where I began to learn that motives matter to God, and my motive in prayer was me, more often than not. 

As my view of my husband changed, so did my motives. As I saw what God saw, my heart broke for my husband more than it broke for me. And when I began to pray out of a genuine desire to see him free, to see him know the deep love of His Father, to know his worth – the changes I had prayed for began to happen. Little bits at a time for sure, but they were there. 

Discovering that God, not my husband, is my source of happiness and peace was a shift I needed that enabled me to begin to pray with Godly motives rather than selfish ones. 

If you are weary in prayer for your spouse, or anyone else for that matter, let God call out your motives. It will be hard, but so very worth it.

For more on my marriage restoration – visit here. 

What happens in Rome…

We all know the story, or at least many of us do. You know, the one about what everyone thought Jesus had come to do, when in fact He hadn’t come to do that at all. Conquer Rome. Free the Jewish people from an oppressive government and restore to them a kingdom that was rightfully theirs.

We can all see it now. Jesus had something else in mind. Something no one imagined.

Jesus barely even mentioned Rome. Don’t you find that odd? That the biggest issue in the lives of His people at that time isn’t even addressed? That they were being taxed to death simply brought “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s”. He showed zero indignation toward Rome. There was not a word mentioned of Jewish rights as the people of God, no talk about protesting what was happening, no call to resistance.

I assume you know where I’m going with this. We are the people of God. Just for giggles, let’s call our government Rome.

I know some people can rattle off perfectly good reasons (in their mind) that the Church needs to be involved in politics, needs to have their finger on the pulse of culture, needs to push back for our “freedoms”. There’s a lot of talk about taking back the seven mountains, taking back the government, standing up for righteousness, but the problem I keep running into is this: I can’t find it in scripture. I can’t find that part where Jesus told us we have rights and freedoms and that we are to dictate the culture of the world. I see this…

A scribe approached him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

Jesus told him, “Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

Matthew 8:19-20

Jesus isn’t saying “if you choose to follow me, it could get uncomfortable”. He’s saying that when we choose to follow Him, we relinquish our right to have a place to call home here on earth. No right to a roof over our head.

In Matthew, chapter 10, the first time He sent out His disciples on mission, He sent them with no provision. He told them they would be beaten and imprisoned for His sake, that they would be brought before people in authority, but they were to be His witness in that situation.

In other words – unfair and unjust treatment is not something to fight against, it is to be used as an opportunity to be His witness.

When I read the gospels, I do not see rights. I do not see a call to resist or a call to take something back. I see a laying it all down, a giving it all away.

I see “sell everything you have and give it to the poor and follow Me.” (Matthew 19:21)

“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:39)

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. You are blessed when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me”. (Matthew 5:10-11)

It is clear from the scriptures that the people of God do not have a “right” to comfort, to fair treatment, to be respected, or to be treated kindly or justly (except by the other members of the family of God. There are big expectations in that category).

Beloved, we have not been tasked with conquering Rome. Frankly, that is a far too narrow a vision. Our assignment is simple, but has profound eternal consequences – love God with everything we’ve got, and love people as ourselves. Carry the gospel to all the nations. Make disciples (not just converts). Trust God in all things. Fix our eyes, minds, and hearts on heaven, not on earth.

We are a people called to lay down and give away, not demand and take back.

I know it seems radical and uncomfortable and goes against so many things ingrained in us as earthly citizens of this nation (or any other free nation). But we have something so much bigger on us than constitutional rights and allegiance to political parties. We have a call to allow the Holy Spirit of God to pursue the hearts and salvation of people, through us. A call to co-labor with Jesus to build His Kingdom, not a political kingdom with political power and authority. That is way too small and narrow. We are increasing the territory of the spiritual authority and power of heaven, on the earth. But that power and authority is not against men (flesh and blood), it is against “the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.” (Ephesians 6)

Our battle is not with Rome, it is with hell.

It is a battle fought through prayer, and through our obedience to the Word of God. It is fought best by those who are fully aware of who they are in Christ, and what they are actually fighting for – the souls of men. Not their political views or their opinions on current cultural issues. We are fighting for their eternal destinies.

The days are getting darker, and nothing in scripture tells us that evil will be vanquished or that the darkness will recede, until Jesus returns, no matter how bad we want it. That is not our fight.

Our fight is to pillage the darkness with the gospel that can save the souls of men and women held captive there, and to love one another while we do it.

#followJesus #betheChurch

Declaration & Praise: Day 15

Jesus, You are…

Immanuel

God with us. In the garden. In the cloud and in the fire. On the mountain. In the storm. At the cross. In us. Your Name is Immanuel, and You are with me.

Good Shepherd

You lead, protect, and provide for those who are Yours. You go in search of the wanderers and bring them home. In green pastures, still waters, and the valley of the shadow of death I trust Your goodness.

Savior

Messiah. Lamb of God. Taking my guilt and my shame, enduring the wrath that should have been mine. You have saved me to the uttermost, through and through, now and forever, and You will raise me up on the last day to live forever with You. You are Savior and I am saved and it shall not be undone.

Faithful & True

No guile. No deceit. No shadows. No changing, no going back on Your word. Utterly and completely faithful. My covenant keeper. Above suspicion. You are faithful and You are true and I will not fear You to be otherwise.

Rock

Solid ground. Firm foundation. Unmoving. Unshakable and unbreakable. No shifting ways, no sinking sand. You are my Rock, my higher ground, and the safe place on which I stand.

Lion and Lamb

Worthy to open the scroll. The perfect, unblemished sacrifice of atonement. Conqueror of death. Lion of Judah. Majestic and final King of all kings. Lamb slain for me and now King of my heart.

You are…

Both the mercy and the justice of God, poured out upon the sin-filled earth. You are the only way, the only truth and the only life. Manna from heaven, bread of life. You are the light that took away my darkness, the living water that took my thirst. The healer of my heart, lover of my soul and the very image of my Father.

My everything. All in all. The Name above every single other name.

Declaration & Praise: Day 14

It’s been a tussle of late, a throwdown with the enemy. We’ve given each other the stink eye, circling around, and then he got me on the ropes of fear, anxiety and overwhelming sadness. But recently, I came off those ropes and I came off swinging. On one of my walks I began to declare who Jesus is, speaking truth that my soul needed to remember. I chose to trade in flesh thinking for Spirit thinking, and it made a difference.

Jesus…
You are my King

I will not bow to fear. I will not bow to the lies the enemy is whispering. I will bow only to You, to Your sovereign will, to Your Lordship over me and mine. Against all else I will take my stand of trust in You.

You are my Peace

I will not relinquish my peace by taking the fear and anxiety being offered to me. I will not allow the problem before me to become greater than the peace within me, nor will I seek peace from any outside force.

You are my Truth

I will not look anywhere other than Your Word for truth. I will not take a stand on any other ground.

You are good

Who You are is good and what You do is good. I will not fear from You unkindness or ambivalence. No matter what I see in front of me, I will trust Your goodness.

You are mighty

Whatever needs to be turned, You can turn it. Whatever requires power beyond me, You have that power. Minds, hearts, lives – can all be changed, because nothing can prevail against You.

You are my Hope

My hope is in You and not in an outcome. I will place all of my expectations in You, not in anyone else. What others think, do, or say will not sway me from the hope I have in You.

You are sovereign and Your purposes will always prevail

No matter the plans of man, Your purpose will not be thwarted. You will have Your way, in Your time. I will rest in Your sovereignty.

With these and many more declarations, my faith rose up against my fear, and I am now playing offense instead of defense.

Run devil, run.

Declaration & Praise: Day 13

“And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive with Him and forgave us all our trespasses. He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the cross.” – Colossians 2:13-14

“Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:13-14

I was dead and He made me live. I had a debt I could never pay and He nailed that debt to His cross and made me debt free. Today, I declare that I am forgiven. All of my sins are under the blood of Jesus and I am free from the debt I owed for them. The penalty for my sins has been paid by my Savior and I will never be required to pay it. I am free to live forever.

Today, I will not dwell on what was. I turn toward home, toward what is ahead of me, not what is behind me. I will not be passive, but will press on, pursuing what God has for me. I will not look back, but will set my gaze on Jesus. Today, I will not sit in guilt and regret, but I will get up and walk in the forgiveness of God.

Today, I will praise God for the life and freedom He has given me.