This coming week, God is going to show up and this is what he's gonna do. He's gonna make us straight up trade offs. He sent me to tell you about it. I need you to know, cause He wants you to know. I'd tell you that He's dying for you to know, but He's already done that. It's past tense. He died for this straight up trade off. Here's what I'm talking about. Here where the promise lies:
Broken hearted? Comfort is coming. Captive? Get ready for freedom. In mourning? Favor is on the way - AND He's gonna rage on your enemies for you. Joy is coming to replace sadness. I'm talking about a party instead of this wake. Real, deep, life changing joy. This is the promise of our God.
It get's better.
The things built long ago that have been destroyed? They are being revived. There has been much shame, much dishonor. Here. God will do more than a trade off. Now we're talking upgrade. He's bringing a double portion. Twice the prosperity. Twice the honor. Joy everlasting. This is the promise of my God.
Why? Cause He HATES wrongdoing. He is so just. He's not only going to honor you for your suffering, faithful ones, but your children, and your children's children.
God is coming with this promise. I honestly believe that. I've returned to this passage time and time again in the week leading up to camp. Did I ever mention how much I don't even care about "youth groupie" things? God is coming. He is going to restore. This is the promise.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
confident hope
"I pray that God, the source of hope will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit." Romand 15:13
What do we know about hope? More, what do we know about confident hope? Hope has become this sort of wishful thinking. A plea of the heart for nice things to happen to us. It's a feeling inside of "maybe one days" and "wouldn't it be nice if's". Even the dictionary laces the definition of "hope" with a concept of "feeling". The idea of hope today is airy and without substance - so as I've been reading in the NLT and seeing this phrase "confident hope" I've been a little intrigued.Confident wishful thinking doesn't sound much like something I want to see overflow of in my life. There must be something more to this.
Let's look at this from another angle. Faith says "of course God can do this" whereas the prophetic says "God is going to do this in the future." This is where I think confident hope comes in- it's the prophetic mixed with faith. Confident hope says "of course God will do this in the future" And for the record, the future is not necessarily only 5 years from now. 5 minutes from now is also the future.
It's hard sometimes to have hope, let alone for it to be confident hope. Here is what I'd urge you to do: prophecy about your situation. Let God speak, and let that give you hope. When God breaths a word over your life, watch- hope will rise in you like you never thought possible. It's so easy to get words for other people. Allow Holy Spirit to speak a word to you about what is going with your stuff. Then trust His word. There is joy and peace that come when we trust Him with prophetic faith, by the power of Holy Spirit with us. God fill us with confident hope. I want to have confident hope.
What do we know about hope? More, what do we know about confident hope? Hope has become this sort of wishful thinking. A plea of the heart for nice things to happen to us. It's a feeling inside of "maybe one days" and "wouldn't it be nice if's". Even the dictionary laces the definition of "hope" with a concept of "feeling". The idea of hope today is airy and without substance - so as I've been reading in the NLT and seeing this phrase "confident hope" I've been a little intrigued.Confident wishful thinking doesn't sound much like something I want to see overflow of in my life. There must be something more to this.
Let's look at this from another angle. Faith says "of course God can do this" whereas the prophetic says "God is going to do this in the future." This is where I think confident hope comes in- it's the prophetic mixed with faith. Confident hope says "of course God will do this in the future" And for the record, the future is not necessarily only 5 years from now. 5 minutes from now is also the future.
It's hard sometimes to have hope, let alone for it to be confident hope. Here is what I'd urge you to do: prophecy about your situation. Let God speak, and let that give you hope. When God breaths a word over your life, watch- hope will rise in you like you never thought possible. It's so easy to get words for other people. Allow Holy Spirit to speak a word to you about what is going with your stuff. Then trust His word. There is joy and peace that come when we trust Him with prophetic faith, by the power of Holy Spirit with us. God fill us with confident hope. I want to have confident hope.
Friday, August 12, 2011
clothed in His presence
Romans. Timeless truths. Today as I was reading this verse stood out at me: "So remove (cast off) your dark deeds like dirty clothes and put on the shining armor of right living.... clothe yourselves with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don't let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires." (13:12,14) Shining armor of right living. Clothe yourself in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. Wow. What a statement. What a perspective. What a call to higher living. We talk often enough about the armor of God, and we should. It's good. We think about putting on our belt of truth, holding our shield high and shodding our feet - whatever that means. But what about this: put on the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. What if that actually made it to our morning to do lists. "make coffee... eat breakfast... put on the presence... pack a lunch...." I do not in anyway intend to diminish or demean the gravity of that verse, believe me - but perhaps we're not being as intentional about the presence as we should be. Perhaps it's something that we need to remind ourselves of more often, not as some sort of magical formula to make us more spiritual, but as a realization that we are indeed the temple of the Holy Spirit. That He, despite our constant weakness and failure, continues to love us, and continues to offer us His presence.
We so often feel condemned about our "dark deeds"- but as we take those off, let us learn to accept the grace available also. Then in an attitude of gratefulness and genuine repentance, let us take up Christ, for it's only in His power that we can change anyways!
To "cast off" and neglect to "take up" is to me.... the same as the possessed man who is set free, only to have his "friend" come back with 7 more "friends" seeing that the house is clean and in order. Now he is worse off than he was in the first place. I am, perhaps more than anyone, aware that my deeds are not always perfect, but if I never "put on" after I "cast off" my deeds will find me, and I, in myself wont have the strength to do anything about it. We need His presence. And He offers it so readily. Clothe me in your presence.
We so often feel condemned about our "dark deeds"- but as we take those off, let us learn to accept the grace available also. Then in an attitude of gratefulness and genuine repentance, let us take up Christ, for it's only in His power that we can change anyways!
To "cast off" and neglect to "take up" is to me.... the same as the possessed man who is set free, only to have his "friend" come back with 7 more "friends" seeing that the house is clean and in order. Now he is worse off than he was in the first place. I am, perhaps more than anyone, aware that my deeds are not always perfect, but if I never "put on" after I "cast off" my deeds will find me, and I, in myself wont have the strength to do anything about it. We need His presence. And He offers it so readily. Clothe me in your presence.
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