From Isaiah 30 JSV (a paraphrase)

“Be careful, my stubborn child,” says your Papa. “Be careful not to carry out plans that are not Mine and not surrendered to Me, forming an alliance with this world’s ways, not with my Spirit.  In doing so you heap sin upon sin.  You go to Egypt (the land of plenty, of worldliness, and of your past) without consulting Me.  You look for help to Pharaoh’s (another’s) protection, to Egypt’s shade for refuge.”  This will be your shame and your disgrace.

In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.

But you would have none of it.  To your Papa you turned and said, “I will do my own thing, what I think is best.”

Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion.  For the Lord is a God of justice.  Blessed are all who wait for Him!

How gracious He will be when you cry for help!  As soon as He hears He will answer you.  Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity or the water of affliction (because you went your own way, He did this to draw you back to Himself).  Your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them (because you no longer turn away from His instruction).  Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way my child, My way; now walk in it.”

Then you will defile your idols (anything you have sought and loved more than God).  You will throw them away in utter disgust, saying, “Away with you, you seemed so innocent but you have taken the place of God in my life!”

In Your Freedom

I love to worship with this song!  It’s by Hillsong and it is called In Your Freedom.

Finding Freedom

 It is for freedom that Christ has set you free. Gal. 5:1

I decided to do something different with this blog.  Every so often I find out about people I know who are living in anxiety and worry that often controls their lives.  With some, it is obvious they are bound by it and yet with others it is kept quite a secret.  Anxiety in my life became so dominant that I reached a point where I could no longer keep a job, was sick a lot of the time, and could barely leave my house.  If I did have a job I would be laying in my bed each night with my legs literally shaking for fear of having to go to work the next day.  Anxiety and fear had always been a part of my life in rather small ways, but certain circumstances opened the door till one day I found I was completely bound and not even sure if there was a way out. 

 Now, this is not just about dealing with anxiety.  Yes, that has been the issue in my life but I’ve found that the steps that brought me freedom from anxiety are the same steps that anyone can take to find freedom from other lies and strongholds the devil has on their life.  For this reason I’ve decided to use this blog to share how I found freedom and how you can too. 

God took me from being at a point in my life where I could hardly leave my house to, well, I am living in Mexico right now working at an orphanage.  I am a totally different person than I was some five or six years ago.  Today, I have the tools for fighting this monster.  Today, I recognize it when it comes rearing it’s ugly head.  Today, anxiety and fear no longer control my life.  Today, I walk in freedom!

Cold, Hot, or Lukewarm?

“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot.  I wish you were either one or the other!  So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold-I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Revelation 3:15-16

Could it be that the time will come when we will have to choose between cold or hot in our walk with Jesus?  When a person in China (and other countries with great persecution) accepts Jesus, they know they are making a choice to go from cold to hot, there is no lukewarm.  Yet somehow our religious freedom in the west has also bought us the freedom to live as lukewarm Christians.

Speaking to another church in the book of Revelation, Jesus says, “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.  Remember the height from which you have fallen!  Repent and do the things you did at first.” 

Though I grew up in a Christian home I can remember when I first met Him, Jesus.  I remember when I told God that I needed Him to step into my life and change it, or I would be lost forever.  In a dramatic way He stepped in and rearranged everything.  I can remember what I did at first, when I first fell in love with Him.  I was on fire, I told everyone how He had touched me with His power and presence.  I would spend hours at a time worshipping my heart out to this new love, my King.  But after a while, everyday life took over and I often didn’t do the things I had done at first, and I let my love grow, well, lukewarm.

But Jesus is like a husband calling to His bride, calling us back to our first love.  Revelation 3:19-20 says, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.  So be earnest, and repent.  Here I am!  I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”  So He stands at the door knocking, and wants to know if we will answer Him with Cold, Hot, or Lukewarm.

When I did repent and began to do the things I had done at first, He did come in and change my lukewarm to hot.  Again I could find myself spending hours lost in worship to my King, or pouring over the Scriptures searching for, and finding, great treasures.  My soul was again satisfied knowing, this is what I was made for.  It is a beautiful thing to be lost in love with Him and to know that’s what really matters.  In Revelation Jesus tells the church that though they are busy DOING so many things, even good things, they have lost the fire they once had for Jesus, their first love.

Look at your life, what do you do, what takes up your time each day?  Is it a struggle to get to a quiet place and be alone with Him?  Have you been lukewarm and barely remember what it was like when you first fell in love with Jesus?  I can remember rushing out the door one night to a prayer meeting and yet hearing Jesus call me aside.  It was something whispered in a split second before I opened the door to leave my house, but there it was, and I decided not to ignore it.  I took off my coat, went into my bedroom, put on my favorite worship CD and just adored Him.  Times like that in His presence are priceless.  So often He is calling us to come away with Him, away from all of the busyness and stress of life.  Are we listening?  Can we hear Him whisper His desire to be with us? 

I came down to Mexico with a longing in me for something more in life.  I’ve found that the “something more” is not more ministry or more things to do.  I’ve found that the longing inside is simply for more of Jesus.  We were created for Him and yet we spend so little time WITH Him.  We are busy with so many things that actually just serve to keep us lukewarm.  But Jesus is seeking a bride who is on fire with their passion for Him.  Only through intimacy with Him will we find our deepest needs and longings met.  

So, where do you find yourself at?  What takes your time, your energy, your thoughts?  You may say, “Life does”.  And yes, work, school, church, ministry, kids, spouse, friends, chores, so much screams for our attention everyday.  Though these may all be good things, really, at the end of the day, and at the end of this life, what will have mattered?  Where is your relationship with Jesus at?

Choose today to be COLD or HOT, but let’s leave being lukewarm.