Night of Prayer

This past week at youth we had a night of prayer... it was so amazing. There were different areas where we could pray for the nations, confess things to Jesus, read Psalms, light candles for those we know that don't know God, and just pray, pray, pray! It was such an amazing atmosphere of worship and reverence. Some people prayed by themselves, others prayed for each other or in groups... there was no set schedule, we just followed where we felt God leading us. It made me realize again the power and intimacy of prayer. And I think it's sad that I find it harder to pray when I'm by myself, not surrounded by others praying with soft music in the background. It's like we need a certain atmosphere to pray. It's ridiculous, but I think it's true. For me, at least. I get so distracted when I try to pray... I'll start of with, "Dear God, thank you for today..." and all of the sudden my mind will start wandering over the events of the day and I'll forget completely that I was in the middle of talking to Jesus.

And another thing, I think it's also silly that we have certain times when we're praying, and others when we're not. God wants to be talking to us all the time! Not just before meals or in church... but as we're walking to school, or driving to work, or going out for dinner... all the time!

So those are just some things I've been challenged with recently... praying everywhere I go, a continual conversation with Jesus... and being able to really enter in a time with Jesus without having everything set up for me. It's definitely not easy, but I'm ready to try!

Still in the Game

I feel like I've just sauntered up to the table and climbed into the chair.  Breathe deeply.  It feels so good to be here...with you.  What is it about coming to the Soul Kitchen table that makes me feel so....at home.

It's Jesus.  He's here.  Sigh.....He's Everything.

I am still lingering in Ephesians.  Drinking, thirsty for the truth, sipping slowly each and every word.  God's words through Paul first delivered to the saints in Ephesus, but purposed for the world...for you, for me.

Still in the game of the Hide and Seek Challenge,  I have memorized verses 1-10 in chapter 1 and am now working on 11 and 12.  I can hardly express how much I love this.  I have memorized many verses in the Bible over the years and its all good....but this....I've never done a passage like this other than Psalm 23....a letter....seeing and hearing the words over and over in my mind.  God's words in my mouth...listening to His words tumbling out of my mouth and soaking through my mind in my waking in my sleeping....I'm not kidding...It's life changing.  I believe I've been working on these 12 verses for about 6 weeks now.  Praying through them, asking the Holy Spirit to teach me, asking God what he wants me to learn right now and listening to his voice as his words penetrate deeper into my heart and mind.

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.  Ephesians 1:11-12

Robert J. Morgan wrote in his book 100 Bible Verses that, "Scripture memory accelerates the transformation process in our lives....By internalizing Bible verses, we're mainstreaming God's thoughts into our conscious, subconscious, and unconscious logic."

And...I will say that I'm gonna have to agree with that....I believe God's words are changing me...from the inside out....by the power of the Holy Spirit...Let it be so.

"...But what's been done for you."

You are more than the choices that you've made,

You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,

You are more than the problems you create,

You've been remade.

'Cause this is not about what you've done,

But what's been done for you.

This is not about where you've been,

But where your brokenness brings you to

This is not about what you feel,

But what He felt to forgive you,

And what He felt to make you loved.

You are more than the choices that you've made,

You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,

You are more than the problems you create,

You've been remade.

Tenth Avenue North

Praying Power

Mary and husband had to fly down to North Carolina for a family funeral.  Since she is away, I decided to recycle one of her previous posts.  Blessings on you today and love from all your SoulSisters.

"In the same way, the Holy Spirit helps us where we are weak. We do not know how to pray or what we should pray for, but the Holy Spirit prays for us with sounds that cannot be put into words. God knows the hearts of men. He knows what the Holy Spirit is thinking. The Holy Spirit prays for those who belong to Christ the way God wants Him to pray." Romans 8:26:27

Are you feeling weak today? Is your heart so heavy that you do not even have words you can put into a sentence and utter to the Lord... Do you have an overwhelming sadness that you have not been able to get rid of... God knows... He knows the depth of your heart and He cares. He has given us the Holy Spirit who continually intercedes for us.

Sometimes we get so overwhelmed with what is going on in our lives that we are not sure how to pray. We struggle with our own thoughts and desires and we know how we would like to see the outcome of certain situations... but often, God sees the situation differently from us. In the end, it might not be what we had hoped for or envisioned at all. But it is something better! God knows the hearts of men. God knows when we are struggling or when our heart is full of joy. He knows when we are weak and when we are strong. He knows what we can and cannot handle. He knows what the Holy Spirit is thinking. And where is the Holy Spirit? He is abiding in us. We are not left alone or to fend for ourselves. We always have the Comforter with us. Isn't it encouraging to know that when we have lost all direction, or cannot discern our next step that... The Holy Spirit prays for those who belong to Christ the way God wants Him to pray.

Rest assured in His love and guidance today... You have the praying power of the Holy Spirit!

To Hide and Seek...Something Sacred

I write from memory...the sacred...hidden deep within my mind, not lost mind you, but literally etched into the framework of my thoughts...weaved into the here and now...a sacred thread...the gift of a mind being renewed.

(I'll not worry tonight...if it's word for word and punctuation perfect....those details will continue to come)

Ephesians 1:1-10

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God.
To the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,

even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and blameless before him.

In love, he predestined us for adoption as sons (and daughters) through Jesus Christ,
according to his perfect will, to the praise of his glorious grace,
with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

In Him, we have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of our trespasses,
according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us
in all wisdom and insight,
making known to us the mystery of his will,
according to his purpose
which he set forth in Christ as a plan
for the fullness of time,
to unite all things in him
things in heaven and things on earth.

Sacred Words.

While the rest of this house sleeps, I whisper aloud the words I have "hidden" in my heart...I know that I have found the treasure in the "seeking".

I say them aloud again...and tremble inside with the understanding that the living God lives in me.  And before he even created the world he knew that we would leave him and that only his grace could save us.  And so together they made a plan, to change my destiny and yours, a plan born of love, but costing death.  The only way we could get back to him, uniting heaven and earth in Him, past present and future. He did it.  And these are God's words in my mouth.  Not my words.   God's words living and breathing in my mind, transforming...redeeming...life giving...light shedding.  Sacred.  The renewing of my mind.

Oh Father...fill us with your Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that we can know you better....so that we can understand the treasure of your words hidden in our hearts as we seek the sacred.

What Life is About

I got a main role in my school play called Our Town just the other week. As I was reading the play, the message of the story stuck out to me: it was talking about how much we go through life wasting our time on things that don't really matter, and not appreciating the people around us. So that idea had been playing in my mind for a few days, when BAM! Jesus shows me a passage that fits exactly with what I had been thinking!

⁴ “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.
Remind me that my days are numbered—
how fleeting my life is.
⁵ You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand.
My entire lifetime is just a moment to you;
at best, each of us is but a breath.”
⁶ We are merely moving shadows,
and all our busy rushing ends in nothing.
We heap up wealth,
not knowing who will spend it.
⁷ And so, Lord, where do I put my hope?
My only hope is in you.

- Psalm 39:4-7

I was just in awe of how God reinforced what I had been thinking. It was so cool! I've shared that passage with a bunch of the other cast members... and it's led to some awesome conversations. So, I want to encourage you to take life one day at a time. Enjoy each moment, and take the time to tell your friends, your family, your co -workers that you appreciate them. Look for opportunities to be Jesus to the people around you. I know it's how Jesus wants us to live.

A Hide and Seek Challenge!

I am inviting you to join us in a Spring Challenge.  The kind of challenge that changes your life...causing you to live and breathe the very words of God...in your kitchen, in your car, echoed in your prayers and whispered in the sweet dreams of sleep.  Really.  It will change your life.

We have begun memorizing in the first chapter of Ephesians....and seriously, it's so good.  As you meditate through each phrase, ask the Lord to speak to you, ask Him what this means and what that means?  Talk to Him as you memorize each line...think about the words and what God is saying to you right now.

Some are faster, and some are slower at this sort of thing...don't get caught up in the conquering but...lose yourself in the listening.  We will begin one verse at a time.  And when that one is done...good and steady, imprinted on your beating heart...it will be time to go on to the next one.  

We do not all have to be at the same place at the same time but there is something seriously beautiful about going there together.  

If you're game and you want more....Join us.  

Let me know, so we can encourage each other,

 as we Hide God's Word in our Hearts and Seek His Heart along the way.