The Bridegroom's Voice

Monday, September 8, 2008

Being Found In Him, As His Champion!

Jesus, I know you dream the dream of Me being Your Champion! It is my hope to be….

"Jesus, may all Your dreams for me come true. Help me not to get in the way or hinder You from fulfilling any of the plans You had for me when You dreamed me into being. Amen." Quote By Unknown Author

Today I woke up with the word "balance" on my spirit. I have had an amazing journey with God when it comes to the word "balance". I know without a doubt that the gift that God is perfecting in me and using me for "Kingdom Purposes" is exhortation. God uses this gift to kindle in His people's heart hope, truth and the way to Him. When the giftedness of God unites with a human being, there is always salvation to be worked out of the carnal nature. Sometimes, that does not look too perfect along my life path!!

Over the last 10 years I have been consistently led by God to be an exhorter. I encourage other by helping kindle a holy fire in the heart of a person that God divinely and timely connects me with. I exhort, being His Voice in a specific season of their life. I turn on a small light of hope and God's Holy Spirit continues to build an all consuming fire in their heart. God gives me an exhortation that shatters the darkness and begins to kindle a light of hope and truth for them to walk by.

I am a fire starter! I kindle the Light of Christ's hope and He continues in His way by His means to start an all consuming fire in them. Therefore, I am a starter by "Kingdom Trade", not a finisher. Every day, directed by God's Holy Spirit, I point the way to God and I encourage people, but I don't get to walk the journey with them. So, I am a starter, not a finisher!

Sometimes my giftedness that Jesus wired in me, makes it hard for me to be disciplined in my flesh! In fact as I tried to work out this gift from His anointing to my flesh, I became frustrated in my training as a Champion in Christ. Because I am so wired to be a starter, I was short circuited for years in my physical diet, exercise and in the area of steadfast study in the discipline of my spirit. I was way out of balance in my walk to being a Champion In Christ because outside of my giftedness, I was trying to work things out on my own! I had the short focus I needed for my gift of exhortation as God moved me among people and from person to person, as I shared His encouragement and exhortation and interceded for them, yet I did not have a steadfast balance in my own life. I struggled to "do" it, to do life! I struggled to do daily devotions, diets, exercises, studies because I knew if I did not take care of my body and my spirit that I would never make a good Champion of Christ Jesus.

I would start a diet, and fail very shortly thereafter and then beat myself up for weeks while eating more and more to help me "feel" better.
I would start an exercise routine and work through the sore muscles and then a distraction would come along and I would quit for a day, then another day that led into a week and then weeks of no exercise.
I would start a devotional book, hear the Lord speak but then before it was done, I would move on to the next "spiritual fad"… never finishing the first, second or third… therefore I had loads of unfinished books on my book shelf; great books yet they taunted me with discouragement as I continued to pile up more unreachable study ambitions.
I was famous for setting goals for myself that I never reached. Every Sunday night I sat down with my calendar and I set my "doer" into motion. Every single day was done up to the max. I scheduled the life out of myself!! Only to fail to keep it and by the end of the week being beat up by my procrastinations!

A very defeated "doer" I was! This is where the Lord found me about 10 years ago as a Champion want-a-be! I was feeling defeated, feeling that I would never be "good enough" and feeling that I can't do it… any of it!! I had a "to do" list as long as my life and a defeated attitude that blanketed my soul! I took my "can't do attitude" and spewed it out morning after morning by way of spiritual whining until the Lord said: "Enough"! It is time to grow up, time to balance your doing and tip the scales with "being"! He was about His business to finish what He started in me and I was ready to receive, ready to move my life from a focus on me and my doings to a "completely", a heart undivided being found steadfastly in Him!

Daniel 5:24-28

Then was the part of the hand sent from the presence of [the Most High God], and this writing was inscribed. 25And this is the [a]inscription that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN--numbered, numbered, weighed, divisions. 26This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE, God has numbered the days of your kingship and brought them to an end; 27TEKEL, You are weighed in the balances and are found wanting; 28[b]PERES, Your kingdom and your kingship are divided and given to the Medes and Persians. [Foretold in Isa. 21:2, 5, 9.]

MENE God had numbered the days of my unbalanced heart, putting a hope for an undivided heart in my spirit… a completely! (Psalm 86:11)
TEKEL God put me on the Kingdom scales justified by His true life and found me unbalanced! I was a doer found to be unbalanced!(Gal 3:8-12; 2:16)
PERES God told me that my life, my rootedness would no longer be balanced between The Kingdom and This Earth. That He would uproot my dependence upon this earth and plant me in Kingdom Soil! I was on the road to a completed citizenship in His Kingdom! Wholly His! (Ephesians 3:16-18)

That morning, The Holy Spirit spoke to me this verse and it was with this verse that I began my change from a "doer" to "being"! That day I began a journey to "being" a Champion In Christ. Being found in Him in my all in all! I hope that for all of you striving to be His Champion in all areas of your life: Body, Soul, Spirit and Will!

Think on these things and be found in Him!

Philippians 3:8-9

Even more, I consider everything to be nothing compared to knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. To know him is the best thing of all. Because of him I have lost everything. But I consider all of it to be garbage so I can get to know Christ. 9 I want to be joined to him. For me, being right with God does not come from the law. It comes because I believe in Christ. It comes from God. It is received by faith.

Philippians 3:8-9

Yes, furthermore, I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege (the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth, and supreme advantage) of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord and of progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him [of perceiving and recognizing and understanding Him more fully and clearly]. For His sake I have lost everything and consider it all to be mere rubbish (refuse, dregs), in order that I may win (gain) Christ (the Anointed One), 9And that I may [actually] be found and known as in Him, not having any [self-achieved] righteousness that can be called my own, based on my obedience to the Law's demands (ritualistic uprightness and supposed right standing with God thus acquired), but possessing that [genuine righteousness] which comes through faith in Christ (the Anointed One), the [truly] right standing with God, which comes from God by [saving] faith.

Philippians 3:8-9

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ.[a] For God's way of making us right with himself depends on faith.

Philippians 3:7-9

The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I'm tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn't want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God's righteousness.

Philippians 3:8-9

What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ. 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ— the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.

I know I have kept my life in balance between "being" His and serving His Kingdom, when at the end of the day I have grown to know Him more and I have changed from better to His best!

I get up every day knowing what I need to "do". It seems to never escape me! I still have a full schedule because I am a "Martha Being Daily Transformed Into A Mary"! So therefore, I am learning not to be driven by my schedule and the change in me, the difference is "being"! My first daily priority is finding His Presence and my position in His Grace! It is through His Presence that I can have the strength to exercise my body, the will to say no to my flesh (to the things I should not eat that my body at times screams for) and the passion and desire to learn more of Him. My schedule is still pretty full of things I want to do, but I am easily overridden by the balance that "being His" has brought to my consciousness. I hear His Voice, I obey it! His Voice completely trumps my schedule, my wants and my way! I do everything unto Him and that strengthens my resolve from moment to moment to be His, undivided in heart and balanced in His life. I have learned to enjoy my life, being content with what Jesus brings into my day whether good, bad or hard! Jesus lived a balanced life, completely at the whim of His Father, He walked uprightly in all His ways when on this earth and He accomplished so much!! I model after Jesus and I put all my hopes and expectations in His Hands. (Psalm 62) I don't live by my extreme expectations anymore. I am happy with 80 percent of my week eating a good diet and I enjoy some fun food on the weekends. Jesus was the same way! I am thrilled when I exercise at least four days a week, yet I rest on Friday and enjoy a day off from exercise. I am not driven by my personal applied goals anymore; I am led by the Spirit of God, being found in Him. I have accomplished so much more than I could ever hope for or imagine as I am being found in Him! I am a starter and a finisher!! Yes life may be hard at times, but God is totally and completely good for me and in me always as a bright light of HOPE! I hope this for you as you travel down the path of learning to BE His CHAMPION… A CHAMPION IN CHRIST JESUS!

The heart of the gospel is change! These last ten years learning to "be found in Him" has been a great adventure and has changed me, making me into a Champion In Christ. Every day is a new day in this adventure and each day I get up, I set my feet on the floor and I am determined to know Him more, to experience Him most and to grow to be a servant more like Him. As this verse says, I therefore will be found as His Champion…

My Life Is A Journey….

I Must Travel With A Deep Consciousness Of God

Dig Deeper…. Dig Deeper….Dig Deeper….Just Do It!!

1 Peter 5:7-9

Casting the [a]whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, [b]once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you [c]watchfully. 8Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [[d]in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour. 9Withstand him; be firm in faith [against his onset--rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined], knowing that the same ([e]identical) sufferings are appointed to your brotherhood (the whole body of Christians) throughout the world.

2 Timothy 1:6-8 (Amplified Bible)

That is why I would remind you to stir up (rekindle the embers of, fan the flame of, and keep burning) the [gracious] gift of God, [the inner fire] that is in you by means of the laying on of my hands [[a]with those of the elders at your ordination]. 7For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control. 8Do not blush or be ashamed then, to testify to and for our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for His sake, but [[b]with me] take your share of the suffering [to which the preaching] of the Gospel [may expose you, and do it] in the power of God.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Enemy Cackle is Not For Me! No… Not!

I started a bible study yesterday with some of the women of Covenant Community Church and we are studying this book:

Life Principles From The Women Of The Bible Book One

Written By: Wayne Barber * Eddie Rasnake * Richard Shepherd

This thought from an excerpt of the book, really hit home, so I thought I would share the inspiration the Holy Spirit incited in me!

Excerpt From Week One: Eve Following God After Failure!

"Through attacking Eve's contentment, Satan was able to incite rebellion in mankind and sin entered into the world."

Wow… that is so true… I never thought of it in that way!

Yesterday I experienced this first hand, the enemy cackle! My enemy began working on my mind through the discontentment of a circumstance where I am diligently waiting for God's intervention! When you are persevering, enemy cackle can be so discouraging! Enemy cackle is the subtle, sneering laughter with attached speculations that are soaked in deceit! I listened to such enemy cackle yesterday and my emotions responded with a downward shift until I shook off the deception and spoke out the truth! Yes he tries… the enemy wants to attacks our contentment and if he is able to incite it… look out!! I have done so many stupid, impulsive things in my life time that I deeply regret because of this very same thing… listening to enemy cackle! I can relate to Eve! I am afraid, that I too have bit the apple served by enemy cackle!!

My contentment was a big thing for me and it played itself out through my feelings of needing security, wanting to feel stable and striving to keep everything on the status quo. Therefore, I was a "fixer" and I was easy prey for enemy cackle! I was always looking ahead to the contentment, the perfection that I wanted and thinking forward on how to make it happen, so much so that I never really learned to enjoy the day that God had provided at hand! I developed a really unbalance sense of contentment and the enemy egged it on using cackled assumptive thoughts, which when entertained by me had a really negative effect of charging up my impulsive carnal nature… right into overdrive or should I say over-kill since that is what my enemy's strategy provides!

Enemy cackle always led me to reckless behavior! I can remember so many willful decisions I made empowered by this impulsive side of my soul, choices I knew that were made by the light of my own fire and were very irresponsible! (Isaiah 50:11-12)

As I listened to more and more of the enemy cackle, my impulsive nature caused me a lot of grief in my life, especially as I faced the consequences of my inaccurate pursuit of slippery, personal contentment! I have learned and grown up through my life-lessons created by the compulsion for satisfaction! Yes, God uses all things in our lives and I got to know Jesus more and more as I searched less for satisfaction and personal contentment being found in Him! He is simply enough, My Jesus! Plus, the consequences of my impulsive nature are still around to remind me! "Heavenly Hindsight" that memorizes wisdom for my today!

Like Eve, I still get tempted in the area of contentment, and I know my mind will be a battlefield of personal expectations incited by intentional deception, the cackle of my enemy. It helps that my will is no longer as strong as it used to be and that I have learned to put all my expectations in a very safe place! (Psalm 62!) I don't diminish the temptations of enemy cackle, they are real and strong, yet I am blessed incredibly because my life is one of a daughter, whose Father God is continually and faithfully teaching by His Holy Spirit and Powerful Word!! AHH Lord God, Yes because of The Purposes of God, I daily find myself consumed by Jesus and less directed by my thoughts or driven by my emotions. Thank Goodness!!!

Today, in the face of the Eve-like temptations, I am learning to face life with a willessness that helps me run my race as a Champion In Christ. My impulsive pursuit for me, myself and I, has been changed ("the heart J of the Gospel J is change") by a diligent pursuit of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom. My life-plans have been altered by the surrender of what I want, my plans or my will and is all about being faithfully found In Him!

As a Champion In Christ, this is how I work out my salvation training: I changed my response to enemy cackle! I do not pursue my satisfaction or my contentment anymore! I do not entertain thoughts from my enemy that subject my personal contentment. I lay it down, my will and my plan of contentment for this day and I decisively with purpose, pick up the baton for The Kingdom of God and run as a Champion In Christ should race… with excellence and in pursuit of the ultimate prize, Jesus Christ!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Christianity Is… A Topsy-Turvey, Very Adventurous Life!

Sometimes in life you find yourself sporting that topsy-turvey kind of look where everything you planned for your life is suddenly upside down and every straight path you marked out has suddenly become crooked and you can't see past the next bend in the road! I find myself there at times and to make it worse, I get myself completely fogged in by my doubt, fear and anxiety!

Ecclesiastes 7:12-14

Wisdom provides safety, just as money provides safety. But here's the advantage of wisdom. It guards the lives of those who have it. 13 Think about what God has done. Who can make straight what he has made crooked? 14 When times are good, be happy. But when times are bad, here's something to think about. God has made bad times. He has also made good times. So a man can't find out anything about what's ahead for him.

"What is happening to me? I look in the mirror and all I see reflected back is a fashion nightmare kind of a mess! I find myself mesmerized by the mirror reflection of my life disarray staring me down and I hear myself say: "Is that really me??? Is that me wearing a plaid shirt with stripped pants? That is not what I laid out for myself for this season of my life!!! No way! No reason! No Rhyme!"

1 Corinthians 13:11-13

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; now that I have become a man, I am done with childish ways and have put them aside. 12For now we are looking in a mirror that gives only a dim (blurred) reflection [of reality as [a]in a riddle or enigma], but then [when perfection comes] we shall see in reality and face to face! Now I know in part (imperfectly), but then I shall know and understand [b]fully and clearly, even in the same manner as I have been [c]fully and clearly known and understood [[d]by God]. 13And so faith, hope, love abide [faith--conviction and belief respecting man's relation to God and divine things; hope--joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation; love--true affection for God and man, growing out of God's love for and in us], these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Can anyone relate to me today!!? Do you know what I mean? Have you felt that earth shaking feeling where nothing matches, nothing fits in your life and the plans you had, have been stolen away! Have you ever woke up with the feeling like you are wearing borrowed time and sense a panic attack coming on because you can't find your way out of your dead dreams to a true reality? Or could what you are feeling possibly be your stomach muscles tied up in a vice over the life-situation that you find yourself in! Better said!!!

John 10:9-11

I'm like a gate. Anyone who enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out. And he will find plenty of food. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so they can have life. I want them to have it in the fullest possible way. 11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.

Harmony? What is that? I find myself in a life season where nothing seems to be in tune, my heart wants to sing this new song, but my will can't read the notes and my soul is playing its own thing! Everything seems hazy! Actually, my blurred vision during this season of my life, I have found that is caused by my mind gripped too tightly around the view point of my circumstances with those "What If" thoughts! Crazy imaginations is another way to describe those "What If" thoughts that have the propensity of binding up my emotions in three fold around the retina of my soul and consequently giving me a really muddled up perspective! Even if I find myself half blind after all that, I still hopelessly try to enclose some common sense around my will, thus and therefore I foolishly think I will be able to wrap my mind around my circumstance! Been there done that… doesn't work!!!

Colossians 3:14-16

And above all these [put on] love and enfold yourselves with the bond of perfectness [which binds everything together completely in ideal harmony]. 15And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ's] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always]. 16Let the word [spoken by] Christ (the Messiah) have its home [in your hearts and minds] and dwell in you in [all its] richness, as you teach and admonish and train one another in all insight and intelligence and wisdom [in spiritual things, and as you sing] psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody to God with [His] grace in your hearts.

Wow! This is a season in life where a lot of us find ourselves today saying: " I did not think I would be here at this time in my life! It doesn't seem to fit into my plan and my way! You know… I am right there with you!! I feel like my will was running at full throttle and it seems to have suddenly run itself into a brick wall that came up out of no where! Now I am pretty much willess!" Ever experience that sensation, it is not too good!! Yet reflecting back, I think that may have been the point of the brick wall!! It was for my good! Unaware, I slammed into it and nothing is the same and I remembered getting up dazed, yet still willful and I foolishly still tried so hard to find my way back into my dreams, my visions and my plans for my life, yet to no avail. I don't know my way out of this situation I am in… maybe that is a good thing as I said previously!!

John 14:5-7

Jesus Is the Way to the Father

Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going. So how can we know the way?" 6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father also. From now on, you do know him. And you have seen him."

After I said all the above, I say this: Me, I chose to leave my will at the brick wall crash site . Yes I finally did it! After I laid it completely down, I put my hand in the Right Hand of God and submissively… I walked away from that horrible sight of my broken will, step by step, placing my feet in His footstep, one step at a time; one day at a time! By the way, it no longer matters where I am going, or that my clothes for the journey are not those I would have picked out, or not very much the style of the culture I live in! I am just learning to "be", be content with Him, with Jesus, His Life, His Way and His Truth!

Philippians 4:11-13

I'm not saying that because I need anything. I have learned to be content no matter what happens to me. 12 I know what it's like not to have what I need. I also know what it's like to have more than I need. I have learned the secret of being content no matter what happens. I am content whether I am well fed or hungry. I am content whether I have more than enough or not enough. 13 I can do everything by the power of Christ. He gives me strength.

I am realizing a new thing, a new notion that every day is brand new; the fresh morning mercy is dew upon my parched soul each and every day! Faithfully, His Mercy is new! Yes and Amen…. the miracle of the morning and its heavenly dew, it is wet and fresh upon my spirit each day! I can and I will walk a new pace with Him, into a brand new adventure where in Heavenly Hindsight, I see my dead will back at the brick wall! As I look ahead, I only see Jesus. His mercy is new every morning and I face this new adventure stepping out in that great, great and powerful truth. Nothing is as I planned it to be, yet in Jesus my life is new every morning… Great Is His Faithfulness to me. It is all good! I have a future and a hope! Walking On… Step By Step and Talking It Up! God's Mercy… His Faithfulness… Morning Dew Refreshing My Spirit… it is new and the Adventure is Great!

Deuteronomy 32:1-3

The Song: Listen, Heavens, I have something to tell you. Attention, Earth, I've got a mouth full of words. My teaching, let it fall like a gentle rain, my words arrive like morning dew, Like a sprinkling rain on new grass, like spring showers on the garden. For it's God's Name I'm preaching— respond to the greatness of our God! The Rock: His works are perfect, and the way he works is fair and just; A God you can depend upon, no exceptions, a straight-arrow God. His messed-up, mixed-up children, his non-children, throw mud at him but none of it sticks.

Therefore, or should I say, in retrospect I say this today: He is doing a new thing! Will you not know it!? Will you walk in the Light of His All Consuming Fire or will you continue to kindle your own self made fire and lay in torment and pain at the site of your crashed will? Again I say: "Will you lay down in torment or will you rise up as His Beauty does out of the ash of your personal will into the soul of y our spirit?"

Isaiah 50:10:-11

Who is among you who [reverently] fears the Lord, who obeys the voice of His Servant, yet who walks in darkness and deep trouble and has no shining splendor [in his heart]? Let him rely on, trust in, and be confident in the name of the Lord, and let him lean upon and be supported by his God. 11Behold, all you [enemies of your own selves] who attempt to kindle your own fires [and work out your own plans of salvation], who surround and gird yourselves with momentary sparks, darts, and firebrands that you set aflame!--walk by the light of your self-made fire and of the sparks that you have kindled [for yourself, if you will]! But this shall you have from My hand: you shall lie down in grief and in torment.

Isaiah 50:10-11

Who out there fears God, actually listens to the voice of his servant? For anyone out there who doesn't know where you're going, anyone groping in the dark, Here's what: Trust in God. Lean on your God! But if all you're after is making trouble, playing with fire, Go ahead Go ahead and see where it gets you. Set your fires, stir people up, blow on the flames, But don't expect me to just stand there and watch. I'll hold your feet to those flames.

What you wear today is up to you? Choose Wisely! I say, put on the garment of praise, the spirit of contentment and the will of the willess and WEAR HIS NAME BRAND! Wear His Name taking whatever clothing He gives you, all that is available, whether it matches your fashioned plans or not! WEAR HIS NAME and step out into life today experiencing a new adventure on the path of HIS MERCY that is new every morning and waiting for you to wholly embrace! Hold close The Holy Spirit and wear the Anointing of God… being found in Him today! It is a New Day!

Isaiah 61:1-5

THE SPIRIT of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed and qualified me to preach the Gospel of good tidings to the meek, the poor, and afflicted; He has sent me to bind up and heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the [physical and spiritual] captives and the opening of the prison and of the eyes to those who are bound, 2To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord [the year of His favor] [a]and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3To grant [consolation and joy] to those who mourn in Zion--to give them an ornament (a garland or diadem) of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, the garment [expressive] of praise instead of a heavy, burdened, and failing spirit--that they may be called oaks of righteousness [lofty, strong, and magnificent, distinguished for uprightness, justice, and right standing with God], the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. 4And they shall rebuild the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former desolations and renew the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. 5Aliens shall stand [ready] and feed your flocks, and foreigners shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

A Blue Collar Lunch Pail Thought!

My first thought after Michelle Obama's performance last night was that speeches don't make a person. Basically, we are not human doers, we are human beings! One of my favorite orators, Jesus Christ is the model that politicians need to take another hard look at. Jesus spoke, Jesus was… He did not perform a speech written for Him, He spoke genuinely of Who He was and from his speeches followed the depth of "being" found in the truth therein… a "being" that deeply portrayed the fullness of truth in His spoken word.

Hope spoken isn't real hope until it is being seen and heard outside of the platform of its originated speech. The hope that the politicians spoke of during the last congressional election was performance based hope in conquest of trying to win the senate; yet nothing came into being from that promised hope and it continues to "be" for us, the America people, (those who can count their houses with one finger) a downward spiral of dashed expectations, an unrealized hope! I believe the change America needs is deeper than performance based politically hyped speeches, where every word is calculated and every emotion is executed without spontaneity or true head to heart connection. I could see on that stage last night that Michelle Obama was "doing" a great performance, but I never saw her heart; she is an actress that lacks chemistry with her audience... As her young daughter evaluated her performance well: "She "did" good." Out of the mouth of babes…

Michelle's outward performance left me wondering… who will she actually be? To me, the Obama's are very good at synthetically performed emotions, picture perfect portrayals and a lot of words spun so tightly that they are bent without the genuine will to be! It is very inflexible; a good for all to see is not actualized into being good. It kind of feels like a stiff neck does where you are forced to see straight ahead and can't look to the left or the right.

The Obama's have no foundation that comes from "being" what they are willfully acting. It is words without the foundation of the truth of testimonial record. Most of their life legacy, their recorded reality, is not the same cuisine that they are force feeding Americans right now. They are not ready for the position that they seek because they only have the credit of their well done performances, not their actual being. They are not seasoned servants, therefore their portrayal of "doing" and portrait of "being" are not the same. Their doings, their actual record of service is very small, yet significantly prescribes their honest "being"; which seems opposite from their change of performance venue during this political race. They can testify that what they have done in the senate, those that they have associated with for 20 years, the things that they have said outside of the performance arena is not truly who they are, but they don't have the authentication of time spent serving their country "being" the characters they currently are performing on this political stage.

In the last congressional election, the Democratic Party asked us to participate in change, for a better America. They spoke it, and America bought into the recital of hopeful words and actually began expecting change for the better; yet since this congress performed on the political platform "the dance of change" our feet have been dancing to a different tune, a downward spiral of our good economy, of our good civility and of our good hopes because of a congress who doesn't want to "be" what they performed, and the only "be" that we have seen from them is the "be" of blame that has caused our country to "be lame"!

So, Yes I do have a difficult time believing the performance of Michelle Obama as she masterfully spun her words and emotions; I did not see the depth of her heart, the passion of her soul or the reality of her testimony that she loves deeply loves America. She "did" good. How will she be? Her spirit did not seem to match the performance of her will.

Our First Lady, Laura Bush she was ready to serve this country because she was a "seasoned servant" and what she said to us was backed up by a long record of "being" a life legacy that one could trust in the hope found therein her words. She spoke from her heart, she did not need to perform because she was already "being"; her testimony, her life legacy was her platform and it made her believable. She is by far the best First Lady, the most honest, forthright and genuinely hopes fulfilling First Lady that this country has ever had. She spoke it, she lived it.

Michelle Obama, she "did good" last night, but she is not ready to "be" our First Lady, she lacks the seasoning that can transform her performance from "doing good" to being. She "did good", yet how will she "be"?

Friday, August 22, 2008

Champions Glory-Dance Of Praise!

WE ARE CHRIST'S CHAMPIONS: Make His Praise Glorious!

A Champions Glory Dance Of Praise Begins With This Warm Up Exercise Of

Mind, Soul, Will And Spirit:

1 Peter 5:3-11

Don't act as if you were a ruler over those who are under your care. Instead, be examples to the flock. 4 The Chief Shepherd will come again. Then you will receive the crown of glory. It is a crown that will never fade away. 5 Young men, follow the lead of those who are older. All of you, put on a spirit that is free of pride toward each other as if it were your clothes. Scripture says, "God opposes those who are proud. But he gives grace to those who are not." —(Proverbs 3:34) 6 So don't be proud. Put yourselves under God's mighty hand. Then he will honor you at the right time. 7 Turn all your worries over to him. He cares about you. 8 Control yourselves. Be on your guard. Your enemy the devil is like a roaring lion. He prowls around looking for someone to chew up and swallow. 9 Stand up to him. Stand firm in what you believe. All over the world you know that your brothers and sisters are going through the same kind of suffering. 10 God always gives you all the grace you need. So you will only have to suffer for a little while. Then God himself will build you up again. He will make you strong and steady. And he has chosen you to share in his eternal glory because you belong to Christ. 11 Give him the power for ever and ever. Amen.

CHAMPIONS IN HIS TRAINING MAKING HIS PRAISE GLORIOUS!

DISGUARDING PRIDE! MAKE HIS PRAISE GLORIOUS!

Pride is an impossibly heavy Yoke to carry if you are a Champion in Training for the Kingdom of God. When I start my training each day, I make sure I am positioned in God's Grace; I am yoked to Him and free of pride. Every day the enemy looks for ways to trip me up in selfish pride as he and his deceptive habits, put up stumbling blocks trying to derail my self-image off the track of my championship training and onto a path of self focus! My enemy lurks and waits for the perfect situation to taunt me and tempt me into discarding my humble training garments of praise and exchange them for his bling-bling clothing that is labeled with self-importance. The enemy wants to yoke me in pride, weigh me down so that I can't keep pace with my Coach, Jesus Christ and eventually lag behind and lose sight of Him.

CHAMPIONS IN HIS TRAINING MAKING HIS PRAISE GLORIOUS!

STANDING FIRM IN BELIEF! MAKE HIS PRAISE GLORIOUS!

I realize in every situation of my training day, I must stand firm in what I believe, even if I have to suffer the humility of self- denial that makes me feel like I am the tale runner and not the lead runner. I must believe what I know to be true, running my race impassioned not by feelings that change every day (subject to the weather LOL…) but by the Presence and Promises of my Coach. My Coach promised me that I would be the head, the lead runner not the tale end and I run my race no matter what my position is, with this in mind! God will give me exactly what I need in Him and this promise is simply enough to motivate me to train, to step out on the track and run my race today with excellence. As I am becoming God's Champion, He builds me up and My Coach will make me strong through the discipline of my body, spirit, soul and will. I will become a stalwart runner in this Kingdom race, secure in the hope of my incredible future as a Champion In Christ Jesus!

CHAMPIONS IN HIS TRAINING MAKING HIS PRAISE GLORIOUS!

RUNNING WITH HOPE! MAKE HIS PRAISE GLORIOUS!

As a Champion in Christ, we know that our training will not come easy! Yes, we may suffer for a little while, but we never endure outside of His hope; hope filled optimism like nothing we could ever imagine will help keep us steady, faithful and strong in the disciplining of our spirit, soul, body, will and mind. He has chosen me as His Champion in training and He has set me apart to share in His forever glory! Because I am His, undivided in heart and always loyal to My Coach, I Therefore, choose to stand firm and diligently train, giving Him my all in all and believing in Him wholeheartedly; because of what I know, not because of what I feel. Every day as I train as God's Champion, I press towards Him and make a sacrificial investment of my time, energy and life because I know He will double my investment and it will bring forth a forever Glory Glow in me and through me. I am His Champion, I am Glowing His Glory… Running in the Light of His Hope!

CHAMPIONS IN HIS TRAINING MAKING HIS PRAISE GLORIOUS!

PRAISING… IN PURSUIT OF GLORY GOLD! MAKE HIS PRAISE GLORIOUS!

As His Champion, I am promised to reap what I sow! That which I sow into my training as I become a Champion in Christ, I will reap in the joy of victory in Him! Nothing is wasted as Champions in Christ meticulously train; it is all used by Him, transformed into His advantage for The Kingdom of God! I believe in Him, therefore today is not about how I feel or what I see, it is about being found in Him, My Advocate, My Coach and continuing to faithfully train as His Champion to be… to make His praise glorious!! I was created to be a Champion in Christ Jesus and to make His Praise Glorious as I pursue Gold for the Kingdom Team!

Take A Moment To Listen To This Song Called "Glorious" By Martha Munizzi who runs as a Champion In Christ to the tune of: I was created to make His Praise Glorious!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZ2eLG_G1ZM

Thursday, August 21, 2008

True Purpose!

Ephesians 3:9-11

I was chosen to explain to everyone[a] this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning. 10 God's purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.

The True Purpose Of God Is Not Always Seen, But Always Realized In His Truth!

About 10 months ago God moved us to West Jefferson. It was not a move of our choice, but a move of His Sovereign Purpose. We submitted ourselves obediently to the call of God to go to West Jefferson, knowing the full purpose of this move was not about the obvious. Bob took a job with a national company that was contracted to build a hotel for a 24 year old owner whose family is from India and builds hotels as part of their family caste position of "housekeeping". The next ten months of our lives proved to be a very amazing Adventure with God that started with us praying over the land where the jobsite would be, the city that we would be in that God's purposes, intentions and will would be done through us. Bob worked every day giving more that was required (minimum of 65 hours a week) and ran his race each day with the excellence of God's strength and character. As time went on, we were hit with every crazy thing you could ever imagine that could happen, yet Bob remained steady and true pushing this job through some really hard things, including one winter storm after another. We did everything possible to make relationships with everyone God put in our life path and Shine the life of Jesus through the Truth of His Word, evident in all of our actions and the faith of His Life active in our all in all. We made many divine appointments, one of them was the 24 year old Hindu owner who kept asking us out to dinner, kept asking us questions about our lives; a Hindu that did not understand the drive and motivation that kept Bob steady through all the trials of this jobsite, came face to face with The Living God.

During this 10 month periods, we made many, many divine appointments with God's Purpose; "Talking Up The Truth" and steadfastly walking in the Presence of God under the covering of His True Purpose. The jobsite became more and more dysfunctional as time went by and we realized that this also was God's Purpose; that we shine a Light of Truth through some very hard situations created by the greed and dysfunction of man's corrupted nature in action. We kept asking God what to do each and every day as we became fogged in by the dysfunction situation around us created by the working out of corrupt greed and all the ugliness that spins a dysfunctional weave around it! Recently, we could not see our way out, what to do next and we would cry out to God and His Truth and Light kept leading us to the greater purpose of God and we clung to that. The Lord told us to stay put, that He was in the middle of the chaos, that His Purpose was our strong foundation. Bob continued to pour his life's talents into this job; to keep it functioning he had to work very long hours, but also He kept shining the Light of Christ in every dysfunctional twisted weave of the relationships that were a part of this job. Bob continued to be God's Truth that led the way.

In the last two weeks, things were really coming to a head because the owner had not paid any of the contractors for two months. Yesterday the owner pulled an intentional act of greed, and in total desperation he turned against everyone, cutting off all by invoking his right to terminate the contract. He had a lawyer with him and asked Bob to leave the job immediately and take nothing with him. Bob prayed and asked God what to do. The Lord said: Walk in the truth. Bob told the owner that the files, the computer and everything in this trailer belongs to our company and my personal tools in this trailer belong to me and I will take them and then I will be gone. The owner said to Bob, you will not take the computer and the files and you will leave now. Bob proceeded to pack the computer and files in his truck. The owner left and came back with a police officer who came to arrest Bob. Only God…. The police officer was a man who knew Bob and knew his Godly reputation in West Jefferson. He took Bob aside and talked to him and Bob's boss on the phone and he decided not to arrest Bob but to let Bob take everything out of the trailer under his watchful eye and then he escorted him off the jobsite.

2 Corinthians 8:5

This was totally spontaneous, entirely their own idea, and caught us completely off guard. What explains it was that they had first given themselves unreservedly to God and to us. The other giving simply flowed out of the purposes of God working in their lives. That's what prompted us to ask Titus to bring the relief offering to your attention, so that what was so well begun could be finished up. You do so well in so many things—you trust God, you're articulate, you're insightful, you're passionate, you love us—now, do your best in this, too.

You might think that we have wasted 10 months of our lives because we were sent to West Jefferson to build a hotel. Yes, that is what it looks like on the outside, but in the unseen the purposes of God were accomplished. Bob has never left a job unfinished in his 45 years of construction work and he has never been on a job that has been this dysfunctional. Did God hear our prayers that first day we walked the wooded site on that mountainside and prayed for His favor, His blessing upon this site? Yes He did… but His answers were not about a hotel job, but they were about His Hidden Kingdom Purposes, the divine anointing of His Will upon each appointment that we made in West Jefferson as we planted seeds of Truth as we Talked up His Truth. These actions of faith, founded upon the True Purpose of God will not return void. We spent hours and hours with the 24 year old Hindu owner of this jobsite, not at our leading but at his request. He wanted to be with us, yet in the end he totally betrayed Bob and said to him as he left the site yesterday: "This is not personal, it is business"! Bob was disappointed in his decision, yet he knew deep inside this young man had been changed forever by the Truth that has been seeded in his life, because it won't return void.

POSITION YOURSELF IN WHAT IS TRUE, TALK UP TRUTH!

Job 42:1

[ Job Worships God ] [ I Babbled On About Things Far Beyond Me ] Job answered God: "I'm convinced: You can do anything and everything. Nothing and no one can upset your plans. You asked, 'Who is this muddying the water, ignorantly confusing the issue, second-guessing my purposes?' I admit it. I was the one. I babbled on about things far beyond me, made small talk about wonders way over my head. You told me, 'Listen, and let me do the talking. Let me ask the questions. You give the answers.' I admit I once lived by rumors of you; now I have it all firsthand—from my own eyes and ears! I'm sorry—forgive me. I'll never do that again, I promise! I'll never again live on crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor."

Our flesh is tired from the battle, weary from working so hard, and being disappointed and betrayed by ugly human nature and in this case, in these 10 months taking the beatings that greed, self promotion and pride can bring upon the flesh! Yet we know that God chooses to anoint His Purpose in Sovereign ways, ways that we can't wrap our flesh around. Why would He not allow us the apparent victory of finishing this job, of seeing Him prevail in the nature of those so corrupted by the greed of this human race? That is a question we can't answer, yet somehow deep inside we know that the Purposes of God were accomplished even though the situation does not equate with our perception of success, we know that Kingdom success was in lifting up Truth and Light faithfully and consistently until the Lord said so! It was a winless, hopeless situation, yet the Truth, Integrity and Perseverance of God shone through it all… Bob Glowed God's Glory! In that is the true Purpose of God, that His Truth and His Glory is Talked Up!

In this situation we have learned much and we now have a passion for Truth, to Talk It Up, no matter what things are in the scene, we know that our Sovereign God is evoking His Purpose in the unseen. We also have a new passion to learn more about God's Purpose, because it is an area of our Christianity that we need to learn more about. Because most of the questions we ask God, our Why questions are because we don't know much about God's Purpose, how it works so Sovereignty when it wants and how it wants, despite our human striving, God's Purpose prevails in victory, that even when seen we don't understand the way of it. God's Purpose is truly a mystery that we hope He will reveal to us more of and teach us how to walk in step with His Purpose, despite the dysfunction in what we see. We must never stop being found in Him and Talking Up His Truth in our lives… no matter what is seen, we must live in the hope of the unseen Purpose of God!

PS… See James Duvall's Blog… You will see this Truth of God's Purpose in Action. A Worship Leader being betrayed and disappointed by a huge lie of another Worship Leader, yet not letting the disillusionment and disappointment derail the Purpose of God in the anointing of a song called: "The Healer". The Purposes and Anointing of God are Sovereign and they can be seen even through the failure of the human nature! Read about it! James Duvall Wrote: I Am Still Going To Lead The Song… http://jamesduvallblog.com

Colossians 1:8-10

Also he has informed us of your love in the [Holy] Spirit. 9For this reason we also, from the day we heard of it, have not ceased to pray and make [[a]special] request for you, [asking] that you may be filled with the [b]full (deep and clear) knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom [[c]in comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God] and in understanding and discernment of spiritual things-- 10That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and [d]desiring to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of God [with fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, [e]acquaintance, and recognition].

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Perusing The Psalms

Sometimes when I have a restless night, the Lord will always take me "Perusing The Psalms" the next morning! I go from restlessness to a position in His Grace, Wisdom and Hope for the day at hand as the Son Rises upon my dark night and shatters all its gloom with a Brilliant Morning Star! This morning The Holy Spirit took me Perusing In The Psalms… Psalm 20! After a restless night, my time with God brought me into the Presence and Peace of My Father God and for that… I am very grateful and thankful.

Peruse with me today….

Psalm 20

For the director of music. A psalm of David. 1 May the Lord answer you when you are in trouble. May the God of Jacob keep you safe. 2 May he send you help from the sacred tent. May he give you aid from Zion. 3 May he remember all of your sacrifices. May he accept your burnt offerings. Selah 4 May he give you what your heart longs for. May he make all of your plans succeed. 5 We will shout with joy when you win the battle. We will lift up our flags in the name of our God. May the Lord give you everything you ask for. 6 Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed king. He answers him from his holy heaven. The power of God's right hand saves the king. 7 Some trust in chariots. Some trust in horses. But we trust in the Lord our God. 8 They are brought to their knees and fall down. But we get up and stand firm. 9 Lord, save the king! Answer us when we call out to you!

Perusing The Psalms --Psalm 20

P-Purpose-Truth

Selah! VS 4 May he give you what your heart longs for.