Beauty

 

As the leaves rustle across the ground

In the cool autumn breeze

I gaze at Your creation

Where Your beauty is clearly seen

 

I see Your beauty as the sun comes up

It’s written across the sky

As the sun warms me, I feel Your love

When nighttime settles, I wonder why

 

Why You choose to share such beauty

With one who fails You every day

Though I fall short time and again

Each morning You meet me anyway

 

In the quiet moments I sit and think

In awe of what I see

As the wind blows by, I hear Your voice

Whispering to me…

 

You notice the beauty around you

The intricacies through and through

But as splendid as this all appears

My beauty is wrapped up in you…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggGwDrxrC2k&feature=related

Reveal to Heal

 

 

"Praise the Lord. I'm blessed" are often things you hear repetitiously in church when asking someone how they are doing. I understand the need to be positive. I understand that we are not to live by our feelings. I understand we need to confess what the Word says about us. BUT I also know there are people right in our churches who are broken. They fear saying how they really feel because "that wouldn't be faith talk." 

 

It is time for the church to become a safe haven; a place where people can reveal in order to heal. Do we camp out on the problem? No. But once we know there is a problem, we can offer the solution. I encourage everyone to be more sensitive to the inner cries of those around you. You have in you what people need to be free. However, you can't help them if you don't know help is needed. We need to make ourselves available so that His healing power can flow through us. 

And remember: Healing is a process. Helping someone who is emotionally broken requires time and a whole lot of patience. A lot of people do not want to invest that kind of commitment in the lives of others. This then leaves us with churches full of people putting on their “church face” and never being real with one another. Is this what “church” is supposed to be all about?

“The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me [the Anointed One, the Messiah] to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity” Luke 4:18

 

All that’s hidden

 

 Must be revealed

Nothing gets past Your eyes

You know the darkness underneath

You know the inner cries

 

You want to peel the mask away

And erase all of the fakeness

You are not pleased with the lies

You’ve come to expose the weakness

 

You desire that all of Your children

Would have oneness with each other

But these walls are such a hindrance

Of us being real to one another

 

You know everything about us

The reasons we are insecure

Only You have the answer

To release us from this fear

 

It can’t be done in our own strength

The supply comes from only You

Deliver us from this bondage, Lord

Make us a people who walk in truth

Character

Our character, if not developed and matured, will eventually catch up with us and knock us down from the platform in which our gifting and talents have taken us.

We all have seen it. Highly gifted performers who have the world's attention but lack of character shows through in their actions and their credibility is marred. Ministers, oftentimes those with a worldwide voice, but EVENTUALLY their character flaws shine through and it's the very thing that dethrones them from their position. Marriages that appeared "OK" suddenly end in divorce. The "perfect" child becomes the prodigal... Why? Because the hidden issues of the heart have been ignored.

"The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them." Proverbs 11:3

Our greatest weaknesses, if left undealt with, will surface to the top. You can only wear a mask for so long. The rubber band eventually snaps and what used to hide you has now left you revealed. The self constructed platform that once elevated your ego comes crashing down from the weight of the junk that was left unchecked.

Bandaids are not a substitute for surgery. Developing our character is a deep work that requires facing our heart issues not covering them up. Building godly character takes place in quiet, "at the feet of Jesus" times: diligently exposing ourselves to the Word of God and letting it shine a light on those areas that do not line up.

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." Psalm 139:23-24

Slow down and take a look at who you are. Not who you lead others or yourself to believe. Not what your reputation says about you. Who are you when no one else is looking? What heart attitudes reign behind your smile? What would God say about your character?

Lord, we all have "stuff" that we cover up so beautifully. On the outside everything looks good and yet inside their is decay that needs a touch from You. Whatever it is in our lives that is keeping us from fully serving and pleasing You, please shine a light on it. Shine Your light on the ugly parts so that we can, with Your help, become all You have called us to be. We want to be a living example of Christ in the earth - not a false representation that gives Him a bad name because of our undealt with "stuff." We love You, Lord, and we desire to become more and more like You.

Grateful in the Storm

 

 

We need to consciously make the decision to be grateful IN our negative circumstances. Grateful that in these times God can do His greatest work in us if we allow Him. God's love amazes me that even in self induced messes, He still wants to work in our lives for the ultimate goal of bringing us closer to Himself. Knowing this, we need to change our outlook during the storms of life... True character is shown and true character can be grown during tough times... Let's use it to become better! :)

Repentance

Oftentimes we are so driven to a life of perfection that our "repentance" becomes a method. It becomes about us; OUR feeling "a clean slate," OUR feeling "right," OUR success driven thinking to personally have victory over sin. In doing so, we miss the real point of repentance ~ opportunity to connect with the very One's heart we grieved. A moment of embrace. A beautiful occasion to hear, “You and I are okay.”

Spills

 

 

"I need ALL of you" I heard the Lord speak. ALL of me. He wants the good, the bad, and the ugly. He wants the things I am ashamed of. He wants the pains, the struggles, the frustrations, the questions. ALL.

Notice He didn't say He "wants." Though He does want all of us, in order to work in us, He NEEDS our cooperation.

We have to quit shoving things under the rug with God. It's impossible to love Him with all of our heart, mind, soul, body, and strength - as we claim we do, if we don't give Him all of it. Just as an earthly relationship with secrets, it's those very things that destroy the intimacy and damage the relationship. We need to expose to Him the things He already sees - which in turn grants Him permission to heal, mend, and adjust our mindsets so we can be all we are called to be in Him.

Anything unrevealed will not be healed; will not be cleaned or made whole. If I spill something on the floor and leave it undealt with or carelessly spot clean, the damage remains. It may be visible damage or it may be damage that is only seen when the carpet is removed. In order to restore or fix the "spills" in our lives, we have to confront them head on by allowing God in. We must allow Him to shine His healing presence on the condition. When our "free will" chooses to let God in, He then has something to work with.

Upon opening the door to Him in ALL areas, we then need to trust Him. Trust Him that whatever He tells us is for our benefit and the benefit of others. Trust Him that even if what He tells us is painful at the moment, it's always for our greater good. He may require you to rip out the carpet to get to the spill. You may be, along with God, restoring the floor. Not an easy task. Not a joy ride... but His purpose is always greater... It's always to get you to the other side - to the side of His will - because He knows that it is in His perfect will, in His presence, joy and fulfillment are found.

I challenge you to surrender your ALL. Expect Him to do some rearranging because He will. His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts... He won't always do what we are comfortable with. The process isn't always a quick work because anything rushed is rarely done well.

Quiet yourself. Wait on Him. His voice is calling out, "Give Me ALL of you."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LcyQOLVS_U

(Matthew 22:37, Isaiah 55:9, Psalm 16:11, Psalm 139:23, Psalm 51:10-12, Isaiah 53:4-5, Psalm 30:11, Jeremiah 29:11, Jeremiah 18:4)

Veils

I scurried around the kitchen taking care of my children’s hunger while worshipping along with the music on my laptop. Suddenly I had to come to a dead halt, not knowing that MY "hunger" would be met that afternoon. Leaning onto my elbows on the counter, eyes shut ~ the One being worshipped reached down to touch me: depositing into me the only way to feed my longing to know Him more intimately.

“…the veil of the temple was torn in two.” (Luke 23:45)

Ultimately the veil has already been torn for our free access to God, where we can come BOLDLY to Him, but we hang our self constructed veils that keep us from confidently approaching Him.

I see Jesus, just the lower half of Him (in a white robe). His hands outstretched beckoning one to come to Him…

A woman, behind a white veil – sheepishly, she pokes her head around to see Him. She knew Him. He knew her. That was evident.

As she made her way to Him, there were rows of veils to maneuver around. Each veil had a name: Shame, hurt, bitterness, resentment, anger, guilt, abuse, abandonment: All in which were blocking her from coming to Him FULLY. She longed to be with Him, but these veils…

She loves Him and is in relationship with Him. She is a worshipper… but she only presents to Him the “pretty” parts ~ ashamed of those unhealed areas of her life.

We think these veils protect us. We shy away because of shame. We even unconsciously doubt His acceptance because of false perceptions of our worth due to what we’ve been through or because of earthly relationships that have caused us deep pain.

The most intimate relationships are born out of being vulnerable to share your whole “story.” This is why He is calling. He longs for all of you and He knows the healing power His presence brings. Beloved, He is beckoning you…

Longing for a love exchange

Abandoned and free

I anticipate our togetherness

As you make your way to Me

Suddenly you cower

From Me, your eyes divert

Veils drape around you

Tailored by years of hurt

I see the shackles tighten

Binding up your heart

You hold from Me the broken

Only giving Me a part

A part of who you really are

A portion of your soul

I need to embrace it all

To mend and make you whole

Restoration only comes

To places you let Me touch

Press past your own resistance

I’m the One who you can trust

Anxiously I beckon you

As a husband to his bride

To make your way again

Confidently by My side

Recklessly abandoned

To My arms you quickly run

Cradled in My acceptance…

Veils dropping… one by one