a Magnificent God.

Friends, we serve a Magnificent God.
I don't take enough time to recognize His Power.
We never have reason to boast -- unless we boast about Him!  How humbling.
This is what He has been saying lately:
"Be aware of my constant, unchanging Presence with you. I am inescapable!  And I am in all things. Worship me all day long- by loving people, by admiring me, by refusing to worry, and by turning your eyes to Me."

     

Spend some time in His Powerful Presence today. 

Lord, I am coming.

"My heart has heard You say, 'Come and talk with Me.' 

And my heart responds,

'Lord, I am coming.'' 

-ps. 27:8

I love journaling. It the best kind of fulfillment and release valve for me... which is probably why I enjoy blogging so much! It is just such a therapy. So, as you can imagine, it was a momentous occasion when I ended my current journal and just started the cutest new one from my mom! I went through this previous journal unusually fast... I only started it this summer. Apparently I have just been super talkative in my inner self...

Well, I typically like to start a new phase of my life when I start a new journal.  For example, I started a new one when I got rebaptized, started a new one in college, started a new one before I went to Ghana. So this new journal is going to be a little different, and hopefully it will mark the start of a new phase. When I was looking back at my journal from this summer, I felt like I was consistent in talking to God, but I didn't often experience His manifest Presence in a major, unforgettable way. I didn't have many defining events or life-changing moments. In my new journal, instead of writing my thoughts and problems and prayer requests, I am going to take the advice of Sarah Young (author of Jesus Calling and Dear Jesus) and just listen. I am just going to sit in His Presence and listen. And then, I will write down what I hear. Obviously, I will still bring Him my problems like I always have. But I just want to have conversation with the Lord. I want to talk with Him, not at Him. Notice, in the verse above, the Lord does not say "Come and talk to me." He asks us to talk with Him. Back and forth. 

I started this morning and it went pretty well for the first day. I'm sure there will be days when I feel like He's saying nothing. But hopefully, I will be posting some responses on here. I would love it if you would join me in this quest to know and hear God, as opposed to dumping our problems on Him and taking off. 

Thy Will Be Done.

"Nevertheless, the time will come when I will heal Jerusalem's wounds and give it 

prosperity and true peace." -Jeremiah 33:6

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So, I was thinking today in my Quest for Meaning class (No worries, it sounds deeper than it actually is).
We were talking about Jesus' encounter with the dead and with the sick throughout the Gospels.. and the thoughts just started coming:
 If you notice, He never says, "Sorry. It is not my will that I heal your daughter/husband/brother etc." He heals 27 people in his 3 years of ministry. In some cases, He raises people from the DEAD. And nowhere do we find an account where Jesus says "I don't want to, or "I can't," or "I won't," or "It's not my will." Can you imagine if He did? Just picture a Jesus who refused to heal people. He equally offers His healing - both spiritually AND physically. I once heard a preacher say that the cross is Jesus' screaming to the world, "THIS WORLD MATTERS." He is shouting, "Salvation is not all I bring you, world! I come to bring you life, health and peace. In abundance." (2 Peter 1:2, Jude 1:2)

Jesus does not merely offer us salvation from sins! He bore every disease on the cross (Isaiah 53:4).
It irks me when I hear believers say "If it is Your Will, heal this person." Of course it is His Will. He never desires for anyone to suffer. Thy Kingdom come, thy Will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." In heaven, we are told that there is no suffering or pain. If we are asking for things to be on earth as heaven, why aren't we asking more boldly that suffering end and diseases be healed? Obviously, I believe that there are times when the Lord chooses not to heal for reasons I do not understand, but I trust. But, I believe that if more followers would stand up and boldly proclaim Jesus' cross as the removal of all suffering, spiritual and physical, perhaps the Lord would hear us and heal us.

" I gave Egypt as a ransom for your freedom; I gave Ethiopia and Seba in your place. 

Others were given in exchange for you.

 I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me. 

You are honored, and I love you." - Isaiah 43

Focus.

"In the silence of the heart, God speaks." -Mother Teresa

My quest for purpose and focus have been somewhat successful, although I won't say I haven't had a few bumps along the way. It is just so easy for me, a materialistic, selfish American, to lose focus. 

I'm not even sure that I have anything productive to say in this post. 

I'm realizing how important each moment is... how precious time is. It truly is the rarest commodity. And as I discussed this idea with Logan last night, we realized that time is the most precious gift that the Father gives us. And when we spend our time selfishly, lazily, or angrily, we are throwing away an irreplaceable, one time gift. (Luckily we get a few more moments to redeem ourselves.. hopefully). We were made with the intention that we would use each moment to spread love, joy, peace, etc. 

I challenge you to use each moment to expand and enrich the Kingdom.