write upon my heart.

Revelation time!

Don't you love those moments? I must say that there are few feelings more exciting to me than that tingle in my brain, flutter in my stomach, and joy in my spirit when I understand a new thing about God! Ok, maybe "understand" is not the right word... more like, an opening of the eyes. Seeing something completely new out of something I've always heard.

So today I was finishing up Luke, following the Newthru30 plan, and I can't remember what started stirring a thought in me. It was something about Abraham, I think. Anyway, I know that feeling well by now! I grabbed a pen and wrote whatever was coming to me, trying to figure out exactly what I was starting to see more clearly. It was about God's Redemption Plan. Possibly for the first time in my life, I realized the magnitude and sovereignty and perfection in God's plan. Or was at least taken a step further into it- I'm sure there is so much more! This is what came to me...

God's purpose in creating man was for Himself-- His pleasure and His fellowship. (I have read that there is nothing more selfless that a perfect Being can do than share Himself with imperfect ones). ALL people were chosen for this fellowship-- the Lord did not pick and choose from the nations, for there were no nations. Just man. Just God. Once sin entered into this world, we were broken apart, no longer to be in beautiful harmony with our Maker. Because of this, the glory of the Lord no longer rested upon man. But our God was not finished. From the faith of one man, Abraham, He made a nation set apart for Himself. They would be His people and He was their God, proclaiming His greatness to all. To make this fellowship possible, the people had to wash, cleanse, sacrifice, and obey laws to allow the presence of God to be among them. Note: His Spirit would come upon people, but it did not yet indwell them. These things were but preparation for the coming Messiah, the Savior of creation. The Redeemer of man. The Bible says that just as sin entered the world through one man, salvation would also come by one man. Jesus' blood, the final sacrifice, has finally made it possible for all men, once again, to be joined together with their Father! We have been recreated, redeemed, returned, if you will, to a picture of our original design: to be in fellowship with, and to reflect the holiness of God. Only because of Jesus and by the power of His Spirit can we experience this reconciliation. We are all His people, neither man nor woman, slave nor free, Jew nor Gentile. We are His & He, again, is ours!

Does that just blow you away or what?!? He has bought us back, and will bring our faith and our fellowship to completion when we leave this world and are "swallowed up by Life." (2 Cor. 5)

Newthru30 also brought me to Ephesians, one of my favorites, & all of this is explained in the first couple chapters. Oh, it's too wonderful for words. Poor me! I strive to express these things that really are too wonderful for me. I know King David felt my pain-- I think he said exactly that in one of the Psalms.

It breaks my heart when baby Christians get so frustrated in their growth process. If I could preach only one message with my life, only testify to one Truth of God, it would be that there is SO MUCH MORE. He blesses those who hunger and thirst for Him, never giving up because nothing else in this world will satisfy. If only humanity would be awakened to that one thing... this isn't it. This stuff... it's not as great as we think. It's definitely not worth us wasting our days trying to accumulate while this world and its beautiful, lost, starving people fade away.

To contradict MJ's tour title. THIS ISN'T IT! Please remember that, and live your life in that conviction. God is everything. And if you knock, He'll open to you.

Sheesh, I get carried away! I wanted to tell you about one more thing: this great new book, found by me at the $5 Christian Bookstore! Hoo ha. It's callled, "New Monasticism," by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove. I'm not finished yet, but soon to be. This guy is a friend of Shane Claiborne's, author of the Irresistible Revolution, a book that I have quoted on here many times.

So this book is about monasticism, obviously, which should take your thoughts to a picture of a monk. A monastic life is like a counter-culture. It's all about community and returning to the raw values and principles of the Gospels. More specifically, the Sermon on the Mount. Now hear me out-- this may sound like a freak show to you, but it's not. It is, however, getting back to the basics, as I would like to say. All through history God has called people out of the "normal life" to challenge a straying Church and guiding it back to its true purpose and identity. Jonathan agrees that no, we are not ALL supposed to live together. That would be insane. But we are meant to love each other, grow together, help those in need, share so that everyone will be lacking in nothing. It's safe to say that the American church has mostly become a building where we gather for once, maybe twice a week services. Nearly everyone in the room has more than they need, yet the community around them is desperate. Call me crazy, but I think we should take Jesus seriously when He said it's difficult for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God. And it's time for us to do something about it. I know it's not easy, but with God, anything is possible. I believe that one of the greatest demonstrations of God's heart is generosity. To those whom much is given, much is required. Think about that one... I definitely am. And seeking how I can best bless this place.

Let us see, Lord. Let us see what really matters & how much our lives lived in surrender and pursuit of You can change our world. Decrease us until there's only You. Help us to learn to live from Your plenty, and not our own pleasures. I want to send a message that contradicts the heartbeat of this world. Oh Lord, give me grace.

"Now, all the glory to God, who is able through His mighty power at work within us to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." Ephesians 3:20

Reformers:

The Ramp. If you've never heard of it, look it up! It's right here in Sweet Home Alabama. It really is an amazing ministry. I took notes on a couple videos from their website. One sermon was about a Reformed Life, with the scriptural example of Josiah who was crowned King of Israel at the age of 8. (2 Chronicles 34)

So this speaker, I don't remember his name, began by sharing a few things that he felt this generation was all about. The main thing being reformation, like King Josiah. Here's most of it:

"God has marked you. You will never fit in the box labeled normal. You are meant for change. You love God, but you hate religion. When you taste Him it only makes you hungry for more. You crave His presence but loathe the average church service. You refuse to let the world around you shape you or define you. When you dream, it is about the impossible. When you see pain, you know you are called to heal it. When you face adversity, you don't fear because you measure it against your God. You are dangerous to Satan because your life is not your own. You will never fit into the typical societal nitch because you are a reformer. Bullets don't scare you-- mediocrity scares you, indifference scares you. Losing your life doesn't scare you-- wasting it does. You've already died, so you are free.

*CHOOSE hunger, passion, fire. Don't wait for some impartation, you must choose it!

*It's time to cross the line. You can't make a difference if you aren't willing to BE different."

And this next part is from the video called The Seeker's Journey. Awesome stuff-- really encourage you to watch that one!

"If you never stop seeking, you will never stop finding. Have you ever thought about WHY we have to seek God? He isn't lost. Is He hiding? Or is He trying to show us that the glory is in the pursuit? The reason why He wants us to seek Him is because He is a seeker. If you were God, what would be cool to see on earth? A mirror.

Why should we give? When we become givers we draw the favor of God because we start to align ourselves with the character of God- He is a giver! And He is a seeker.

He brings you to His face so you will know what you're supposed to reflect.

Cancer will not respond to you. But what it will respond to is an image of Someone much more powerful than you. Satan will not flee from just you-- until He sees an image of Someone He recognizes-- Someone who has already defeated him! Christ Jesus.

The sun doesn't control the tide... the moon does. It's not the source of the light that determines the depth of the water, but the reflection. The moon is significant only in the fact that it doesn't have the ability to produce the light, but to reflect light in an hour in which the light can't be seen. God needs more reflections!

People don't really want to be reflections, but representatives. A representative is someone who used to stand in someone's presence & now speaks for the person in whose presence they used to stand. But if you're not in His face NOW, you cannot maintain His reflection. It must be your ever-current state. Just be in the right position.

How could Peter's shadow heal people? It was not because he had it goin' on. A shadow is just a by-product of a reflection. He was reflecting the image of His Savior."

Dang, I love that! Like I said, go to theramp.org to watch their services. Or come visit me and we'll road trip it! :)

In my previous blog I mentioned this New Thru 30 program. Ok, I am getting so much out of it. What a great tool to teach me the daily discipline of getting into God's Word. Not just for a minute or two! But really taking the time to soak it in and pay attention to His timeless message, these beautiful stories and letters of hope, miracles, trials and victories, and Love. The real kind. The saving kind.

I'm going to end with a few of my favorite verses-- some old, some newly discovered. All encouraging!

Peace to you, wherever you are!

"But let us who live in the Light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation." 1 Thess. 5:8

"He chose to give birth to us by giving us His true Word. And we, out of all creation, have become His prized possession." James 1:18

"Christ made us right with God; He made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin." 1 Cor. 1:30

"We now have this Light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure." 2 Coer. 4:7

"He Himself gives life and breath to everything & satisfies every need... His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him- though He is not far from any of us. For in Him we live, move, and exist." Acts 17: 25,27

" 'Now I say to you that you are Peter, which means Rock, and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it...'" Matthew 16:18

"Oh Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike." Matt. 11:25

"Dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good." 2 Thess. 3:13

"So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of His call. May He give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with Him." 2 Thess. 1:11

It's NEW.

Disclaimer: This will be more of a "resource" blog today. Sorry for those of you who really do enjoy attempting to read about and understand my usual depth and ramblings. This one will be a bit of a bore for you ;)

I am, in just a few minutes, starting this thing called New thru 30. It originated with Elevation Church in Charlotte, and our church is joining as well. It's an outline to read through the New Testament in 30 days. Sounds fun, right?! For me, YES. I'm finding that with friends gone and holidays over, I really do have too much free time. This will be most delightful to journey through. I have been wanting some kind of Bible Study or something to guide me through God's Word. So here I go! If you want to join us in this you can go to newthru30.com/readingplan to get a copy of the outline.

Next: I watched another GREAT message from Pastor Steven Furtick (he's the pastor of the church who started this New Thru 30 deal). I will most likely be watching the newest sermon from yesterday later on this evening. But the one from last week, Chinese New Year, really blessed me. He spoke about crisis and how we always want to jump over any kind of danger in our lives and just arrive safely at where we want to be; but really, without a crisis or a big need, there's no need for a big, miracle-working God to show up in our lives. It's very good- watch it @ elevationchurch.org!

Next, next: I found this lovely little inspiration in book-form called Hope, Pure and Simple. It's by Max Lucado, and although I have never read one of his adult-sized books, I really love his children's books and gift books. This one would be a gift book, and it's so full of, well, HOPE! Here's some little thoughts from it:

"God can live anywhere in the universe and He chose your heart. Face it, friend-- He's crazy about you."

"God never promises to remove us from our struggles. He does promise, however, to change the way we look at them."

"God is God. He knows what He is doing. When you can't trace His hand, trust His heart."

"Of all the blessings of heaven, one of the greatest will be you! You will be God's magnum opus, his work of art. The angels will gasp. God's work will be completed. At last, you will have a heart like His."

"Someday God will wipe away your tears... the hands that stretched the heavens will touch your cheeks. The hands that curled in agony as the Roman spike cut through will someday cup your face and brush away your tears. Forever."

It's such a great little book! I'm giving it to one of my aunt's for her birthday. If you know of anyone going through some tough times, I do highly recommend it!

Ahhh, lastly, I pray all of you will be blessed this year-- not just with money, but in the deepest desires and needs of your soul; I pray that you will find immeasurable love and peace and assurance in His presence, and that you and I would continually learn to be seekers of His face, prophets to our generation, and professional lovers of ALL people. Amen!

PS: I have a friend, Julie, who I know from YWAM. She is an amazingly talented singer/songwriter and she is recording her first album! She needs some help to get into the studio, so if you would like to bless her, and also be blessed by her music, go to http://thejulieanne.wordpress.com/ to get a copy!!