We spend so much time planning for future moments, 401k, savings, stocks, buying a home, kids, etc., but how many times do we stop and look at the present day before us? Considering only whats one step in front of us instead of ten? I confess, not much. Already I have spent the last 15 minutes thinking about just being done with work so I can move onto the next thing! I decided the other day that I need to stop thinking about tomorrow and only look at today and so of course I have been challenged with it non-stop and have come to realize how much I live for my tomorrow.
Matthew 6:34 says "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
We have been commanded ("do not") to not worry about tomorrow. Jesus came so that we can have life and have it more abundantly. Are we truly experiencing abundant life if we are not living in the moment, but for the next moment? No, we are cheating ourselves of the blessings and hidden treasures that the Lord has for each one of us and I bet it breaks His heart to see us experience so little and miss so much! One of my favorite things about mission trips or traveling is that you are free from you "life" back in the states, you are not caught up in the everyday things, but completely able to focus on what God has before you in that day and able to experience each moment He has planned for you. It's the most freeing feeling and forever changes your views of what life should be and what you think you "need" to be fulfilled. And it allows to find joy when you get stuck in the Only elevevator in Tumen, China!
One thing Jesus often teaches is that we look without seeing. In John 4:35 he says to the disciples to not look at the harvest and say in four months it will come. He tells them to lift up their eyes and look for it is already here! (rae's version ;)) I know there have been times in my life when I was rushing to do something in my schedule that after the fact something struck me and I remember thinking, Oh man, sorry Lord, I completely missed that! I could have shared, I could have helped, I could have listened... Now my prayer is that I would allow the Holy Spirit to be stronger than my flesh so that I don't miss these treasured moments! On the other hand the other day I set my schedule, my plans for the day aside and got to share coffee for over 3 hours with a new friend and see the Lord work and it was great! Totally threw off my day haha, but I would not change it for the world! It was an abundant 3 hours!
We are human and we Need each other, we need to be in each other's lives, lifting one another up and carrying each others burdens. We are made to be a community, living and working together for the good of the harvest, not for the good of our own future plans.
My challenge to each of us would be to start our day asking the Lord to show us the moment(s) He doesn't want us to miss. That we would no longer look without seeing, but that we would see to be fulfilled. Live in the moment.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
The 17th
If you truly believe that I work all things together for the good of those who love me, then you will let go of your own desires and wants. I desire to bless you beyond all you could ever imagine or dream! Rest in my presence and be filled with my peace that passes all understanding. Trust that I alone know your heart and look to me to fill your heart. My child never think you are not good enough for me. That is a tool of the enemy to draw you away from me, your Creator. I created you in my image and I love the way I designed you! I moled you into who you are knowing the ways you would bless others. Don't be fooled by the god of this world that airs you need to change who you are in order to be loved. You are loved, by Me, in order to change the world!
Amen.
Amen.
Friday, May 6, 2011
The Sad Truth - Trafficking
Demand:
Every year 800,000 new victims are locked in the sex trade against their will.
Every year the businesses in Bangkok rake in one billion dollars off of children alone
About 100,000 kids will go missing from America's streets this year.
Every year the global sex industry makes $57 billion.
Every minute two children are forced into the sex industry.
Due to porn, forced prostitution, early death to AIDS & honor killings about 500,000 females 'go missing' every year.
Our 'first' world is the largest consumer of porn & the sex industry it creates. The 'third' world is the largest victim. We have re-created slavery around lust.
The porn industry is 57 billion dollars strong.
Twelve is the average age of prostitutes.
Porn revenue is larger than the combined finances of all professional sports franchises & exceeds the combined revenues of all news networks.
12% of the Web is dedicated to porn.
12 – 17 year olds are their largest consumers.
90% of eight year olds have seen porn.
Scientific studies prove that view porn is addictive and leads to the following.
Results:
Rape rates in the USA have increased 523% in 30 years.
Males become violent. Incest and sibling molestation has increased.
Most battered women are those whose partners viewed porn.
Most porn viewers try out what they see within a few days.
Heterophobia heightened ( the fear of, distrust of, and disappointment with the opposite sex) is the common outcome of porn. In these instances, it often leads to homosexual and lesbian activity.
Men exposed to porn become callous to women. Marriage becomes devalued, and more bizarre forms of sex are required to stimulate. Multiple partners become the norm.
Impotence is a natural result of using porn.
Every day 8,000 teens in the USA become infected with a STD.
Children born out of wedlock, abortion, Viagra, date violence, STDs and AIDS have become a 'normal' part of our world.
In the USA teen pregnancies and single mothers in poverty cost us 7 billion in taxes.
78% of pregnancies are unintentional. Abortion is costing US taxpayers more than 5 billion a year.
Treating STDs is 10 billion dollars of tax funds.
Solutions:
Become a voice – find and use your voice for victims.
Host an Awareness Event in your home, church or place of employment.
Volunteer to help.
Choose to buy items made by rescued victims at Fair Trade wages. This empowers them.
Raise funds to support or start projects that rescue and restore – both locally and internationally.
Choose abstinence and faithfulness.
Become an intern; use your skills.
Connect with organizations who are doing something.
UGH! :(
Every year 800,000 new victims are locked in the sex trade against their will.
Every year the businesses in Bangkok rake in one billion dollars off of children alone
About 100,000 kids will go missing from America's streets this year.
Every year the global sex industry makes $57 billion.
Every minute two children are forced into the sex industry.
Due to porn, forced prostitution, early death to AIDS & honor killings about 500,000 females 'go missing' every year.
Our 'first' world is the largest consumer of porn & the sex industry it creates. The 'third' world is the largest victim. We have re-created slavery around lust.
The porn industry is 57 billion dollars strong.
Twelve is the average age of prostitutes.
Porn revenue is larger than the combined finances of all professional sports franchises & exceeds the combined revenues of all news networks.
12% of the Web is dedicated to porn.
12 – 17 year olds are their largest consumers.
90% of eight year olds have seen porn.
Scientific studies prove that view porn is addictive and leads to the following.
Results:
Rape rates in the USA have increased 523% in 30 years.
Males become violent. Incest and sibling molestation has increased.
Most battered women are those whose partners viewed porn.
Most porn viewers try out what they see within a few days.
Heterophobia heightened ( the fear of, distrust of, and disappointment with the opposite sex) is the common outcome of porn. In these instances, it often leads to homosexual and lesbian activity.
Men exposed to porn become callous to women. Marriage becomes devalued, and more bizarre forms of sex are required to stimulate. Multiple partners become the norm.
Impotence is a natural result of using porn.
Every day 8,000 teens in the USA become infected with a STD.
Children born out of wedlock, abortion, Viagra, date violence, STDs and AIDS have become a 'normal' part of our world.
In the USA teen pregnancies and single mothers in poverty cost us 7 billion in taxes.
78% of pregnancies are unintentional. Abortion is costing US taxpayers more than 5 billion a year.
Treating STDs is 10 billion dollars of tax funds.
Solutions:
Become a voice – find and use your voice for victims.
Host an Awareness Event in your home, church or place of employment.
Volunteer to help.
Choose to buy items made by rescued victims at Fair Trade wages. This empowers them.
Raise funds to support or start projects that rescue and restore – both locally and internationally.
Choose abstinence and faithfulness.
Become an intern; use your skills.
Connect with organizations who are doing something.
UGH! :(
Monday, May 2, 2011
Is the American Church a Joke?
I am currently reading The Forgotten God by Francis Chan, ouch! So much is lining up with what God has already been doing in my heart and connecting with what was shared on Sunday. So here I go!
In the intro of the book Francis proposes this question: "If he was born and raised on a deserted island with nothing but a Bible, had only read about the New Testament church yet had never seen a church, would he recognize his own institution he was leading as being remotely similar to what he read about in the New Testament?" He came to the conclusion that he would not recognize his own church system as being even remotely similar to what he read about in the scriptures.
I recently read in another article that he had the chance to spend some time in Asia with underground church communities and shared with them what the American church system is like and how many join or leave that church based on the worship band, liking or not liking the pastor, the variety of programs offered to them, etc.
They laughed at him.
In fact, the more he shared with them on our church system, the more they laughed because they thought he was telling them jokes!?
I find it heartbreaking that the underground church, who has suffered so much, would see us as joke. Not because they have been misled in that view, but because in many ways they are right. They must think we take our freedom for granted...? From their point of view some of the things we do must seem ridiculous and overdone. It got me thinking that somewhere along the line I have lost the desire to let the Holy Spirit move in and through my life and I can't be the only one. Have we strayed so far from the church of the new testament that we are now just viewed as an institution, a business, a community center of sorts, aimed to give a fast fix to the get it now generation? Please understand I am not mocking or saying it's wrong to have programs to draw people in or to use them to reach out because I have seen them be used mightily here in our culture and it's part of the way we connect, but I am saying we (the church body as a whole) are More and should desire to be More than those things, not just merely defined by them. No amount of activities or bands or dynamic speakers will bring the Holy Spirit to us if we are not willing to allow the Holy Spirit to be an active, permanent part of our life, I think that's where we differ from those in the underground church. They thrive on the Holy Spirit to make changes in their lives, they cry our desperate for him to hear their prayers, the cling to the knowledge that he is alive and working in them and through them! They know He alone will protect the church they are not allowed to have.
Are we missing the Holy Spirit as the main attraction and feature of the church? I don't mean just the church I personally attend, I mean as a worldwide body of believers...
Acts 4 - Peter and John do something extremely courageous, they go before the all the big wigs (Sanhedrin) and proclaim Christ when asked to defend what they have done. v.8 - "Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.
Did you catch that? "Filled with the Holy Spirit", there was no band, no lights, no glitter, just the Holy Spirit and a man willing to listen and allow the Spirit to work through him.
The bible goes on to say in v. 13 - "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus."
That's my heart and my point in all this, do people see us and recognize that they have been with Jesus? Or do they just say, "gee that was a nice service." and go on their merry way? It is the prayer of my heart for my church and in my own life that others would sit with me and know that they have seen Jesus, not merely because I told them I am a Christian, but because they experienced him in my life.
Would the persecuted of this world see our church system differently if we operated on the Holy Spirit and not just on programs alone? Would we "turn this world upside down?" would we change the hearts of those who don't believe or see?
I think we would. In fact, I know we would.
This is all said out of love and what God is doing in my own heart so please know when I say all these things I say it to myself first and if you leave taking something from it then praise the Lord! ;) For the record, I don't think we desire to be a joke, we just need a kick in the booty to get back in line.
Ask yourself, if you were living on a deserted island and had nothing but the Bible, what would church look like to you? In my mind, I don't see a church that needs to host the next big thing or a body that desires to be poured into, but I do see a church willing to to be brave and pray for one another, to step out in faith and use the gifts they have been given, I see believers willing to lose their life for the sake of the one who gave His. I see the persecuted church.
In the intro of the book Francis proposes this question: "If he was born and raised on a deserted island with nothing but a Bible, had only read about the New Testament church yet had never seen a church, would he recognize his own institution he was leading as being remotely similar to what he read about in the New Testament?" He came to the conclusion that he would not recognize his own church system as being even remotely similar to what he read about in the scriptures.
I recently read in another article that he had the chance to spend some time in Asia with underground church communities and shared with them what the American church system is like and how many join or leave that church based on the worship band, liking or not liking the pastor, the variety of programs offered to them, etc.
They laughed at him.
In fact, the more he shared with them on our church system, the more they laughed because they thought he was telling them jokes!?
I find it heartbreaking that the underground church, who has suffered so much, would see us as joke. Not because they have been misled in that view, but because in many ways they are right. They must think we take our freedom for granted...? From their point of view some of the things we do must seem ridiculous and overdone. It got me thinking that somewhere along the line I have lost the desire to let the Holy Spirit move in and through my life and I can't be the only one. Have we strayed so far from the church of the new testament that we are now just viewed as an institution, a business, a community center of sorts, aimed to give a fast fix to the get it now generation? Please understand I am not mocking or saying it's wrong to have programs to draw people in or to use them to reach out because I have seen them be used mightily here in our culture and it's part of the way we connect, but I am saying we (the church body as a whole) are More and should desire to be More than those things, not just merely defined by them. No amount of activities or bands or dynamic speakers will bring the Holy Spirit to us if we are not willing to allow the Holy Spirit to be an active, permanent part of our life, I think that's where we differ from those in the underground church. They thrive on the Holy Spirit to make changes in their lives, they cry our desperate for him to hear their prayers, the cling to the knowledge that he is alive and working in them and through them! They know He alone will protect the church they are not allowed to have.
Are we missing the Holy Spirit as the main attraction and feature of the church? I don't mean just the church I personally attend, I mean as a worldwide body of believers...
Acts 4 - Peter and John do something extremely courageous, they go before the all the big wigs (Sanhedrin) and proclaim Christ when asked to defend what they have done. v.8 - "Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.
Did you catch that? "Filled with the Holy Spirit", there was no band, no lights, no glitter, just the Holy Spirit and a man willing to listen and allow the Spirit to work through him.
The bible goes on to say in v. 13 - "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus."
That's my heart and my point in all this, do people see us and recognize that they have been with Jesus? Or do they just say, "gee that was a nice service." and go on their merry way? It is the prayer of my heart for my church and in my own life that others would sit with me and know that they have seen Jesus, not merely because I told them I am a Christian, but because they experienced him in my life.
Would the persecuted of this world see our church system differently if we operated on the Holy Spirit and not just on programs alone? Would we "turn this world upside down?" would we change the hearts of those who don't believe or see?
I think we would. In fact, I know we would.
This is all said out of love and what God is doing in my own heart so please know when I say all these things I say it to myself first and if you leave taking something from it then praise the Lord! ;) For the record, I don't think we desire to be a joke, we just need a kick in the booty to get back in line.
Ask yourself, if you were living on a deserted island and had nothing but the Bible, what would church look like to you? In my mind, I don't see a church that needs to host the next big thing or a body that desires to be poured into, but I do see a church willing to to be brave and pray for one another, to step out in faith and use the gifts they have been given, I see believers willing to lose their life for the sake of the one who gave His. I see the persecuted church.
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