The Voice

John 14:16 says "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."
This verse is probably one of my favorite verses in the bible. Why, because this verse says to me "your not alone". I'm not sure how much you think about, talk to or listen to the Holy Spirit, but this verse says He is there, He is real and He is always trying to teach us. The Holy Spirit is someone we should be in constant communication with. I was just telling someone yesterday that I don't believe in "having a conscience"...I believe the Holy Spirit is your conscience. Jesus says in that verse that one of the jobs of the Holy Spirit is to "bring to your remembrance all things that I (Jesus) said to you". So if this is true, then every time we are thinking about doing something that goes against the teachings of Jesus and we get that "feeling", it's not really a feeling at all...it's the Holy Spirit saying "listen to me". I'm not sure if you have ever thought about it like that, but I fully believe that. The Holy Spirit was sent to guide us until the day that Jesus returns. You can't be guided by someone if you are listening to them...and by listening I really do mean talking to, then listening.
Romans 8:26 says "Likewise the Spirit (Holy Spirit) also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." Before I go any further I will state that yes, I do believe in the gift of tongues, and yes I do believe that is what this verse is referring to. But I also want to point out that this verse tells us something else very important....that the Spirit helps in our weaknesses. God knew we were going to have those moments...moments of weaknesses. So He also sent the Spirit to be here for us in those times. When you are so lost, low, beatdown by the enemy that you don't even know how to pray the right words to God. THAT is when you let the Spirit do the praying for you....and that happens by simply asking Him too. The Spirit already knows what God wants for you...for your life, so learning to listen and do, will keep you walking the path that God has designed for you.
Learning to hear that "still small voice" could be one of the most important things you do on your journey with Christ. Speaking out, asking for guidance, and then learning to know when the Spirit IS guiding you will keep you out of any traps the enemy is trying to set for your life.
God, thank you for sending us the Holy Spirit. Thank you leaving us with guidance here on earth until the day Jesus returns. Help us remember to speak to, and listen to, His voice. Help our hearts be open to going and doing what we know the Holy Spirit is guiding us to do out of obedience and love toward You. In Jesus name, Amen

Made Whole...Made Complete

I have always felt that there are things we can do that cause the Lord's heart to ache when He looks down on us. One of those, I think, is not walking out His will for our life. Another is when we directly walk away from the free gift that He has for us.....and another is when we walk around in brokenness.
Walking around broken is never a place that God's wants us to be in. There are things we do, and there are things that are done to us, that can cause us to become broken. It can be a friend, a spouse, a boyfriend/girlfriend or even a son/daughter that we give the "power" to hurt us throughout our life. Granted, sometimes the brokenness we face is directly due to something that was done to us by someone we did NOT give the power to, and not something we caused at all. Yet God is still the answer for that kind of healing. But there are also times that we have placed people at an unhealthy place in our life to give them the power to hurt us bad, when really God never wanted them to be at that place at all. God knew that if we kept Him at the top of our "relational list" it would prevent a lot of the pain we go through. But instead, we let people in and move them above God and give them the power to destroy us...and because they are human too, sometimes they do just that. One human can cause pain to another human that sometimes words can't even explain. And when that happens we can start to build walls to protect ourselves from ever getting hurt like that again. That is NOT healing, that is just living IN your brokenness. God doesn't want us to build walls, He doesn't want us to live broken. He wants us to trust Him, listen to Him and follow His path for our lives. That doesn't mean pain will never come, but it does mean that if we were walking the path He wanted for us, we may have been able to avoid some of the pain we have experienced so far. Having said that, I still do realize there is some pain you did NOT bring upon yourself, yet you are still walking around broken. Maybe you were violated as a child, or even an adult, by someone who had no respect for your life. And that is a very real pain that can cause a very real brokenness. But God is still the answer to that pain too.
God is the Father of love, the Father of trust, the Father of healing! He is not quick to say trust "someone" again, He is quick to say "trust Me!". If anyone understands pain it is Jesus Christ. He walked intimately with a group of men, yet one of those men betrayed Him in the worst way possible. He watched the very people who claimed to love Him yell "crucify him", and He endured more physical pain than any other human probably ever has. So He understands pain. BUT He overcame it, and because He did, IN HIM, we can too! No matter the pain or the person who did it....Jesus has the love to cover it. Psalms 34:18 says "The Lord is near the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit"...Psalms 147:3 says "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds".
If you are walking around broken...even just a little....go to God and ask Him to make you whole again. Proverbs 3:5-6 says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your path." He longs to see you fully trust Him, fully acknowledge Him in your life, fully rely on Him, fully walk the path He has for you and walk around fully healed by Him. Then you can share your story and impact the lives of others who need Him. Hurt people tend to hurt people....but healed people help other people heal.
God, Your word says you WILL heal the brokenhearted. You WILL mend their wounds. God so many people are walking around broken and wounded and not living the life that You SO desire for them. And in their pain, they are shutting out others who just want to love them. Please send someone into their lives that will show them how loving, kind, trustworthy, gentle and faithful You are. Destroy the works of the enemy in their lives and give them the power, through You, to be made whole and complete so they can walk out the will you have for their life. In Jesus name, Amen.

God, remind us....

Father, all week long you have pressed on my heart that we have to walk through the valley sometimes so the mountain tops can mean so much more to us. That the valley is where you grow us and teach us what it takes to go deeper with you. Help us God, to be a people who long to go deeper with you. Convict our hearts for not taking the relationship with you as serious as we should....for not considering the sacrifice that You made for us to be able to say the words "I'm a Christian"....and for not seeking daily the way You would like us to impact the world around us. Help us to show others what it means to truly trust you God, and step out where ever you call us to go. Your word says you will take care of the humble, righteous man who seeks Your will over their own. So Holy Spirit stir something up on the inside of us that won't stop until we are fully walking out the will of God in our lives.
Help us to be so consumed with looking like Jesus to a lost and dying world that we allow the Holy Spirit to filter every word that comes out of our mouth and every thought that enters our mind. Let us remember that if people can't see that the relationship we have with You God has fully changed us....then why would they want it?
May we find nothing but pure supernatural joy and supernatural peace in being at the place that you want us at....not matter what the circumstances around us look like. Remind us that we have the power, in the name of Jesus, to quiet every lie that the enemy is trying to whisper in our ear and take authority over every attack that he is planning in our life. That we have the power to tread on the enemy and remind him daily that he should fear us, because through Christ we will no longer fear him. We CAN do all things in the name of Jesus and no power in hell can stop us!
In Jesus name, Amen!

Going Deep......

Yesterday God had me write about not running from the "valleys" of life and allowing yourself to be refined by the "fire" when you find yourself in it. Our human nature is to move out of this place when it feels uncomfortable, but God wants us to endure and work through it with Him so He can make us look more like Him on the other side of the hardship.
Today I felt like God was pressing on my heart the word DEPTH. He began to press this on me late last night, which is different because I normally don't know what I am going to write until the moment I sit down to write. However, last night He was showing me a vision of people on a beach. How everyone likes the water. Everyone wants to experience the water. That jumping in to swim is refreshing and fun. Even the fellowship with others is great when you are swimming with a bunch of people. But then He showed me that not everyone wants to go out where gets deep. That the crowd will begin to thin out for the people who want to go out and swim where it's deep. The risk is greater....and the fear can be greater too. The mind will start to play the "what if" game and some people just want to stay in the shallow water where it feels safe. But then God showed me another group of people.... An even smaller group who not only want to go out where the water is deep, but they want to dive down in it. They want to experience the depth of the water. Again, not a place that a lot of people want to go. Even if they go out in the deeper water, they still want to stay near the top because of the safety that comes along with that. But when you decide to dive down into the depths of the water you don't get to breath as easily, you start to feel pressure, you have to be willing to force yourself to just keep going. Yes, you know that when you come back to the top there will be a breath of fresh air waiting for you, but you may have a go a little bit without that "fresh air" and experience that pressure all around you if you want to really experience the depths of the water and see what things are really like down there.
As God was showing me all of these things He was saying "this is what I see out of my people all the time. There are some that will swim in the waters with Me. They want a relationship with Me, but they will never go beyond the surface part of that. They are going to stay in the "shallow water" and never swim out into the "deep water" and trust Me. Then there are other's who, when I call them, will go out into the waters. They will trust Me, but they too have their limits. I call them to go deeper, but they say "this is not for me God" and swim back to where it is safe.... Then there are ones that are willing to risk it all for Me. They leave the safeties and securities of life that makes everyone comfortable and they will go where I call them. Yes they know that the deeper I call them the more pressure they may feel all around them, but they know the reward.....They know they are going experience things in the "deep" with Me that not everyone gets to experience. And they will never be the same! They are the difference makers...they desire what I desire....they will risk it all to go deep with Me."
God calls us all....but not all will go. Will you? Will you leave the comforts of the shallow water and go as deep as He calls you to go? Knowing that there will be moments of discomfort...you will have to be in complete trust of Him....and you may have to be in the minority to go where He wants you to go? BUT....know that the experience with Him will be like nothing else you will ever find.
God....call us into the deep with You. Help us to overcome our fears and leave our comforts behind when necessary so we can experience all that You have to offer us. Help us to overcome the lies of the enemy and just step out in faith to go WHEREVER You call us to go. Take us to the place where we can lead others, bring honor and glory to Your name and be the difference makers. In Jesus name, Amen.

Why Can't Life Just Be Easy?

Have you ever asked yourself the question "Why can't life just be easy?". I know there are several times in my life that I have. I've taken a deep breath when I've received certain information, or when I've looked at a situation in my life and just said that question out loud. And it may not be in that exact moment, but what always comes to me soon there after is the answer ..."Because if life was just easy, how many people wouldn't have a need for Jesus at all?". It's so true too! It seems like it's when God starts blessing us and we are living on the "mountain top high" that we can forget that feeling of really "needing" Jesus.
I read recently that the mountaintop is a great place to be, but not a great place to stay. Because nothing grows on the mountaintop. It is in the valley where you find all the greenery, because it is in the valley where all the growth happens. Of course none of us like the valley because the valley is also where the tough times are. But it is by no mistake that we tend the grow through the tough times.Why is that? Probably because it is in the tough times when we do go to Jesus the most and we rely on Him the most.
When I think about what is produced during the hard times I think about being "under the fire".....refined by the fire. And I think about a beautiful piece of jewelry that you might see sitting on display at a jewelry store. When you see it there it is shiny, beautiful....pretty much perfect. But it didn't always look that way. That beautiful gold ring you see sitting there on display was once a lump of gold. Yes the gold still had value when it was a lump, but it wasn't very pretty. It wasn't something you were going to want to receive as a gift and wear around on your finger. It wasn't until that gold was put under extreme heat...put under the fire...that it was able to be melted down and made into something beautiful. The gold smith that worked on that ring knew exactly what he was doing and he knew exactly how much heat needed to be applied, how much working needed to be done and how much polishing had to happen to make that beautiful ring you now see on display. It didn't just start off that way, but through much hard work it became that way.
We are that lump of gold and God is that gold smith. When you are "put in the fire" of life don't be so quick to just want out....to just want life to be easy. Go to God and say "this may not be easy right now, but I know you are molding me into something more beautiful than before. I know that if I let you do in me what needs to, if I learn what needs to be learned, if I don't run from the heat, but instead withstand it...You will make something beautiful out of this". Trust God because in Hebrews 13:5 He promises "I will not leave you nor forsake you". He is faithful, He is true and He is always going to use the things in life to make us stronger, closer to Him and more usable by Him...if we let Him.
God, help us to not run from the fire when the heat of life gets turned up. Let us endure and trust in You. We all know we love living on the mountain with You, but sometimes we have to go through the valley so we can grow. Help us want the growth more than we want the mountaintop. Please quiet the lies of the enemy during these times in our life so we can hear You, and only You. And help us to KNOW that when we trust You we will come out on the other side a more beautiful version of who You created us to be. In Jesus name, Amen.

Yeah, I know I was wrong...

Have you ever had someone say something to you, or about you, and it just went through you worse than normal? It either bothered you, made you mad or just hit you in a way that you couldn't explain. Have you ever came the realization later that the reason what the person said bothered you so bad is because you know there was a little bit of truth to it and you just didn't want to face it? I can be real and honest and say this has happened to me on more than one occasion.
Sometimes when the enemy comes at this happens to us too. Matthew 5:25 talks about agreeing with your adversary quickly lest your adversary delivers you to the judge. In this story the adversary is the enemy and God is the judge. What is meant by this is the same thing I mentioned above. If the enemy comes at you with accusations the one thing he is trying to trap you into doing is getting into a defensive 'argument' with him. Why? Because if he can get us on the defenses we will move into a place of self righteousness and begin to defend our thoughts, our actions...and even sometimes thing very things we did wrong. These things will harden our heart and cause us to lose focus on where our righteousness really comes from...Jesus. Satan knows that whatever he is accusing us of will eventually put us before our judge, God, and he would love us to go before that judge in an attitude of 'self defense'. However, if you want to knock the wind out from underneath satan's sails, then face him with humility in your heart. When you stop and realize that there is always going to be a bit of truth to the very thing the enemy is making you feel guilty about (because we are always falling short to sin), you can then go to God with a completely different attitude. With humility....admitting your weakness....recognizing the places you still need God's strength, wisdom, grace and mercy. Realizing that it is in Jesus' righteousness that we are anything...not our own.
So when the enemy comes at you accusing you, don't jump to the defense. Instead, look the enemy in the eye and admit your shortcoming...BUT...tell him that you are forgiven through Christ Jesus and you are going to let God do the work needed in that area of your life to help you not do that "thing" again. For example, if you know you had an argument with a coworker and said some things you shouldn't have...and now you know the enemy is all over you with guilt trying to make you feel condemned, say to the enemy "I was wrong. I let my pride get in the way and didn't represent Christ well there. God, please forgive me, show me the right way to handle or fix this and help me grow from this so I don't act like this the next time someone steps on my pride".
Don't walk in guilt and shame from the enemy. That is exactly what he wants. When he can cause us to feel that way, he can cause us to put distance between God and ourselves. That is always his goal and YOU have the power to say "NO, I'm not going to let you do this anymore. You may accuse me, but I will recognize the sin and humble myself enough to deal with it before God. Not stand in defense out of my own pride because that is exactly what you would want me to do!"
God, help us to be wise to the enemies tricks and not get caught up in defending ourselves. Your word says this world is full of sin and so are we, so help us see when we are wrong...even a little wrong...and bring that to You immediately so Your forgiveness, grace and mercy can cover us, correct us and keep us on the path that You want us to be on. Not letting the enemies accusations derail us. In Jesus name, Amen.

A Life of Consecration...

What an amazing journey this past year has been! I'm not going to lie, shamefully if you would have asked me a year ago what I knew or thought about consecration I probably would have been lucky to even giving you a definition of it. However, I realized recently that over the past year of my life it is a place that God has been bringing me into more and more. I know some people go through a season of consecration where God calls them out of things, but it was recently that I realized that God was calling into a life of consecration.
Now before you read any further I want to make it clear that I don't mean that I feel God is telling me I am going to be "better" than anyone around me. I also don't mean that He loves me "more" because of the choices I am making, because I know God loves the murderer sitting in a prison cell just as much as He loves me. But what I do mean is that I feel like He is calling me out to live a different kind of life...one that is set apart and with a purpose. So much so, that I have found that the things He has been having me filter out of my life so it is set apart, are things that I have no desire to ever let back in. Not because of a season He was walking me through, but more because of a life He is calling me to.
It was recently that I discovered that the things of this world that I used to have an interest in just don't interest me at all anymore. And I don't even mean things that were flat out sin. I mean things that were causing distractions in my life or even things that just didn't point me back to Him. It started when I cut secular music out of my life, then cable tv, then places I would go and things I would do for entertainment. Not all of these things are bad, but what I was hearing from His is...they are bad for where He wanted to take me. And I have found that when I am at a place where I am forced to be around things that I know He has filtered out of my life, something in my spirit rises up and recognizes how much better my relationship is with Him since He pulled me out of those things.
Now I am by no means saying everyone should throw out their radio, unplug their cable or never walk into a nice restaurant because they happen to serve alcohol there. But I am saying that if you are feeling convicted (like I was) about these things then don't try to push that down in your spirit. Recognize what God is trying to say to you and ask Him "Are you trying to set me apart?"...."Do you want me to live a life of consecration because of a purpose you have for my life?"... "Do you need me and my life to be at a different place in order to do what you are calling me to do?" And if the answer to those questions are YES, then I highly suggest you let Him show you what needs filtered out and get rid of it. What's amazing about how He does this, is that not only will you not miss those things, but when you get around the things of this world that you KNOW He has filtered out of your life they will bother you like an itch you just can't reach. And when that happens it just confirms to me that I am closer to Him than I have ever been...and the things that bother Him, are now bothering me.
Romans 12:1-2 says "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will." It is this verse that God has brought me to and said "stand out"..."don't be conformed to the things of this world any more". As Christians we should all stand out in some way. So I would suggest that you pray and ask God to what level of consecration would He want your life to be. Maybe for you it is just a season...or maybe He needs you to make some permanent changes in your life so He can take you to the next place.

A song that He brings me to when I think about cleansing my life is Lead Me To The Cross by Hillsong. Everything I once thought was "important" changed thanks to Him! 

Where's The Lesson In That?

I think it is in our human nature to look for the good and the bad in every situation that comes our way. But I would challenge you to ask yourself how often do I look for neither, but instead, look for the lesson in the situation.
As I look at the years of ministry that Jesus did in the bible I see over and over how He would teach his disciples or the people around Him a lesson from what they just experienced. From healing someone, to forgiving someone, to calming the sea....He always had a lesson for them to learn. So why would we feel like life should be any different today? We are conditioned to either celebrate or complain about everything that ever happens to us. However, why don't we stop and look at every situation...the good and the bad...and ask ourselves "where's the lesson in that?".
One of the ways that Christ has been transforming my mind over the past year is to not just look at something that happens to me and either be pleased or upset with it, but to ask myself and God what was the point of it. Why did that person just come into my life? Why did this person just leave my life? Why this hardship? Why this blessing? Why do you want me here?...and..Why don't you want me there? I strongly believe God has answers and lessons for us in EVERYTHING we go through...no matter how big or how small it was. A good example....maybe God put that new person at work or school beside you, even though they are very difficult to work with, because He is trying to work some things out inside you that He has been trying to show you? But instead, we will just spend hours complaining about the situation at work...not learning from it. Just saying.....
Think about school for a moment. From the time you enter into school everything you learned...starting way back in kindergarten until the time we graduate....each thing you learned was to prepare you for the next thing you were going to learn. Each thing preparing us for the next level we will be going to. Well, I think life is like that too....life with God anyway. Everything we experience, go through, learn is to prep us for the next thing He has for us...the next level He wants to take us to. And a lot of the time He isn't going to take us to that next place until we get what He is trying to show us right where we are. Why?.....Because until we get "this" lesson, we may not be ready for, or effective as He needs us to be in the next place He wants to take us. As I've written before, all part of His will for our life.
So, I challenge you today to ask yourself..."Do I only look for reasons to celebrate or complain? Or do I look for God's lessons....His teachings...in each and every thing I go through? No matter how big or how small it is."
Hebrews 13:8 says "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever". So if He is the same, why wouldn't He still be trying to teach us the same today just like He did some 2,000 years ago? He is! So don't let things go by you daily without checking in with God...pausing....taking a moment and saying "What do you need me to see here God?"
God, help us slow down sometimes. Help us to not just say "things happen" and brush them off, or be so caught up in how good things are for us in life that we forget to ask you the point of it all. Give us the eyes to look into every situation and see the lesson that you have for us. Then give us your wisdom to learn from it, apply it and be ready for the next thing you have for us. ALL to bring honor and glory to Your name. In Jesus name, Amen.

Commitment...

Whether you've ever been married or not, chances are you've been to a wedding or two in your lifetime. As I was asking God for these words today He brought me to the wedding ceremony and marriage, and was comparing it to our relationship with Him. I was thinking about how never once have I been to a wedding where I witnessed a man and woman standing before a minister and witnesses getting a list of rules about marriage read off to them, like "now you can't cheat on her, or hit her, or do things behind her back". Or never once heard vows like "I'm going to try really hard at this or that, BUT I'll probably fail you every day and you'll just have to forgive me". If we walked into a marriage with the attitude of "I'm going to try not to cheat on you...or disrespect you...or do things on a daily basis that I KNOW will hurt you...but I'll probably do them anyway", then that marriage probably wouldn't last through the first month. So we don't do that, instead we stand before one anther and out of nothing but pure love tell each other that we will commit, we will cherish them, honor them, protect their heart and be 100% loyal to them. Then when we walk those things out we have a beautiful long lasting relationship.

It is because of the commitment of marriage that our relationship with Jesus is compared to a marriage in the bible. So why is it that we can commit like this to another human because we love them and they love us, but we struggle with our commitment to Christ? Our relationship with Jesus is just like vows. When we come to Him He says "I love you, I died for you, I'll always be here for you and I will protect you"...and never once does He break His vows to us. However, we says our vows back to Him and as we begin to walk that out we begin to approach it like "I'll do all these things....until a day comes along and I'm tempted, or mad, or struggling...or just not feeling it that day". And then we come back to Him again and again expecting His grace and mercy to cover us. And even though we know it DOES and it WILL....it cannot be an excuse to just keep messing up. I say it that bluntly because there was a day that His grace and mercy was my excuse for not trying harder. But thank God He has brought me out of that way of thinking. Yet time and time again I meet Christians who say those famous words "He doesn't expect us to be perfect". The ONLY reason He doesn't "expect" us to BE perfect is because IF we could be then what Jesus did (walk a life of perfection) would not be significant. But we read all through the bible that Christ IS our example and Christ was perfect. So doesn't that mean we are to strive....try....do our absolute best... to mimic our example (Jesus). Not out of our own works, but because we rely completely on God to do a work in us that keeps sin out of our life as much as possible while we still live in this world? That is what I get when I read Matthew 5:48..."Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect". It is almost like God is saying..."don't ever stop trying. I'm not concerned that you will never get it 100%, I am concerned that you will stop trying". 

It is out of selfishness that marriages fail every day. Because one person (or both) did not want to walk out the commitment they stood before their spouse and promised. It is also why people leave the church and walk away from God. Not because they couldn't commit to God and strive to live a pure life, but they just didn't want to walk out the vow that they promised before Jesus the day they entered into a "marriage" with Him. Point blank...we just don't want to commit! 

God, help us to see the sin we voluntarily invite into our lives every day. Holy Spirit convict our hearts when we walk through life not living out the commitment we promised You. Help us to know that in order to grow in You, we have to continually walk closer to You and TRY to walk in the perfection that Christ did....not in our own doing, but because we live in Him now and we can do ALL things through Him when we walk in His strength. Thank you God for Your amazing grace and mercy that covers us when we stumble and fall....but please help us not use that as a crutch to live in our flesh day in and day out. In Jesus name, Amen!  

 

Great Expectations....

Have you ever noticed how 2 people can be getting ready to either go to the same thing, or do the same thing, but their expectations for the same event can be completely different. I find this very interesting that 2 people could experience the same thing, yet their expectations going into it could be so different. And I find this same attitude exists in the church as well.

Yesterday as I was getting ready for church I could feel the expectations for what God could do that day building inside of me. There was an excitement rising up in me for how God would show up that morning in service. And even though we never know "how" God will show up, the one thing we can be sure of is that He will show up. As I thought about this I began to see our congregation in my head...picturing the people during worship. As I did, I could see those that I knew would be lively in their praise and worship toward God and then I could see people (not faces) that were just there. This "vision" (if I could call it that) only lasted a few minutes, but it brought me to a very interesting place as I headed out the door for church. I realized how sad I was for the people who were just going to "attend" church that day. Because they only thing they were going to get from that was a check-mark on their list for the week. Almost like....cleaned the house this weekend, check....watched the game this weekend, check....attended church this weekend, check. How sad. I say sad because I know that this is not at all how God wants us to enter into His house. In fact, Psalms 100 says things like "shout for joy to the Lord", "worship the Lord with gladness...with joyful songs", "know He is God...He made us, we are His", "enter His gates with thanksgiving...praise" and the best part "for the Lord is good and His love endures forever...". This is how we are to come to Him! Not because we had a great week, or we are in special need of a blessing today...but because He is already good to us, He is faithful and His love is always available to us. So why would we not show up at His house expecting great things. Expecting to feel His presence, His peace, His joy.... Expecting to have a heavenly encounter with Him! We should! 

But why doesn't everyone? My answer is short would be this....because we receive what we showed up expecting to receive. I have seen it time and time again. God pouring His very presence down on those who are pouring their praise out to Him. They came expecting to receive every bit of Him as they were giving every bit of themselves back to Him. 

I fully believe that God smiles when we go into our secret place, our devotional time or our church services expecting Him to show up. I think He loves the condition of our heart when we expect to hear from Him....when He can see the eagerness inside of us to see what He has in store for us in that moment!

God, I'm sorry for the times I "attended" church, prayer time...or any time with you and didn't come with gladness in my heart expecting to hear from You. Please help me to always know that You want to show up for me, and with me, all the time. However it is my attitude, mindset or ungratefulness that prevents me from experiencing what You have in store for me. Help me to leave all distractions aside when I come before You. And to come expecting great things from You as I offer up my prayers, my praise and my worship to You! In Jesus name, Amen.

What Defines You?

What defines you? That is probably one of the deepest questions a person could ever ask me. It would provoke the most thought, require the most soul searching and cause me to have to get very real with myself. A lot of times when we hear that question we go to the bad things that have shaped us, but I think there are good things that we can allow ourselves to be "defined by" that are just as dangerous.
I would like to start with the dangers of being defined by our past and how bible shows us we are NOT defined by that. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old is passed away...". So this means we cannot be...we are not...defined by our past. When we come to Christ the sins, the heartache, the mess we come from has "passed away". Meaning it is dead, gone...never to be brought back again. So if you are allowing your past (sins, mistakes, hurt) to define you, then it is time to adopt the 1st half of that verse and KNOW that IN CHRIST you ARE a new creation.
However, most people know the dangers of allowing those things to define you. What if you are allowing yourself to be defined by your present? What if your accomplishments....even your ministry...is what you are allowing to define you. Proverbs 11:2 warns us that "when pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom." We can allow our current accomplishments to define us even when we are doing work for the Lord, and that cause sin in our life. Our ministries should define what God has called us to do, but they should not define who we are. When we allow even the good things we do to define us, we open the door for pride to creep in and like Proverbs says...disgrace will soon follow because God will only allow that to go so long before He humbles us.
Maybe it is our physical "blessings" or "curses" that we are allowing to define us. The fact that we are blessed with beauty or physique....or cursed with genetics that make it hard to stay in shape, or we are not the prettiest or most handsome person out there. Maybe you are letting these types of things shape you. One of 2 attitudes can set in when we allow ourselves to be defined by our outward appearance. We can have the "look at me" attitude....or the "I don't want anyone to look at me" attitude. Both are very dangerous. The enemy can convince us we are better than, or less than those around us...and we are neither! And both oppose how God wants to us to come across to others. No, He does not want us to be prideful, but at the same time, He does not want us walking around with our head hung low. He wants us to walk around like we serve a risen savior who has saved us from ourselves and that is the only reason we are who we are today.
And that is the main thing God gave me in this post today. To say NOTHING defines you except the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is in Him that we are anything and it is through Him that we are everything. Philippians 4:13 tells us that we can do all things through Him...Romans 8:1 tells us that we don't have to walk around condemned because of what He did for us....Ephesians 2:10 tells us that any good works we do is because we are made in His workmanship.....and 1 Peter 2:9 defines us in the eyes of God by saying "You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession"...and that we should declare praises to him because He called us out of our own darkness and into His wonderful light. When you stand in the dark you can't really see anything about yourself....but when you step out into the light everything is exposed. When you are in God's light you shouldn't look like you anymore...you should look like Him!
What defines you the moment you receive Jesus IS Jesus. We become righteous IN him...not in ourselves. We are no longer defined by our weaknesses... or our strengths. We are defined by the strength, power, wisdom, knowledge, gifts, talents, humility, joy, peace and love that we have BECAUSE of Jesus...nothing more...nothing less.

Another great song with today's post...."What Can I Do" by Tye Tribbett.....because we are nothing without Him!

Never stop growing...

As I was driving into work today I was reflecting on the past 5 days of my life. I've spent the last 5 days attending an event called 7 Days of Praise and being completely surrounded by the presence of God again and again and again. Each night that I pulled onto the grounds where it was taking place I could feel the presence of the Lord as soon as I got out of my car. The fellowship with other believers was amazing and each night when the service would begin God would fill the building and the people with even more of His presence. Each speaker was so anointed and delivered such powerful words. It was truly something you hated see come to an end, but you knew that everyone involved was going to carry that presence out of that place with them.
Any time I attend something like this I always try to take time when it's over to ask myself what I took away from the experience..and this time was no different. The overwhelming thing that I felt God wanted me to walk away with and talk about to others is that He is never done filling us up. I watched the young, the middle aged and the older generation do ministry and be ministered to and with ALL of them I watched God fill them more and more and more. I saw brand new Christians find out the purpose that God has for their life and I watched seasoned Christians get a renewed filling and purpose delivered to them. It was beautiful to watch and to experience.
I didn't realize this for the first time, but I certainly was reminded of the fact that God is NEVER done with us. He is never done growing us, teaching us, using us and blessing us. There isn't a point in our walk with Jesus that He says "you've done enough, you can just rest for the rest of your days". No, instead (if we let Him) He will give us new revelation, new vision, new levels of relationship with Him and even new avenues of ministry. He wants us to grow with Him constantly and continue to help grow His kingdom.
As I was thinking about this, God brought me to Ephesians 3 and had me read it. In there Paul says how he was able to do what he did because of the Holy Spirit, because of the gift of the grace of God, because of His(God's) power. Not because of who Paul was, but because of who God is. Paul knew he was to use the gifts God had given him to preach the word through the wisdom granted to him. He was to do it with boldness that he got through his faith in Jesus. Then he finishes by saying that we too would be strengthened with might through His Spirit, not losing heart in tribulations, and staying rooted and grounded in love.....the deep, deep love of Christ. And then we are to go out and bring glory to Jesus Christ.
Again, this isn't something we should do less the longer we are a Christian or the older we get. We should be on fire, and stay of fire for God all the days of our life. We should be filled with joy and stay filled with joy as we serve Him. We should continually go back to God and say "here I am Lord, send me..."
God, burn in us and help us use that fire inside of us to do Your work. Let our lives be so filled with fire and joy that people can't help but want what we have. Help us to not grow weary, but to come back to you again and again and again to access Your renewing love, strength, gifts and revelation...and then go out and preach that to the world! In Jesus name, Amen.

You Are Wanted....

Today I felt the need to remind someone of who they are in Christ. Self worth can be a great thing when we know where our worth comes from. However, it can also be something that the enemy can torment you with if you do not realize what God sees in you....and how God sees you.
Tons of people wake up each morning and have no idea their value. Maybe it's because someone in your life has made it their personal goal to tear you down every chance they get, maybe it is because of a traumatic event that happened to you that shaped your self confidence or maybe it is because you have been measuring yourself against the wrong things or people for years. But I am writing today to tell you that you have immense value in the eyes of Jesus Christ. Psalms 139:14 says "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works....". One version says "marvelous are your works". And those works that David is taking about is himself....is you...is me. David knew we are the work of God and in His eyes...in His likeness...we are wonderfully made. And I believe God takes great pride in each and every one of His creations! I don't care who or what in your life is making you think you may be "less than" or not good enough...it is a lie. That is NOT how God sees you and that is NOT how God wants  you to see yourself. That is the lies that the enemy wants you to buy into. When we do not realize our value in and through Jesus Christ, we really are of no threat to the enemy. We are powerless and we are not dangerous to him. BUT, when we know who we are in Christ, who God made us to be and we start to figure out what God created us to do...then the enemy becomes very scared of us and the message we carry. This is the reason I am so deeply saddened when someone gives themselves over to the spirit of suicide. When someone gives themselves over to suicide it means that satan was able to convince them that they did have enough value worth living for. It is the enemy's way to get them to say in the most powerful way possible "I CAN'T see what God sees in me".
If you are struggling with seeing yourself the way God sees you please remember this...God cared so much for you....that even if you were the ONLY person to ever step foot onto this earth, He still would have sent Jesus to die for YOU to make a way for you to spend eternity with Him. Let that sink in for a moment....That is a love like no other and that love is directly toward you.
You are made in the image of God, you are worth Jesus suffering and dying for and you are a fearfully and wonderfully made person that God would love to use to advance His kingdom. He created you with a plan, a purpose, an identity, and value!
God, please help someone who is struggling realize their value today. Don't let the enemy convince them that they are "less than". Help them to see that you created them with beautiful plans in mind for their life and they are powerful when they see their worth in Jesus Christ. I pray today that they will look into their mirror and supernaturally see themselves with Your eyes God. Knowing for possibly the first time ever how loved they are, how valuable they are and wanted they are to You. Wanted enough to die for.... In Jesus name, Amen.

Give what you receive....

Do you ever wonder why in our 'humanness' we have the hardest time giving the very thing we need to most from God. By that I mean Forgiveness, Grace and Mercy. Yes, I know it can be hard for us to humble ourselves and ask God for forgiveness, grace and mercy, but eventually we usually end up at that place. And the moment we reach that place... our prayer...our cry out to Him...is that He will be there to offer those things to us.
Now, take that same scenario and place it between 2 people and the entire structure changes. Our human side wants to throw in a sense of entitlement. Like we are entitled to not have to forgive them because they did "that" to us. We want to be the judge and the jury when it comes to needing to offer forgiveness to someone who has hurt us. And if forgiveness isn't hard enough, now we are expected to show them grace and mercy too? To the person who has wronged us....hurt us...or maybe even continues to hurt us?....And the answer to all of that is...YES. Yes because of what it does in our own healing, not because they came asking for it, not because we think they "deserve" it, not because we are letting them "off the hook", not even because we are saying what they did was okay. But because we are to mimic the behavior of Christ, and it is what He does for us every single day of our lives.
Not forgiving someone eats away at our soul. It causes bitterness in us. It changes us and causes us to put up walls and barriers to protect ourselves from never letting that "thing" happen to us again. And usually makes it difficult to be in a trusting relationship with friends, family or a spouse again. Holding unforgiveness toward someone will always do more damage to you, than to them...no matter what you are telling yourself. This is not my statement, but it is a true one.....Harboring unforgiveness toward someone is like drinking poison and expecting it to hurt or kill the other person. It won't! It will only hurt or kill you!
Forgiving does take getting to a place of saying "God, I trust your justice more than the worlds or my own. I trust that I can lay this thing and this person at your feet, release it and let you be the judge over it. You are a just God and I trust YOU." Those are not easy words to say when the pain is deep because they once against need you to place your trust in someone other than you....in God.
Forgiveness, Grace and Mercy do not mean that you will put yourself in a place where you let the person hurt you again and again. You may have to pull away from that person if they do continually hurt you just to stop yourself from getting hurt more. But not out of unforgiveness....out of Godly wisdom. But God will show you that too if you trust Him. The main thing is that in your heart...truly in your heart....you are releasing it to God, saying I forgive them, letting God know you are not going to harbor this in your heart any more...and then really letting go of it.
The Grace part is you saying I'm not going to treat you..or give you...what "I" think you deserve. I'll trust God with that too. And the Mercy part is coming to the place where you find it in your heart to pray for that person... hoping that they too will find God's forgiveness, praying that He will change them...and praying that He will bless them.
God, do a MIGHTY work in us when it comes to forgiveness, grace and mercy. You have already given us every example to follow, now help us humble ourselves to DO the very things we know Jesus did....forgive, show grace, show mercy, show love...show You in us. In Jesus name, Amen

In Your Presence....

One of the things I've learned over my life as a Christian is that when you hear lots of different messages from different speakers and the underlying tone of them all is the same, God is trying to say something to His people. This past weekend I had the privilege to sit under 5 different sermons by 5 different speakers (even at different places), and without any of the speakers knowing it (except for by guidance from God) they were all speaking around the same topic...And that topic was being in the presence of God.
I was able to take something different away from each speaker, yet collectively put it all together to come up with the one conclusion that God is desperately trying to get people to understand. And that is this.....without getting in His presence, everything we do as a "follower of Christ" is really for nothing. By that I simply mean, if we are saying we are a follower, if we are attending church, if we are listening to the "right kind of music" and only allowing in the kind of media (movies and tv) that "good Christians" should, but we are not spending time in the presence of God, then our lives are probably never going to be more than "morally good". When we spend time in the presence of God as our first priority, the rest of those things will just naturally fall into place as they should. Your heart will not be for things of this world, but will be for the things of the Lord, the will of the Lord and the work of the Lord. This doesn't mean trials won't come your way and there won't be hard times to make it through. In fact, if you spend so much time in the presence of God you may become such a threat to the enemy that he will try even harder to "derail you". But again the beauty in that is this... if you are already spending time in God's presence, deepening your relation with Him, becoming more intimate with our creator, then when the enemy does come your way, fighting the battle against him will be even easier because of the power you will possess through Christ. It is not by accident that God designed it this way. More time with Him means more strength and more power through Him.....He does this because He knows we will need to fight the enemy off even more and go up against the enemy even more in the spirit realm.
If we see in Matthew that even Jesus took time to go alone before the presence of God to pray then why would we feel like this should not be a huge part of our relationship with God? It should be! In fact I would argue that it should be the MOST important part of your relationship with God. Getting before Him, soaking in His presence and then taking that with you out into the world. Don't expect to move mountains in your life, help others with their mountains, operate in the gifts of the spirit or even get to new and deeper levels with Christ if you are not going to your secret place and getting before Him requesting Him to reveal Himself to you.
God, help us to make You THE priority in our lives...not just another thing on our list of priorities. Show us the power that we can possess when we spend time in Your presence. Show us the deeper level of intimacy our relationship with You can have when we give You the time You deserve in our everyday lives. Line our hearts up with Your heart God so this isn't something we have to think about doing, but instead it is something our spirits crave....let us have a feeling of lack when we aren't in Your presence as often as we need to be. In Jesus name, Amen.

If you haven't heard the song "In Your Presence" by Jason Upton then I highly suggest listening to it here...amazing song! In Your Presence by Jason Upton

Chase or Be Chased...Neither...

As I was driving into work today I had "All My Worship" by Chris Burns playing on my stereo just really looking forward to some peaceful time in the car with God. However, after being on the highway for a few miles I realized that even though I had my speed set at 65, I was getting passed by a lot of people. Of course the first thing that runs through my mind is, "maybe I should speed up?". But then I realized "no", I don't need to. I am running on time, I don't need to be earlier than I am and I don't need to just "keep up" with the others on the highway. And it was in the moment that God began to speak to me about this post.
I was thinking about how the enemy likes to come at us (especially before we come to Christ) and convince us that we must keep up with the rest of the world. If your young then maybe you feel as though you need to do what everyone else is school is doing, or party as much as everyone else, or just live a life of "fun" like everyone else. If your a parent maybe you are watching other parents and feeling like you need to mimic what they do with or for their kids. If you are on your job then maybe you feel like you need to work at the same speed or level as those around you, even if that's not how God built you. And of course just in life in general, we all have people who we may feel the need to "keep up with"...have what they have, do what they do. If the enemy can keep us thinking and feeling this way he can keep us in a never-ending chase or race that we don't even know why we are in. Distracted, not thinking clearly....just trying to keep up with everyone and everything around us. Unfortunately sometimes that mentality carries over into the church too. We see others who may be on a different spiritual level than we are and we feel like we need to get to where they are. Or their gifts are more mature than ours are at the time, so we feel like we need to speed that maturing process up. But I think all of these things are lies straight from the enemy to keep us at a place of un-thankfulness, discontentment, fear and even anxiety about our lives. He wants to convince us that we are't what or who "so and so" is, so we need to change. But I don't think that this is how God wants us to think AT ALL. I believe God wants us to put our focus only on Him and let Him show us the place and the pace that He wants our lives to be at. Our spiritual and our earthly lives. I believe it's when we take our focus off of Him, we get so caught up on things like who is "passing us up" in life....or who we are "passing up". Both are dangerous places to have your attention.
The first part of Philippians 4:6 says "Be anxious for nothing..." and Isaiah 26:3 says "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You". So it's very clear that the anxious feeling to keep up with everyone does not come from God. He simply wants our mind to be focused on Him and His desires for us... and in that we will find our peace.
If you have found yourself trying to play the "keep up" game, take a deep breath today and tell yourself it doesn't have to be this way. Give your "busyness" over to God and ask Him to help you filter out what comes from Him, and what you or the world has piled on you. Then REST in the fact that as long as you are keeping your mind stayed upon God, you CAN trust that He will take care of you and let you know exactly where HE wants you.

He really does have a plan for you....

Over the past 9 months of my life I have gone through one of the toughest trials of my life. During that time I have found myself fasting and praying for breakthrough on many different levels. I have also learned during this time that breakthrough doesn't always look like what we think it should or will. God has breakthrough for each and every person praying for it, and most of the time it is our lack of faith or trust in God that is preventing us from experiencing the breakthrough He has for us. NEVER is it that God just doesn't want us to experience a breakthrough, a deeper of relationship with Him and a new level of trust in Him.
What I have learned (from my own experiences and praying with and for others) is that a lot of the time we put God in a box. What I mean by that is that we "think" we know exactly what our breakthrough, or the answer to our trial, is supposed to look like. So when the answer doesn't come the way we expected it, we walk away disappointed or we pray forever waiting for the answer we "want" instead of seeing the one God has for us. I've used Proverbs 3:5 in other posts, but again it just fits in this one as well. It says to "trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding". This is what we do when we pray to God and tell Him the answer we are looking for. We are trusting in our own (very small) understanding of our situation and not trusting that He truly knows what is best for us and our lives. Putting God in a box limits our trust in Him. He has a plan, a will and an answer to our situation. However, we have to be willing to accept His ways if we are going to cry out and ask for His help. I have learned that His answers don't always look like what I had in mind, not because He doesn't love me, but because He DOES! He loves me enough to not give me something just because I am asking for it. I have learned to pray for His will to be done in my life....and then give Him the freedom to do His will. This life we live, the people in our life and even situations we get ourselves into, will cause pain and trouble in our life. But when I ask God to have His will, He can and He will make beauty out of ashes. He is the only one that can take bad and turn it to good, take a mess and make a message out of it, use your test and turn it into your testimony. He can do this... when we give Him the freedom to do so. If you know you have been asking God to do things your way, then let go of that and let Him know you want what He wants for your life.
God, I'm sorry for all the times I have prayed prayers that limited your ability to move in my life. I'm sorry for not fully trusting Your will over my wants and desires. Help me Lord to let go and let You have control. I trust You, I believe in You and I thank You for having a plan for my life. In Jesus name, Amen.

Doors, Prayer and Peace...

I have had so many conversations with Christians who are looking for open or closed doors from God. And with myself included, many are afraid they will not walk through doors that are open or force their way through doors that were supposed to be closed. (by "afraid" I do not mean living in fear because God does not desire that for us. I just mean being in a moment of doubt when trying to make a decision.) I think it is safe to say that we have all had those moments of doubt when making a decision of whether this is from God, or I am acting on my own desires? I also think when the decision is a big one....like a career change, relocation, marriage and so on...there is nothing wrong with making sure you are hearing from God before you act on anything. The difference is, waiting too long out of fear and doubt.....or acting to quickly out of your own impulses. How do we know the difference? And I think the answer to that question is prayer. I don't mean prayer because a decision is coming up. I mean prayer long before the decision was ever on the table. How much time are you spending with God in your every day normal life? How much are you really praying God's will over your life...over your own desires? And I don't mean the kind of prayer where you are doing all of the talking. I mean TIME with God where you talk...and you listen. Or sometimes you just go before Him and simply listen. Letting Him know you are there out of obedience, desiring more intimacy with Him, desiring to know His will over your life. If this becomes an every day part of your prayer life, then when it is time to look for open and closed doors on those big decisions, you will already be used to how God moves in your life. To many times we only go to God about big needs, big decisions or big troubles in our life. Then we sit there wondering how we will know it is God. Will He send a sign that is so clear that I will know it is Him? Will He have someone come directly up to me and give me the answer I am looking for? Or will you simply already be at such a comfortable place with God that you will recognize the peace He gives you when the choices you are making are the ones that He desires for you? There is nothing better than the true peace that comes when we move in a direction in our life that we know God is pleased with. And once you start to let His will be the deciding factor for your choices, that peace will come more and more. So that when you do act upon your own fleshly desires (and at times we all do) the big red flag will be the lack of God's peace. This is how you will recognize God's open and closed doors for you life. (And don't let the enemy fool you...there is a difference between God' peace, and your own temporary happiness over a selfish decision. Again, living in that peace daily is the best way to be able to tell the difference between the two.)
Matthew 7:7 ("Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.") is a verse that I've seen people quote incorrectly many times to say that God will give you what you pray for. However, I couldn't disagree more. What I do believe this verse means is...God will provide for you when what you are faithfully praying for matches His will for your life. And by provide, I mean He will provide the closed doors when needed, and the opened doors too.
God, thank you for providing us with open AND closed doors. Thank you for having a will for our lives and allowing us to spend time with you so we will know what that will is. Help us to be obedient enough to walk the steps in life that you have designed for us, even when they go against our own fleshly desires. And thank you for the peace that comes from living out your desires for our lives. In Jesus name, Amen.

Spiritual Cruise Control...

I love it when God takes something practical and gives me a way to apply it to my spiritual life. It is one of my favorite ways that He speaks to me in my life. And this morning He once again did this on my drive into work. To me, one of the coolest inventions when it comes to cars is cruise control. It is something I use every single day on my way to work. I set it and never have to worry about getting a speeding ticket. And knock on wood, for 17 years now I have not gotten a ticket on my 30 minute drive to and from work. But one of the things I also have to be careful about when I use it is how unaware it makes me of part of my driving. It is one part of driving, that when I use it, I don't really think about. So if something jumps out in front of me, or someone pulls out in front of me, I am not as ready to deal with that situation. My foot isn't as close to the break and I am not as prepared to react as I could be. And that has happened to me over the years. As I was driving today I thought about the dangers of putting our spiritual life on "cruise control". We do it because we become comfortable with the "drive". We've been saved for a while and life just seems pretty "normal" to us now. We have God, isn't everything okay now?
In 1 Peter 5:8 it says "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking who he may devour". These God breathed words would not be in the bible if He felt that once we accepted Christ into our life we could just put everything on cruise control. Like driving, in our spiritual life if we just set the cruise and go on about our business we can become very unprepared for the things that are going to catch us off guard. This verse says "be vigilant", which by definition means "keep careful watch for possible danger and difficulties". When we become complacent, comfortable...or even lazy, in our Christian walk we begin to lose our ability to be vigilant. Yet God warns us that the enemy is always looking for someone to devour.
So how do we prevent complacency from setting in? By being mindful and purposeful of staying close to God. What music do you fill your head with, what people are you allowing to influence you, how much time are you in God's word or in prayer speaking and listening to Him? How much are you asking God to use you...or allowing Him to challenge you to go deeper with him?
Even the best things, like cruise control and comfort, can be dangerous to us if we are not careful. Comfort in knowing that Christ paid the price to make a way for you to have eternal life is a great thing. Complacency that you're "good to go" because you prayed that prayer and you attend church once a week...not a good thing. Be vigilant and be purposeful in your walk with Jesus! Allow Him to have a place in your life where He can show you how He wants to take you deeper and use you in ways you may not have uncovered yet.

God, The Judge....

Yesterday I didn't get a chance to blog because I had been chosen to sit in for selection of a jury for a criminal trial. Even though I was not picked to sit in on the jury, I did get to sit there and watch the process happen for a couple of hours. It wasn't until I had been dismissed that my mind began to think about the entire process of being "judged by our peers". I watched as both sides tried to hand pick the juries that would be best for "their side" of this trial. And I watched a man sit there that was about to be found innocent or guilty based on the perception of evidence that was about to be presented to this jury.
Like I often do, I began to relate this to my/our walk with God. I began to think about all the things I have been guilty of in my life and how glad I was that I am judged by God and God alone for my sins. We stand before, and are judged by, a God who does not have to be persuaded one way or the other and that does not look at "what" we have done and decide our judgement based on the sin. We stand before a God that simply says Jesus already paid the price for that son/daughter, so all you have to do is confess it, receive my gift (my son) and receive my forgiveness. We don't need to build a defense...and actually even though we do build one with God sometimes, it's pointless. He already knows what we did, the motive of our heart when we did it and if we are truly sorry when we repent of it. So the best thing we can do with God is go to Him broken and lay it all out. The enemy wants us to fear laying it all before God because he tries to convince us that there is no way God would forgive "that"...."that" is just too bad and you should be ashamed. God says lay your shame down, pick up my forgiveness and carry it. My forgiveness is for you and it is much lighter to carry than that guilt and shame you have been carrying.
Thank God we do not have to rely on our fellow man to have our sins forgiven. Because man tends to forget his own sin, troubles and shortcomings when we are given the chance to judge someone else. But being judged by a blameless God who we know already wants to forgive us even before we've asked is so much more comforting.
Thank You God that You are a blameless, just, fair and forgiving Judge. Thank You for offering up a spotless gift (Jesus) to take the place of the punishment I often deserve. Thank You for making a way to come to You.....confessing and receiving that gift. Please help me convey to others that they do not need to walk around feeling condemned by the enemy, because Your gift is for ALL who come to You! In Jesus name, Amen.