July 2011
0 posts
7 tags
There are moments when I need to sit silent and...
June 2011
8 posts
5 tags
Psalm 48: A Silent Peace
Peace …….. is so elusive at times. I have found my sense of it besieged as of late.
“Freedom of the mind from annoyance, distraction, anxiety, obsession, etc …. a state of tranquility or serenity.”
A simple, personal definition yet it rarely truly applies to me even though The Scriptures give us countless promises that God will grant us peace or that we are to be...
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jodyearley.com: Check Your Motives →
Great post from Jody Early on WHY we serve God. I find myself fighting this inner battle more as I get older which probably means I did ALOT of things for the wrong reasons in the past. Thank God for GRACE and for PROCESS!
jodyearley:
1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them....
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The Hope of Grace
We always talk about God’s grace and its power (though I doubt if we truly understand the fullness of that power) but have you ever thought about the HOPE of grace? Romans 6:14 says:
“For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”
The rule of sin and the claim that it holds on us is broken not by spiritual laws or religious rules but by...
timmyp10 asked: I'd hate to live eternally. 80+ years is enough!
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Looking Back.... a 12 Month Journey
A little over 12 months ago in the midst of great success I found myself virtually bankrupt spiritually. These dry bones has spent YEARS focusing on the products of ministry and spirituality without staying grounded in the grace and love and power of our Great Sustainer. My spirit was poor and my body was literally falling apart from borderline chronic illness. I’m not sure if anyone but...
February 2011
8 posts
6 tags
“Never let the sense of past failure defeat your next step.” - Oswald...”
– What a great reminder drawn from the disciples failure in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:40-46). God’s word to us is not to despair when we fail but to rest back in Christ and to strive forward to the next step with Him.
Total time in prayer this week so far: 3.5 hours
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Are You Listening to God →
This is so true. I never desire to be someone substitute for actually hearing from God themselves. Yet, I find myself falling into this same trap even as a Pastor. How many books have I read, or podcasts listened to, or conferences attended in order hear from His servants ABOUT my Lord (even though they were good and helpful) in lieu of actually hearing FROM my Lord at the same time?
Are you...
What's Your Motive for Leading Others? →
Great thought. Its a struggle for every leader…. I hope! And the way we answer that question ultimately determines how much God can use us.
jodyearley:
It is important that we constantly examine our motives for leading others. Leadership is a stewardship and a responsibility that you and I will be held accountable for. I believe that our motivation for leading should be to serve and help...
Guest Post: HUMILITY by Linda
Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Phil. 2:3
My Dear LORD, My Father, My Jesus, and Giver of Glory,
Give glory to Your name for the sake of Your steadfast love and faithfulness! (Ps.115:1)
So often I behave as if I will be “younger” forever, and that, not in the best way. Pride is not pretty, but natural in me. You are...
Leftover Gift Cards →
Great idea from Jody Early! Check out the link, I’m going gift card digging this week!
jodyearley:
Christmas has come and gone and if you’re like me you probably have a few gift cards in your wallet with only a few dollars or even a few cents left on it. Did you know that you can take those leftover gift cards and give them to people in need? There is a website called, giftcardgiver.com...
“But I will sing of your strength,
in the morning I will sing of your love;...”
– Psalm 59:16 (via itrulyonlywntyou)
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While I Wait....
I’ve struggled with discouragement SO MUCH this week. Not because of anything bad happening but because so much good is possible. There are times that I look out at my congregation; these amazing people God has allowed me to serve; and I see world-changing potential.
I see spiritual gifts just ready to be tapped for the kingdom; I see a people of God who could literally change our city and...
5 tags
Kingdom Prayers
I have been reminded this week of James 5:16,
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The FERVENT prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (ESV)
I want to pray KINGDOM prayers. Prayers that have great power as they work. I have realized that I have been praying weak, self-centered, shallow prayers for most...
January 2011
9 posts
7 tags
I Wound the Heart and Spirit of Christ →
At the end of a long week, I sat down to spend some time with the Lord and as I began to read, I was floored by this devotion.
“Stubbornness and self-will will always stab Jesus Christ. It may hurt no one else, but it wounds His Spirit.”
Those who know me, know that stubbornness and self-will are VERY apt words for describing my personality and I find myself VERY convicted this...
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Is Your Life Completely Open to Jesus? →
Great devotion today from utmost.org, but the most powerful part for me was in the second half:
“Keep your ENTIRE life open to Jesus Christ… do not pretend to be open to Christ”
That’s challenging and convicting and there are days when I feel like a fraud inside because I know the sin that so easily devours me; and I know the pride that drives me to draw life from my...
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“I desire mercy NOT sacrifice.” - Jesus Christ, Matthew 12”
– What an amazing statement from our Lord and Savior! I can wrap my head around sacrifice because it usually yields something in return, but mercy doesn’t. Mercy is freely given with no expectation of return. Lord, help me to learn this and give mercy freely this day and this week!
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Nothing Can Defeat a Life Like This..... →
We cannot experience the abundance of living IN Christ without first coming to end of ourselves. Chambers is SO right when he says, “It will not happen by STRIVING, but by YEILDING…” I have spent too many days striving in this life. Striving to be noticed, striving to be good, striving to be somehow deserving of grace, striving to take hold of God’s things…… O...
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What My Obedience to God Costs Other People... →
My heart is heavy this morning because I have been SO guilty of trying to dictate to God the terms of my obedience to Him. I have made a vow to live my life for no one but my Lord but if I am to remain faithful to that and truly lose my life to Him, I must relinquish this illusion of control and simply obey.
What is calling you to obey today?
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“If we are in love with our Lord, then obedience does not cost us anything - it...”
– This stopped me dead in my tracks this morning. Thank you Lord for the joy of obedience!
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"There is always plenty of time to worship.." →
For all the excuses I make for why I didn’t spend the time with God in prayer, or reading His Word, or praising Him; its good to be reminded that THERE IS ALWAYS plenty of time to worship Him! So take time today and spend it in relationship with your Creator, your Redeemer, and Sustainer!
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Why Can I Not Follow You Now →
Great devotion today on waiting on God. I’ve never been good at this, and if I was being honest its probably caused more hurt in the people and ministries around me than any other mistakes I’ve made. Remind me today, Lord, to wait on You!
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Clouds and Darkness →
Great devotional from Oswald Chambers’ “My Utmost for His Highest”. I tend to hide behind irreverence and informality at times allowing it to hide the real cynicism that resides in my heart. Good reminder for today to rest not only in my relationship with God but also in His holiness and greatness. Check out the link to see it and follow the Read the Bible in a year plan!
December 2010
4 posts
6 tags
A Faithful Prayer Endures...
I was reading the Christmas story from Luke again today and in my reading and my devotion, I was drawn to the story of Anna (the prophetess). Scripture remembers Anna this way:
“She did not depart from the service of the Lord, worshipping with fasting and prayer night and day.” - Luke 2:37
I was reminded that prayer is not a short term venture. Prayer is a marathon, a test of our...
Just. One. Man.: Oh, Holy Night (two new verses) →
Fantastic job Eli! I love the new words, now we need to setup a session and try it out live!
eliprice:
I was learning to play Oh, Holy Night and decided that singing about Jesus’ birth just wasn’t enough. Sooo…I decided to write two more verses, completing the story of Jesus’ life here on earth and beyond. I just played through it and I couldn’t quite make it through the last verse because it...
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A God of Moments....
I was driving home from a rehearsal last night with my almost 2 year old little girl in the backseat when I experienced one those moments I hope I never forget. We passed some Christmas lights in our neighborhood and I heard her say, “that’s pretty!” We spent the next 20 minutes or so driving around looking at lights and decorations and saying how pretty they were. It was...
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Psalm 40 and Testimony
I spent last week with my family and had an absolutely amazing time with them. As we drove home, I couldn’t help but be burdened by some of the rifts and heartaches that my loved ones were dealing with. They reminded me a little too much of the heartaches and rifts I’ve caused in the past and the Spirit reminded me of how important the word “TESTIMONY” truly is to the...
November 2010
3 posts
6 tags
let your heart "settle"...
I’m a Type A personality…….. EXTREME TYPE A. I like things planned, neat, under control, and I tend to really struggle when the world around me doesn’t line up. The problem is that rarely does the world around us line up neatly and controlled. That can be not only a problem but an insurmountable challenge when it comes time to quiet down for meditation and prayer.
One of...
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"but ONE thing is necessary..."
In a world of SO MANY things, we need to be reminded that only ONE thing is necessary….. in Luke 10, we find the story of Jesus’ dinner at the house of Mary and Martha. When Martha vents her frustration over her sister’s lack of help with the dinner and preparations, Jesus respond:
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing...
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A Time of Return
It’s been a wonderful, challenging month since I last posted and to be honest I took a month off because I needed to be reminded that the world is just fine without my thoughts. Its more true than I even want to admit. I want to be sure that I’m sharing out of an abundance of God’s movement in my life and NOT because I like people seeing and reading my thoughts. I hope...
October 2010
4 posts
9 tags
A Confession: Psalm 37 and Justice
I need to confess. I tried to write this post in a way that was more pithy and full of wit, but each time the words just didn’t seem right. In truth, there is no way to really smooth over the fact that I have failed the community and world around me in such a way that nothing less than a heartfelt confession and repentance is in order. The point of the matter is this:
I have used my...
Drops · Max Lucado →
Great post about how we let anger root itself in our life and hearts and then just let it build. Great post and a great reminder to watch for those drips building up!
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Are They Strengths or Strongholds?
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be satisfied.” - Matthew 5:6
Lately, I’ve been struggling with conviction…… A LOT of conviction. Now, that’s not a bad thing at all, but it sure isn’t fun when you’re in the midst of it. I’m finding that it requires a personal honesty that is hard to maintain...
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September 2010
12 posts
7 tags
There is Freedom in Affliction: Psalm 34
There is freedom in affliction!
That’s what I found in my prayer time this morning, and more than any other biblical author, I think David knew the depths of that statement. Listen to the words of Psalm 34:19-20:
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.”
and verse 18 before...
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Prayer Helps Us Stay Connected
Do you pray for the people in your life? I mean REGULARLY, even with they haven’t given you a specific prayer request? Yesterday as I was praying, God brought many of my families and friends to my heart. Some of them are struggling with some specific challenges right now, some of them are far away and I hadn’t spoken with them in months or years but yet I felt the Spirit calling me to...
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Submitted Post: Declare His Majesty
This was submitted by a reader and I like his thought and story he shares. Faith is individual journey experienced in community with other believers. Thanks Aaron for sharing this!
Submitted Post:
This is something that I posted on my tumblr as well, but I wanted to share with you, as we are called to speak of the awesome works of the Lord to one another and hoping it will be an encouragement...
“Everything changes when revival breaks out.”
– Just had to share this for my church family here in GA!
Quote by: Shelley Hundley (via rightjustified)
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What Else Are We Mourning?
As I’ve prayed this week for a spirit of mourning I’ve found myself asking again and again what else besides sin I should mourn over. What does God desire me and us to mourn over? I have some ideas but they’re still finding words so I’ll share them later, but I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Not sure who you are as you read this and think about this today, but...
Anonymous asked: I am very very very grateful to God that I found your blog. I became....err...it was discouraging to see no Christian blog on Tumblr and this is really amazing. What you do here is really unique and special, and never stop. I'm praying for you!
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Blessed Are Those Who Mourn
I’ve been thinking about what Christ mourned over and what I should be mourning over and I’m convicted that I haven’t mourned over sin (my sin in particular) nearly enough. This past week in our Sunday School class someone used the term “subtle turning” to describe how most Christians(who haven’t had a radical conversion) come to grace.
That phrase really...
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We Must Keep Fighting
I’ve been reminded today that behind the external fabric of our lives there lies a continual spiritual battle. We have an enemy, who roams around like a lion seeking to devour and destroy us. I think we have a tendency to overlook that fact TOO often and it causes us to forget who we’re fighting. Whatever it is that you’re fighting right now, remember there is a GREATER enemy...
8 tags
No-one Else, Nothing Else Can Save Us
How many “things” or “people” are we putting our faith and trust in? In other words, who else and what else are we relying on instead of God? I wish I had a more gentle way to introduce that idea but I was accosted by it myself today as I prayed through Psalm 33:
“The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war...
Anonymous asked: Hi! I was wondering if you could tell me the song is in your most recent post. Thanks :)
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Spiritual Poverty
I started praying through the Beattitudes this morning and was immediately captivated by how Christ paints the picture of what a transformed life looks like. Too often in American Christianity we look at various lists of virtues and traits that Scripture tells us depict Christ-likeness and we then choose which ones we think fit us. I’m so guilty of this through my life, when in reality God...
6 tags
Coming Back to My Knees
Its been FAR too many days since I was intentional about prayer. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been praying (even alot sometimes) but it does mean that I’ve EVERYTHING else crowd out my will to sit in the presence of God ON PURPOSE. Maybe that doesn’t sound like much to some of you, but I feel the difference in my heart and spirit. It felt good today to get back to that place...
August 2010
14 posts
6 tags
I’m pretty much living and breathing music...
It Has to Start With Me...
I was reminded this weekend that we cannot powerfully pray for others until we have prayed powerfully for ourselves. That hit me, because I’ve felt very burdened for those around me lately. The challenge here is not to momentarily stop praying for others until I feel as if I prayed for myself adequately. Instead, I think the challenge is to find and then take more time to really pray about...