TOO busy…

We have been so busy the last few weeks, my goal to keep this blog more updated has not gone very well.

When I feel overwhelmed, I don’t respond very well at all. I easily begin to feel stressed out and tired, depression can set in.

I know its the “Martha” syndrome…I will willingly admit it…

I pray, but it is often rushed…

I read my bible, but sometimes it feels more like another task than an intimate time with the Lord.

Those important things begin to feel more like a burden instead of a sweet time of renewal as they are meant to be.

Life begins to catch up with me, SO I begin to try to figure out what I need…DO I need to exercise more? , do I need to have a checkup at the doctor’s office? , maybe I need to eat better, sleep more, or do something different with my life…Where are the answers?

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Then… like one candle lit in a piercing darkness, the answer bubbles up from deep inside of me like it has been there all along…

There      is       only      one      cure…

The big machine

This past Sunday morning I was sitting in a church service and the Lord began to show me some things. I saw a conference table with people sitting around it and Jesus was one of the people. I knew it was a church, I have been in enough staff meetings to recognize one when it’s in front of me. After this, He began to speak to my heart the following things, filtered through my limited language and experiences, but I think you will still get the gist of it…

Most churches are working like a big machine, multiple pieces working together for the machine to move as one, that seems all fine and good, except for the fact the Jesus is one of the people sitting at the table instead of the head of it all. These churches are allowing Him to speak His mind, even thoughtfully considering His opinion and sometimes using His ideas, but that is all, the machine must move and go smoothly without being disrupted!

The second image I saw was Jesus himself with a small building in the center of His chest, that is the church that moves and grows in Him. But this is a difficult place to get to and stay in, those dedicated to dwelling in Him must pay the price to be there, so there are very few churches in that place.

As I began to type this up God also revealed to me that this is really how we live our lives and run our families, it is difficult to walk in the heart of Christ and it takes commitment and a willingness to lay yourself down, but the joys and rewards are so worth it.

Every congregation has choice to make whether to keep things easy and not make waves or ruffle feathers or to call it’s membership to a higher place…which are you? Are you willing to choose the difficult road like Christ did for us?

Leading Worship

Leading Worship is such a challenge and a blessing, it is a lot of responsibility to manage a team of people and try to help prepare the hearts of a congregation for the entrance of the Lord, WOW…it can be overwhelming.

Leading Worship is about the moments when the presence of the Lord is heavy, the people are worshipping and you feel that oneness of spirit, it is absolutely an undescribable glimpse of heaven.

Leading Worship is about being a servant of the Lord and of the people, it takes much, much more to be a worship leader than just being able to sing well or play an instrument well.

Leading Worship can take you to a new level of intimacy with the Lord and it can also make you aware that what you DO know is only a tiny percentage of who He really is.

Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord. Psalm 89:15

We have Kittens at our house!

We really probably should give one away, but we have become pretty well attached…

2 Chronic.15 – From the Mountain to the Valley

1 Chronicles 14-16 tells the story of King Asa of Judah, who was a descendant of David. Early in his reign, Judah was attacked by the Ethiopians, they cried out to the Lord for help and he gave them victory over the king of Ethiopia. When Judah was returning from their victory the Lord sent a prophet to King Asa to encourage Judah in their pursuit of God…”The LORD will stay with you as long as you stay with him! Whenever you seek him, you will find him. But if you abandon him, he will abandon you.”(vs 15:2)

These words set Asa on fire for the Lord and he began a cleansing of Judah of pagan idols, they did restoration work in the temple, and they renewed their covenant to the Lord…”All in Judah were happy about this covenant, for they had entered into it with all their heart. They earnestly sought after God, and they found him. And the LORD gave them rest from their enemies on every side.”(15:15)

Many years later Judah again was threatened by Israel, but this time instead of praying to the Lord, Asa stripped the temple of it’s gold and silver and paid a nearby Pagan nation to drive Israel away…(?)…immediately the Lord again sent a Prophet to inform Asa of his mistake, Asa did not take too kindly to the warning and threw the guy in jail, one of the last thing it says about Asa is this…”In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a serious foot disease. Yet even with the severity of his disease, he did not seek the LORD’s help but turned only to his physicians.” (vs 16:2)

How do we go from the mountaintop to the valley? In this case, it seems that Asa’s pride kept him from doing the right thing or even from repenting when he was confronted with his mistake, King David had that same opportunity and chose repentance, we also have that choice. It is easy as a believer to fall into complacency and even pride after a time. Often we become over-confident and put aside prayer and bible study, not intentionally, but out of the routine of life. We often think that because we go to church, volunteer, or had an amazing experience with God 6 months ago then all is well, but it is a trap of the enemy and too many of us are Christians only when the troubled waters come and that is why it may seem like we are always in the troubled waters. The Israelites needed manna everyday in the desert, God kept them in a place of needing Him, which kept their focus on Him…OH, but He so desired to bring them into the place of milk and honey, the place of blessing!!

God so desires us to dwell in that place of blessing with Him, don’t ever be afraid to turn back to the Lord after a mistake, in Christ there is always victory!

“For the LORD delights in his people;
he crowns the humble with victory.”(Psalm 149:4 NLT)

Herkimer

Elizabeth and Adam have put a band together called Herkimer…

Elizabeth and Adam Christmas Recital 2010

3 keys to overcoming sin: #3

“But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” (bold is my emphasis) 1 John 1:9

The first key to overcoming sin is knowing ourselves and our enemy. The second step to overcoming sin is confession, the third key that I think is most important in overcoming sin is knowing who our God is and the power He has to deliver us.

When we sin, we must be quick to go to Christ in repentance and prayer.  If we have wronged someone as a part of our sin, then we must ask for forgiveness from that person. These can be some of the most difficult things to do. In the story of King David in the Old Testament, he committed a great sin when he committed adultery with Bathsheba,  the sin grew as he tried to cover it up and eventually was guilty of causing the death of her husband in the process (2 Samuel 11-12).  When the prophet, Nathan, confronted David about what he had done, his response was, “I have sinned against the LORD.” David didn’t try to make a bunch of excuses, he immediately repented. David understood that God knows our hearts, and He loves us in spite of knowing it all.  God does not bless us for our decisions, he knows they are faulty, but He does bless us for our confession and acknowledgement of our sin, that is why confession is so important.  Christ has the power, He carried our sin to the cross and only He alone can wash us clean.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.

Psalm 40:2

Elizabeth Singing at church on November 28th

3 Keys to overcoming sin: #2

One of the most important practical things that can help you beat sin is very powerful! It is confession.  Psalm 32:3 says When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. When we hold onto our sin and try to bury it inside, it becomes a prison of bondage and chains on our spirits. Confessing our sin to others is an extremely difficult thing to do, but it gives us power over our sin and can set us free from the guilt and shame that goes along with our mistakes. Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt.I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.”And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.  Psalm 32:5

The word of God is clear on this,  Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. James 5:16 I will admit that it is difficult to find someone you can trust to open up to, but God commanded it because confession serves a purpose and once you experience the freedom it brings, then you will begin to see the power of God move in your life.  So look for that person, but use wisdom in doing so, a pastor, a friend, your spouse, the retired widow down the street, a co-worker, if you sincerely desire to talk with someone, the God will lead you to the right person. Many, many people spend their entire lives bound up in something negative just because they can’t bring themselves to ask for help. Don’t be a person of secrets and hidden sins, as we see in the news every single day, those hidden things can destroy people’s lives.  For everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought to light. Mark 4:22

So trust in the Lord when He says to confess and  know that He is trustworthy and He can heal and forgive…