Freedom Reigns...

My good friend and beautiful artist, Heather, asked me what one word is that I would use to describe me on my journey with Christ. She was preparing to paint one of three pictures that Scott had asked her to do for me for our house. Very quickly I responded, "Free".

She has since painted three very beautiful paintings for me, all centered around scriptures. My favorite is this one: "Free". Each circle at the top has a word along its edge...a word of something I'm now able to do freely in Christ (sing, worship, create, laugh, love, feel, trust and enjoy). "Free". What a loaded word! To me, "Free" means so much, and means more and more daily as I walk with the Lord.

What does "freedom in Christ" look like to you?

And again He answers...

Just a mere few hours ago I was agitated...disquieted...praying for a fresh breath from my Comforter, my Revealer. I was parched, and needed to be led to cool, still waters.

Well...my adventurous God knew I needed more than still waters tonight. He brought me past the still waters to a waterfall! My cup runneth over with joy tonight simply because HE IS. My heart is ecstatic simply because I AM loves me, knows me and hears me when I call. This little Lamb felt the arms of her Shepherd tonight and He reminded me of the wellspirng of joy he has placed in me SO THAT IT WILL BURST FORTH. My God is So Amazing!!

On my lips there's a shout of praise!
Now I'm gonna dance for all my days,
Because I've seen the wonder of your loving ways!
So much joy here in Your embrace,
Makes me want to sing and celebrate,
Because I've seen the wonder of amazing grace!
(Ross Parsley)

On this day I feel disquieted…agitated…impatient. But Your ways, O Lord, are of peace, righteousness and joy. I need You. I need you to lead me beside still waters today. I need You to quiet my heart and breathe a fresh breath on me. I bind my mind to your mind, Lord, and I bind my heart to Your heart. I bind my ears to Your mouth that I may not be distracted when You speak. I am Your little lamb, and You promise that Your sheep will know Your voice. It seems so hard to hear today. Lead me beside still, cool waters and speak. I am listening.

I Once Was Blind...Do I now See?

On the weekend, I had the immense blessing to sit under the ministry of a woman with an incredible anointing on her to preach the truth. She displayed an unquestionable authority, a clarity of speech, and yet a graceful and comfortable delivery of God's Word which invited me in...completely. I speak of none other than Mrs. Natasha Erskine...a woman of beauty and grace, humility and the power of the Lord's anointing to minister and preach truth.

What Natasha, I'm sure, didn't know specifically, was that the Lord was using her to solidify some things He wanted to say to me, as I continued to journey with Him along the path of my senses. You see, Natasha talked of sight...seeing Jesus, to be exact. And the Lord showed me some simple, yet very powerful things as a He walked along with me.

I once was blind...dead in my sins, unaware of grace and oblivious to my need for mercy. But He drew me, He wooed me, He brought into my life people who would love me enough to pray for me and guide me closer to Him. And then He opened my eyes to His unmerited favor. "He called me out of darkness and into His wonderful light" (1 Peter 2:9). I could now see!

Now, several years later, I sit and ponder, what is it that I now see? In my life, fresh with Christ, what am I seeing? Well, I see that I have changed...a lot. I can see that the Lord has gently, lovingly stripped away many, many ugly layers of fear, pride, self-righteousness, doubt, discouragement...and that He has been creating beauty for ashes. I see that He has dismantled many, many ugly lies that I have believed about myself, and about Him since I was young...and that He has been giving me a garment of praise for a spirit of heaviness.

And unfortunately I see that, most often, I see...me. Me. My eyes are almost always focused on Elizabeth. What am I feeling? What do I need to do? What does the Lord want to do in me? What does the Lord want to use me for? How is he going to use My gifts to impact the lives of others? Me. Thoughts of me are like clouds which subtly blur my eyes from seeing Christ. Thoughts of my personal transformation in the Lord keep my eyes off of the One Who transforms. Thoughts of my usefulness in His kingdom work elevate me in my eyes. Though I look, talk, feel and act as though He is the center, I am still on the throne, because my eyes are focused on ME.

Natasha reminded me that to "see" means to behold, or to stare at. In Hebrews 2:9 is the beautiful phrase "but we see JESUS". I love the "buts" in scripture, for, despite what lay before them, after them is always hope. I have pondered this much since the weekend and the Lord is showing me why He brought this to me at this time. I long for my life to be one in which my eyes are permanently fixed on Jesus, where the things of earth grow strangely dim because my eyes are turned constantly on Him. Today I declare a turning point...which means that, from now on I will turn my eyes...I will stare at, behold the light of Him, His glory and His grace.

I once was blind...but now I see Jesus.
I once was lost in darkness...but now I see Jesus.
I have afixed my eyes on my abilities...but now I see Jesus.
I have beheld the distractions of life...but now I see Jesus.
I have stared at my own ingenuity...but now I see Jesus.
I have been transfixed by my own self-worth...but now I see Jesus.
I have watched my own daily must-do's..but now I see Jesus.
I have looked upon my own desires...but now I see Jesus.
I have seen my own agendas...but now I see Jesus.
I have contemplated my own plans...but now I see Jesus.
I have seen myself on the throne...but now I see Jesus.
I have squinted through the clouds before me...but now I see Jesus.
I have beheld Elizabeth...but now I see Jesus.

Lord, I turn my eyes upon You and I look full in Your wonderful face. May the things of earth grow strangely dim in the light of Your glory and grace.

Taste And See That The Lord Is Good

Even through the busy-ness of the week, the Lord has been gently reminding me of the journey He started me on last week, delving into the senses. He's been calling me to partake; To taste and see that he is good.

In my life, I am constantly offered opportunities to partake of things. What do I choose? It says in Romans 14 that the things of the Kingdom of God are righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, and that we are to pursue things which make for peace. So...I can decide to be a partaker of righteousness, peace and joy. I can actively search out that menu for my life to make it a steady diet.

In the physical realm, I experience a wide variety of tastes and flavors. I taste sweet things, salty things, bitter and sour things too. I tend to prefer sweet and salty, and to avoid bitter and sour. In Hebrews 3:14 I learn that I am a partaker of Christ, if I hold the beginning of my confidence steadfast to the end. How do I hold steadfast? I believe it is by pursuing the sweet, being the salt, growing from the bitter and combatting the sour.

The sweetness of the Gospel brings grace, love and mercy, and so I must soak in it...pursue the active and living Word for my life. The knowledge of wisdom that my God holds for me in His written and spoken Word is sweet, not only to my spirit, but to my soul...my mind, will and emotions. And so I seek it out and cherish it. I sit at my Savior's feet; I soak in His Word. I communicate with Him throughout the day. I bask in His presence and pour myself out to be filled with His honey. The knowledge I seek is more than just information. It begins with the fear of the Lord and moves to an incredible intimacy where I am unashamed to share the sour, bitter parts of myself so that they might be made sweet.

It says in Psalm 19:10 that the law, statutes, commands, fear and judgements of the Lord are sweeter than honey...this then, must point to a God of mercy and grace, and not to a God who is aloof, or who with-holds affection. His correction of my bitter parts is still sweet...it is gentle, and always points me back to himself. With a taste so pleasant on my lips, I eagerly desire more. 1 Peter 2:2-3 tells me that my desire is for the pure milk of the Word which nourishes me to grow...my desire for Him is eager because I have, indeed, tasted that the Lord is gracious.

As I walk along my path, many palates, appealing and tempting, may be offered. How do I choose what to sample? Hebrews 5:13 says that as I exercise my senses by tasting the solid food of the Word, I am more able to discern good from evil. I harken to the warning of Isaiah who says "woe to those who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter". Oh, Lord, may my senses be sharp enough to selective of only the sweet things on the palate before me today!

What kind of menu do I offer to those around me? What are people samplng from my life? If I choose to speak life and not death, I offer sweetness to souls and health to bones in my pleasant words. But I also desire to taste of salt. I need to allow the salt of the gospel to preserve me from selfish ambitions, to help me be at peace with all. I must be the salt that penetrates for good.

And so: I pursue sweetness...I acknowledge my bitterness before the Lord and lay it down that I may experience His sweet transformation....I soak in Him that I might taste as salt...and I cover myself in His blood and put on the full armor of God that I might stand victorious against the sourness of the fiery darts around me.

And I pray, as Paul did in Phil. 1:9-11 that my love will abound more and more in knowledge and discernment, that I may approve the things that are excellent, that I may be sincere and without offense until the day of Christ, being filled with the fruit of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.

I am a partaker of Christ, a partaker of grace...may others desire to partake of His table because of the invitaion that I give with my life.

Music!!

I've been looking to add music to my blog...and I found this: Cape Christian Music, Internet Radio. I added it as a link in my sidebar, so you can listen as you read. It's just a trial until I hear a good sampling of what they play. What do you think?

Sweet Aroma

I'm on a journey. I think I'm only a few steps along, although I've been on this one for a few days now. Lord, as I write, I pray that You will infuse my words with Your truth, for without it they are empty and meaningless.

The Lord has challenged me to examine my senses. Yes...my senses. I was a little puzzled, yet intrigued by this admonition, but I've followed Him on the journey.

I am created in His image. I am intricately knit together, and I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Into this quilt of God-mirroring qualities is woven the opportunity to see, hear, taste, feel and smell. As I've grown in acknowledging Him throughout my everyday, I have had innumerable opportunities to taste and see that he is SOOO good! I've seen Him in nature, heard Him in laughter, felt Him in tears, tasted Him in joy and...well, what about smelling? What of the sense of smell; what of fragrance does he want me to understand that is new?

Oftentimes, our praise is described as something which offers up a sweet aroma to God, as the sacrificial burnt offerings which pleased His nostrils. God has created me to be a worshiper: I sing to Him all day long; I spend hours worshiping at my piano; I write praise and worship music. It delights me to know that my offerings to Him as I worship my King please Him...they create an aroma that delights Him!

But the Lord wanted to show me more. He brought me this afternoon to 2 Corinthians 2: 14-16. And He showed me something new: As a believer and lover of my Lord, I emit a fragrance. And this fragrance is perceptable to those around me. But, it is experienced differently by different people. To the believer of Christ, the beautiful fragrance of Christ in me is perceived as "life leading to life" (v.16b) This is so lovely! The aroma of my life can inspire those believers around me to seek after life more abundant in Him! Praise Him, that is incredible!

But that fragrance, the aroma of my life in Christ, is perceived differently by those who know Him not, for to the perishing it is experienced as "death leading to death" (v.16a) It is convicting, and distasteful, because it reminds them of the judgement to come. And so, what do I do around those who don't know Him? Do I mask the perfume of Christ, so as not to offend? Absolutely not! I continue to live, emitting His scent as I delight in Him, acknowledge Him in all my ways, share His truth unashamed, and, without embarassment, share what He has done in me and continues to do in me. And I pray, Lord may the fragrance of You in me be beautiful to You...and may it inspire...may it invite and entice others to Your feet.

And my journey continues. In 2 Cor. 2:14, I see that He, through me, "diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place". Oh! May that be so, precious Lord! May the aroma of the knowledge of You be pungent everywhere that I go! And further, I see that I am, to God, the fragrance of Christ!! The fragrance of Christ...this stopped me in my tracks momentarily. How incredible is that?? Lord, may I be a sweet, sweet aroma to You...it's incredible to me that anything about this imperfect, wretched being could delight you with my scent. But it is Christ in me that makes the fragrant perfume! Thank you, my sweet Lord!

And I love this one! I sit here smiling at the simple beauty of what He next showed me. He took me to John, to the story we all know of Mary, anointing Jesus' feet and wiping them with her hair. And this is what He showed me: Mary was unashamed, extravagant, and completely transparent in her outpouring of adoration on her King. She gave all that she could, "and the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil". Filled! As she poured out herself, with complete abandon, the beauty, the pungence of the fragrance not only delighted the senses of the Christ, but spread to where it was perceptable to all in the house! The importance of the scent was, then, twofold: it pleased the Lord, and gave opportunity to inspire others to pour out their own hearts in abandoned worship. I love it! Lord, may I approach your feet with such extravagance that I fill Your nostrils with the exquisite aroma of my pure adoration, and may that scent draw others to Your feet! And since, to us, oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit, I see this too: As I adore, as I pour out myself without shame, the Holy Spirit moves through the place.

Oh dear Lord, You delight me with Your fresh and heavy scent. May I delight You with the aroma of my praise. May all that I do diffuse the knowlege of You in every place. May the fragrance of Christ inspire those who know You to life abundant in You, and draw those who don't know You to Life and not death. May I always walk in love, my life an offering to you, and may the fruit of my lips please You with its exquisite scent. You are beautiful...breathe me in, and breathe on me, breath of God.

Quietly

Quietly I sit before You, Lord. Patiently I wait upon You. Be still, my soul...be alive, my spirit. Body, mind, will and emotions, submit to my spirit. Spirit, submit to the Spirit of the Living God.

Spirit of God, speak, speak to my heart - I bind it to Yours. Mind, be at rest, for the things of God are beyond my understanding. Guide me into rest and truth, for your ways are of righteousness, peace and joy.

Word of God, Spirit of Revelation, reveal Yourself anew. Show me when I walk in the flesh, and not in the Spirit.

And then, may I be still, and know that You are God. You are my refuge and my strength. You are my very present help in my time of need. I will wait upon You and keep Your way. My heart is steadfast, oh God, my heart is steadfast. Quietly I sit before You, Lord, and patiently I wait....I wait upon You.

I'm moving on over

I'm moving on over to Blogger from MSN. Stay tuned for more...