For Freedom

I like Reality TV quite a bit. Most of the shows I watch happen to be about people in their "real-life" situations, even though I realize most of them are either inappropriate or completely scripted. (Did anyone else watch The Hills or Laguna Beach?) I could go on for days about how I've been watching this stuff since I was too little to understand it, but I will now get to the point. The other day I was watching "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" on E! and heard a quote by one of the girls, of which I wish I could change the last half of the sentence.

"The best thing about life is knowing you’re not gonna be here forever. You know why? Because it makes you live that even more free.”

-Khloe Kardashian Almost, Khloe, almost. I would reword it like the below so as to relay the Gospel in a simple manner.

"The best thing about life is knowing you’re not gonna be here forever. You know why? Because God sent his one and only Son to die for ALL of our sin. It's only in the death and resurrection of Christ that we even have the freedom to LIVE at all, so let's do it for His glory."

-Children of God

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1 (ESV)

~LeeAnn

The bigger picture is there is a Holy calling
O, how I'm slowly falling!
Falling, falling in love.
And your water has been pouring out on me!
How could I be so naive?
It is for freedom, it is for freedom,
It is for freedom He set us free
Jimmy Needham's "For Freedom"

April Thankfulness

People in general (myself included) tend to forget about outward thankfulness until November rolls around each year. In the United States at least. I'm sure we all have our own list of what we are thankful for each day: being healthy, having the ability to put food on the table and a roof over our heads, and heck- even getting to see a new day and enjoy all that God has created for us. This is just the basic first few items on my list, but most of my list I choose to be inwardly thankful for. That is, not verbalizing to others that I thank the Lord for those things. Today, I've got a little nugget of April Thankfulness in my pocket.

This morning I was moved by such a small display of outward thankfulness. Bill, who blogs personally here and contributes here was praying with Leslie and I before we began practicing for Sunday morning worship for our Life Group at church. Towards the end of the prayer he said, "and thank you for the ministry we serve in." WOAH. Whiplash for me. Do we often take the time to thank God for even creating the ministries we serve Him through, or are we too busy serving in them? I didn't mention it to Bill yet, but I must say that his outward thankfulness brought a new perspective for me, starting today. Thank you, Bill, for this little nugget! (Does it count if I thank you indirectly through this post?) By the way, our motto has been "The Fellowship of the Believers" from Acts for the past few years. I think being outwardly thankful for the ministry as a whole is part of this.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

(Acts 2:42-47 ESV)

~LeeAnn

VICTORY!

In light of the most glorious holiday that we just celebrated!

On a hill Your blood was spilled

Your brow, Your hands, Your feet

with nails and thorns the veil was torn to make a way for me

You made a way for me

Jesus, Savior, my God, my King, my Lord

Jesus, Savior, the victory is Yours!

Wrapped and bound they laid You down - a perfect sacrifice

But in three days the stone was rolled away!

Forever You're alive!

Jesus, Savior, my God, my King, my Lord

Jesus, Savior, the victory is Yours!

Death has been beaten!

The grave has been conquered!

Jesus is risen!

Life ever after!

These are the lyrics to Phil Wickham's song "The Victory".

Captivated

Someone may have already posted this song at some point but I am so moved by this song and what I am reading in Scripture right now that I just had to post.

Captivated

Your laughter it echoes like a joyous thunder

Your whisper it warms me like a summer breeze

Your anger is fiercer than the sun in its splendor

You're close and yet so full of mystery

Ever since the day that I saw Your face

Try as I may I cannot look away, I cannot look away

Captivated by You

I am captivated by You

May my life be one unbroken gaze

Fixed upon the beauty of Your face

Beholding is becoming so as You fill my gaze

I become more like You and my heart is changed

Beholding is becoming so as You fill my view

Transform me into the likeness of You

This is what I ask for all my days

That I may never look away, never look away

Captivated by You

Captivated by You

May my life be one unbroken gaze

Fixed upon Your beauty, fixed upon Your beauty...

No other could ever be as beautiful

No other could ever steal my heart away

No other could ever be as beautiful

I just can't look away...

This song coupled with reading through the first verses in the letter to the Hebrews just moves me to tears:

"Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs."

Hebrews 1:1-4

I am also reading Jared Wilson's "Gospel Wakefulness" right now and if you have not yet read it, then I highly recommend that you do!

You Get What You Need

I have entered in to a season of being without. In my life I have found myself in many similar seasons - without a friend, without a date, without answers, without direction,etc - but being without a job can be a little terrifying at times. The endless number of question marks stemming from this one blank space can wreak serious havok on the mind, the spirit and the body. And thus was my life over the last two weeks - seeking and searching and applying and waiting... and waiting... and waiting... for answers that are not forthcoming. And in the middle of that waiting, I had become anxious. It is not natural for me to wait and see. So, in this "wait and see" season of my life, I have found my spirit growing restless within me. But what I have also found, is a desire to quiet that spirit with truth. And because I have knocked, the door has been answered. The Lord has been filling the spaces in my life with His truths.  As I dove in to my devotional this week, I was rewarded with an excerpt about contentment. The verse that accompanied the topic was 2 Corinthians 9:8 - "And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."
And the truth of this verse begin to come to clarity for me and it rooted itself in my heart. God has the ability to bless us abundantly, but He chooses instead to give us only those things that we need to do His good work. So, if we don't have right now, it is because it is not needed. If we believe that God gives us what we need then we must be able to look at our lives, and the things we are without, and understand that they have not been given (or have been taken away) because they are not needed for what God is doing or is about to do in our lives.

The things that I really need will be more than taken care of by the Father who loves to lavish us with His riches:
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
   “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Matthew 6:25-31

Just as He takes care of the flowers and the birds, so will He also provide for us. He will give us exactly what we need. And sometimes not a fraction more. Sometimes all we get is our daily bread - enough for this moment. So that we may learn to trust Him in every moment. And we can begin to understand that what we have already, right now, is enough for God to do what He wants to do.

"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that."

 1 Timothy 6:6-8

So, this season of being without is exactly where I am meant to be. I am not wasting it, or abusing it, I am accepting it and trying to find what God is doing in and through it. And there is a part of me that still wants to pray: "But, God, I need a job." And, infact, I do still pray for Him to provide one. But standing on these truths helps me to know that I will have one in His timing. I will be without until God requires that I am with. It eases anxiety considerably to know that I have all I need. And for the rest I am taking my cues from Paul:

 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:11-13