Rita Springer: in this forever

I ran across this song this morning as I was scrolling through my Facebook News Feed (Rita Springer's artist Facebook page is one of the many pages that I like). It's from her latest live album with the same title. Hearing this song was a good reminder that following Jesus is forever. It's true. When I read through the Scriptures I am confronted with the heavy weight of eternity. The salvation of our souls did not come at an easy price. No, the redemption of all creation caused Jesus unimaginable suffering, not to mention His very life.

I heard this preached and it has forever changed the way that I view Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross. The preacher said, "Now, I can't say for certain that Jesus suffered more physical and emotional pain than any other person ever suffered when He was crucified on a cross, but what I do know is that Jesus was the only person who ever suffered the full weight of God's wrath for sin." That my friends is unimaginable suffering and is the heavy weight of eternity that Jesus bore so that we could be with Him in eternal paradise.

Jesus is in this forever and we are to have His same attitude. There was no turning back for Jesus. He knew this the very moment He decided to step down out of Heaven: "You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross" (Philippians 2:5-8 NLT).

Following Jesus isn't always going to be easy. But I believe, if our hearts remain tender towards God, then the longer we follow Jesus, the more we will feel the heavy weight of eternity that He has placed upon our shoulders.The burden to preach the Good News to a broken, hurting and dying world while caring for the sick, the poor, the imprisoned, the fatherless, the widow, the orphan, the lost and the hopelessly addicted. And this burden will far out weigh whatever trial may come our way as we make our way through this fallen world. But, this will mean truly deciding with all that you are (mind, heart and will) that no matter the cost, you are in this with Jesus forever.

So this is my prayer: "Lord Jesus, Your sacrifice on a Cross for sin earned you the praise and worship of all creation. Thank You Lord for bearing the full weight of God's wrath for sin and taking upon Yourself my punishment. Truly, I am healed, saved, redeemed and restored in You. Holy Spirit transform me and place within me the fortitude to stand for Jesus no matter the cost. I proclaim today in this moment that I am in this with You Jesus forever and ever. In Your Name Jesus, Amen."

Hillsong United: search my heart

Everyday I am confronted with the reality of a fallen world that is constantly trying to distract me from walking with Jesus. Each and everyday I come to mini-crossroads where I can either choose to follow Jesus and submit to God's ways or I can choose to follow my own understanding that has been largely influenced by the world's ways. I believe that at all times, there lies before a person two kinds of paths: 1) paths which have been set in place by the world and its standards and 2) paths that have been established by God. The bible verse that comes to mind is one of the very first scriptures that I ever memorized and says: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5, 6 NIV 2011).

The longer I walk with Jesus, the more I am confronted with the reality that the ways of the world are consistently in opposition to the ways of God. When I read about Jesus' life in the Gospels, what I see is a life lived in passionate reverence and faith towards God. A life birthed out of a love relationship with God that was founded on respect and intimacy. Jesus knew of and experienced the Father's unconditional love and responded with His own unconditional love in return. I long to walk with God as Jesus did when He lived among us on earth, but this means continually submitting myself to the spiritual surgery of the Holy Spirit in purifying my heart of its desire to walk in the ways of the world, rather than in God's ways.

So this is my heart's cry and prayer: Father in Heaven, "search my heart and search my soul. There is nothing else that I want more. Shine Your light and show Your face. In my life, Lord have Your way. Hear my cry and hear my prayer. Draw me close, so I know You're near. Give me strength and give me grace to walk with You Lord, all my days" In Jesus Name, Amen.

Lindsey Kane: HE KNOWS

This is such a timely song for me because since coming back from Tanzania I've been feeling a bit disconnected. Now I know that this is natural in transitioning back Stateside, but on a heart level this disconnectedness has gotten me in touch with a deeper sense of loneliness that's always been within my heart. My sense is that this revelation is not a coincidence but purposeful by the Lord so that He can bring healing to the pain and burden of this loneliness that finds comfort in isolation, rather than in community. 

Just the other day I heard these words in my spirit "I know your pain." Then the Holy Spirit flashed in my mind pictures of Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane and the great anguish and loneliness He felt  in having to face the coming trial of the Cross (Matthew 26:36-45). He truly knows the deep pain of loneliness because He's been there. In that moment, He felt utterly alone, but rather than isolating Himself He sought the fellowship of both the Father (vv. 39, 42, 44) and the other disciples (vv. 40, 45).

This has moved me to begin asking the Lord to help me to remain faithful through this coming season as He pulls me from this loneliness and not isolate myself or seek after less than healthy or pure avenues to self-medicate this loneliness. But, to seek the comfort of the Father and the fellowship of the Body of Christ. Somehow I feel like I'm probably not the only one who feels this way. So this is my prayer: "Help us Lord, to find comfort in the fact that You know the pain of our loneliness and that we can trust that You will lead us out of this loneliness and into the comfort and joy of fellowship, both with the Father and others, as You bring healing to our brokenness. In Your Name Jesus, we pray amen."

Jeremy Riddle: full attention

There is so much in this world that vies to steal my attention away from Jesus. That's why I am so grateful for the Spirit of the Lord who dwells within me because He is greater than the world and can preserve me from and empower me to resist the world's downward pull. Here's a quote from Dr. Ed Murphy from His book, The Handbook of Spiritual Warfare: Revised & Updated, "The Spirit of God, even when He is the Spirit of conviction of sin, is always the Spirit who lets us know we belong to God and His Kingdom...He builds up. He encourages. He blesses. He enlighens. He makes Jesus more and more previous to us. He empowers us to the defeat of the flesh, the world, and Satan and his demons. It is he and he alone who cries within us,'Abba! Father!"

So this is my prayer: Lord, "May Your voice be louder, may Your voice be clearer than all the others. May Your face be dearer, may Your words be sweeter than all the others in my life. May Your presence be truer, may Your presence be nearer than all the others & may Your light shine brighter, may Your love move deeper than all the others in my life. Please keep my eyes fixed on You, please root my heart so deep in You, keep me abiding that I might bear fruit" In Your Name Jesus, Amen.