"Dare You to Move . . ."

Life isnt about waiting for the storm to pass. . . sometimes its about just being able to step outside, stare up at the sky, and in spite of all your frustrations and fears . . . just start walking. ''Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning." But, what I do all night long, while Im weeping and wondering why, just might change everything. Is it wrong to be confused? to wonder why? to question God? to sometimes just break down and lose it? Not at all. God is a big God. I know that sounds so cliche, but it that statement is more true than truth itself. We serve a God that can take all of our troubled, unanswered, cynical questions. . . and not only answer them, but in doing so, draw us closer to Him. . .the very one we were questioning to begin with. So is it wrong to feel like the world is crashing down? Not at all. . . .But keep walking. Nothing is easier to hit than a stationary target. So, while I am waiting for the joy to come, if I stay sitting where I am, Satan will have the time of his life making me miserable. 


Sometimes life isnt about waiting for the storm to pass, its about learning how to get up, and push through all the doubts and fears that are clouding your mind, and just start walking. Sure, you'll get drenched and soaked through to the bone with all the things facing you. . . but thats the point. Now move forward, push through, press on. Look up at the sky and scream at the storm, let your voice be drowned out by the sound of the thunder, and the crash of lightning.. . . but at the same time remember that the storm your walking through is just a breath away from being drowned out by a whisper of Him that created it. Sometimes, life isnt about waiting for the storm to pass, its about learning how to get up in the middle of it. . . . and just start walking.

"A Beautiful Collision . . . "

Why is this so foreign to us? What is it about the majesty and power of the very God we were created to worship, that makes us feel so estranged sometimes? Is it that perhaps in my worship to the King of Kings, I forget that He became a man, and lived among us. Is it that in the adoration of my heavenly father, I fail to remember the supreme power of the God that whispered the stars into existence. Or is it that I'm so caught between the two? Caught in the beautiful dichotomy that our God is. On the one side, He creates and destroys with a brush of His finger. Yet at the same time, when I am hurting, He reaches down and holds me in the center or that very same hand. I don't understand that. How could something so powerful be so gentle? And how could something so comforting, be so awesome? I don't know how to approach such a perfect contradiction. I feel like if I approach Him with the caution and reverence that is due to a King, I am throwing off the very son ship that Christ died to give us. But if I come at Him like I often come to my dad, I feel like I'm flying in the face of the sovereign  God and King that He is. Maybe the beauty of this contradiction comes from His willingness to receive us as both son and subject. His sacrifice didn't end with His son on the cross... It continues through the righteous humility He continues to show us. He doesn't have to take us as we are, He chooses to. His ways really aren't ours. I still don't completely understand it, but maybe that's the miracle of it all . . . I don't have to. . . . 

"Oh Lord, You're Beautiful . . ."

Oh Lord, you're beautiful,
Your face is all I seek,
For when your eyes are on this child,
Your grace abounds to me.

I want to take your word and shine it all around.
But first help me just to live it Lord.
And when I'm doing well, help me to never seek a crown.
For my reward is giving glory to you.

Oh Lord, please light the fire,
That once burned bright and clear.
Replace the lamp of my first love,
That burns with Holy fear.

"Nothing But The Blood . . ."

“What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.  Oh precious is the flow, that makes me white as snow.”  I’ve never really thought about the actual depth of meaning that even just that phrase has. “Oh precious is the flow” . . . Precious means so much. It’s a word that holds such value.  I mean, if something is precious,  you would do just about anything to keep it safe and guarded.  It has value to you . . . maybe not to the rest of the world, but to you it is worth the world.  Something precious, is that thing that brings a sparkle to your eye, but so often brings pain to your heart.  Something that costs you nothing is cheap and expendable, but if that something cost you dearly. . .its value increases immeasurably.  How often have I just passed over that phrase.  Just skipping on by totally forgetting how precious the blood of Christ really is. The blood of Christ saved me. . . is saving me . . . from having to try and earn my way to God.  Once I realize its true value, I want to guard it. . . but once I realize its true essence, I begin to understand that it is guarding me.  The rest of the world looks at His blood as a strange thing, to be discarded.  We however, understand that the rest of the world pales in comparison to the amazing love, and unmerited grace that His blood represents.  Yes, the gift of God is salvation, and it is free. . . and at the same time, it costs us so dearly.  How can something that is free, cost so much? Because when you accept that gift, it changes everything about you. Who you are, where you're heading, and what you're living for.  

I wonder if we, as the church, have it backwards? We tell ourselves that salvation is God's free gift - emphasis on free. We leave out the part where the Bible talks about counting the cost (Luke 14).  We so often forget that there is a price to be paid. Just like the old hymn says, "Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe." In the end, it is the blood of Christ that is of sole importance. . . something so precious and worth so much.  Let us never forget the value and the price. . .