I need peace

When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.

Jesus, I see your ability to calm the most difficult storms.  You are the bringer of peace to your people.  You said that you would leave us with peace.  I pray that I would walk into that peace right now.  I lift up to you the coming weekend - all of my doubt and fear - I pray that you would take it.  All of my apprehension - please remove it and replace it with faith.

I would like to be able to walk in a deep calm, even though the things around me are troubled.  Would you please give me the spirit of peace?

I love you and am committed to serve you today.  Would you please help the concert be a success?  Would you please help us to get people there?  

I love you.

1 Lord, my heart is not proud;

      my eyes are not haughty.

   I don’t concern myself with matters too great

      or too awesome for me to grasp.

 2 Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself,

      like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk.

      Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

 3 O Israel, put your hope in the Lord—

      now and always.

Psalm 131

While ascending to Jerusalem, the people would recite Psalm 131 - why?

This morning I am sick and not feeling well at all.  As I work to go up unto his presence, I sense that the Lord would want to quiet my soul and give me rest.  He would like for me to be in a humble and contrite condition so that I am able to receptive towards his word.

Jesus, today i need to be strengthened by you.  I ask that you would strengthen me and give me rest.

Dangerous Trust

...I gave orders for all of us to fast and humble ourselves before our God. We prayed that he would give us a safe journey and protect us, our children, and our goods as we traveled. For I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to accompany us and protect us from enemies along the way. After all, we had told the king, “Our God’s hand of protection is on all who worship him, but his fierce anger rages against those who abandon him.” So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and he heard our prayer.

Ezra 8:21b-23

Do I trust the Lord with my life?  Ezra had made a declaration of who God was - and then he chose to trust the Lord.  He trusted God when it wasn't easy.  He trusted God when it was dangerous to do so.

Dangerous trust.  Will I allow the Lord to lead me into dangerous areas of life or ministry?  Will I trust him to be my salvation, my provision and sustainer?

I can choose to allow God to be who he is, or I could never take dangerous steps of faith.

Jesus, today I ask that you would fill me with faith so that I would be willing to take the steps that you are asking me to take.  I love you and confess that I need you and not just need you to stick around a bit, I desperately need you.

Today, I will launch forward into the assignments ahead of me with faith.  Even if I fell alone, exposed or vulnerable, I will move ahead!

Including through invitation

12 Then he turned to his host.“When you put on a luncheon or a banquet,” he said, “don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward. 13 Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.”

-Luke 14:12-14

The invitation of the Lord is for everyone, not for the people that we normally think it should be for.  It is amazing how we make judgements on who should be included in our lives, or to what extent they should be included.  Jesus is asking us to invite the uninvited - to open up the best of our lives for the "worst" of people.  Jesus, I ask you today to show me where I need to do this.  What people are you asking me to include?  How can I be more inclusive?  How can my capacity for people increase?  At the end of my life, I wish to be one who's reward is greater than just the obvious or natural outcomes of my "easy" circle of relationships.

Jesus, today, I ask that I would be someone who is focused on you.  As a result, may I bring others into your presence and into your light.  I ask that you would use me to be a light into the darkness of the abandoned, the forgotten and the overlooked.  I pray that I would actively include all around me to your kingdom.  I pray that i would choose to be sensitive to your leading.  I pray that I would be sensitive enough to not miss what you are doing.  Lord, give me a sweet and engaging spirit.  may I be like you are - loving and inviting and caring and able to speak into every life.  Holy Spirit, fill me today.

devotions

What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord, who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.  When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs. The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.They will continue to grow stronger...

Psalm 84:5-7

Joy.  I want to carry the joy of the Lord with me today.  I wish to walk with my eyes forward - trusting the Lord to fulfill what he has promised.  I know that it easy for me to become focused on circumstances or happenings.  However, I know that joy and contentment can only come as I am striving to see the bigger picture of God.

Jesus, today I will rejoice with what today is for me.  You have given me the gift of today.  I won't squander the opportunities I have to enjoy you - to express you and to give you more of me.

Thank you for the opportunity to be around the flag pole with the students today.  Thank you for the chance to pray with the students.  Thanks for the chance to connect with Mikey again.  I pray that you would give me chances to connect with him.  I pray that he might be drawn to you through me.  I pray that even though I might be inconvenienced or challenged, I would be one that gives you away to others.  

Thank you for the fact that we had more donuts than we needed.  It was wonderful to give away donuts to the students who were threatening a Satan/Hitler worshipping meeting next Wednesday.  May you bless them and draw them to you.

Jesus, would you make us a people of prayer.  Would you birth that within us?  Help me to be one who models that...and who pursues that with our church.

Jesus, I love you and am committed to you again.

Thirsty?

"Come!" say the Spirit and the Bride. 

   Whoever hears, echo, "Come!" 

   Is anyone thirsty? Come! 

   All who will, come and drink, 

   Drink freely of the Water of Life!

Revelation 22:17

Thirst.

We won't last three days without water.  Our souls are the same.  We have a need to be satisfied - to be quenched.  I would suggest that it is the same desperate longing that our need for water is.  We have a real need - a real hole inside of us that we try to fill with all sorts of things.  We look for approval from other people, we try to have enough fun, we indulge in all sorts of pleasures and at the end, always come up short.  Just as the roller coaster ride gives ninety seconds of reprieve from our mundane lives, so do our hopes at being satisfied.

There is only one who can satisfy this thirst.  There is only one who can truly fill the void.

"Is anyone thirsty?  Come!"

Jesus, today I choose to be a carrier of your water.  I choose to be one who brings the bowl of your living water to those around me.  I choose to be your hands and feet.  I choose to be one who carries committed and sacrificial love to all in my life.

I pray that you would equip me to accomplish what I set out today to accomplish.  I ask that you would give me strength, courage and patience.  I pray that I would be an active listener - even when it isn't convenient or easy.

Make me your instrument today.

A fellow life-giver

"I am making everything new!" - Revelation 21:5a

He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son." - Revelation 21:6

Oh Lord, allow me to be a life giver with you.  I would like to be "in order" in my life so that I can participate with the giving of the life that you have to offer all around.  

I know that there are those who are desperate for you - desperate for your life and forgiveness.  I pray that I would walk in it in such a way that allows you to shine through me.

Help me to be obedient to you today.  

Your people are saying, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right,’ but it is they who are not doing what’s right.

Ezekial 33:17

This morning I am struck with how much of a servant I am to be.  I know that the Lord is constantly calling me to deeper levels of faith and service to him.  I know that it doesn't stop when I have overcome one hurdle, or when I have accomplished one task.

It is an ongoing struggle to give him control.  I realize that he has called me to be in the place that I am - moving forward by dying to myself, dying to my will, my way and my perspective.  Jesus, please help me as I continue to move forward.

I want to hear your voice and truly respond to it.  I wish to be known as one who follows you completely and wholly.  You know what is before me now.  I ask for your wisdom, your direction and insight.  I am aware that you are the one who is arranging things correctly; that you are using the maneuvering of men for your ultimate goals.

Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: What sorrow awaits you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. Shouldn’t shepherds feed their sheep? 

Ezekial 34:2b

Lord, please help me to see my life as giving to others.  I truly want to serve and not be served.  I ask that I would be able to see all of my life in that way.  I know that you have places of signifigance for me...but those places are for your glory and use.

May I be a shepherd who always gives my life away:

• For my family
• For my "flock'
• For my friends

I pray that this would stand out in small, real ways.  I pray that today I would find ways to connect with others where they are at.  I pray that I would be a good servant to my wife and kids today.  I pray that I would adequately shepherd the students.  I pray that I would be disciplined with my tongue, so that I build up those around me.

I give you this day.  I pray that I might glorify you with it.

I love you!

Life submitted to the Creator

You are worthy, O Lord our God,
to receive glory and honor and power.
For you created all things,
and they exist because you created what you pleased.
Revelation 4:11

May my life be one that utters these words. Of course, I pray that I would proclaim these words in song and in prayer. But more than that, I pray that my life would declare that.

• My thought life - what I allow myself to dwell on - does it bring glory to him?
• My talking life - do I allow myself to gossip, do I tear others down behind their back? Do I speak more often than I should? Am I being an excellent listener?
  
• My physical life - am I constantly disciplining my body - beating it into submission to Christ?
• My secret life - would I allow others to take a free look at any time at my life - or would I bring shame to the name of my creator?
• My giving life - do I see my life as something to be given away to others? Or am I interpreting events, circumstances and opportunities through a selfish filter?

Jesus, I ask that I would grow today. I ask that as you and work through this day together, we would make progress in answering these questions. I declare today that I want to move forward, to become more like you.

I lift up all of the youth who are a part of THRIVE. I ask that you bless each one of them with your presence and your mercy. I pray that you would open their eyes to your love, your purposes and plans. I ask that there would be an overwhelming sense of passion that would arise. I pray that you would strike a deep desire for you in each of their hearts! I pray that you would change our hearts! I pray that you would change our hearts! I pray that we would respond to your voice of correction! I pray for deep repentance! I pray for an attitude of sorrow for our sins!

Lord, I pray that as a result of humility and hunger - we would see the harvest come in! I pray that we would bring more and more to a saving knowledge of you! May we make believers and disciples right in Hillsboro! I pray for an overwhelming move of your spirit! I pray for your kingdom to come in passion and fury! Jesus, move your hand of mercy to save! Save us from us!

Make us desperate! I pray that this year would be EPIC. I pray that this year would be overwhelming - as we pursue you!

A decided heart

I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.
Revelation 3:19

The Lord is calling an indictment against the church of Laodicea. Jesus isn't pleased with the indifference and lukewarm attitude that existed among them.

As I read about who Jesus is and grow in my understanding of what he calls us to, I realize more and more that it is a radical and instrisuve call to live for Him and with him. This strikes against values of our culture - we love comfort and relaxation. We also have a hard time drawing firm lines of truth. Much of our time and energy is spend on trying to remain comfortable - being indifferent.

Jesus' words here are convicting and truly powerful against us.

Am I indifferent? Do I carry traces of unwillingness to die for him and to him? Are there areas of my life that I do not throw at his feet. Am I more interested in comfort and relaxation and less inclined towards truth?

Jesus, I ask that on this weekend away, you would guide and teach me. I pray that you would cast vision for what you would like my life to look like this fall. I pray that you would give me your heart! I pray that you would change my heart so that I look more like you! so that I am a servant who embraces the difficult, the humble and the lowly tasks - all for the sake of you my king.

I love you. Jesus, I love you. May you be the God of my family's life. I pray that you would richly bless Donia with love and life today. I pray that you would continue to minister to her heart and that you would continue to draw her to yourself. I pray that she would continue to find joy in you. I pray that your word would speak to her today. I ask that you would watch over her mind and spirit.

Jesus, great lover of me - I life you my children. I pray that they would follow you. I pray that they would understand your grace and your passion for their lives. I pray that they would run towards you early and often. I pray that they would come to know your love for them at a young age. I ask that you would invest your Spirit deeply into their hears and minds. I ask that you would give them a rich calling at an early age. I ask that you would give them a ministry to their peers. I ask that you would release a worshiping heart within both of them.

I ask that or family's lives would bring glory to your name. I ask that you would root out any stinky spirits! Bind us together in love and unity. May we have the mind of Christ and the heart of Christ and be able to see what is truth, what is right and what is important to you!

Thank you for your never ending blessings! Thank you for always providing for us! Thank you for always taking us down the road that you need us to be on. I pray that we would always following your leading! Thank you for giving us love and laughter and peace and grace! Thank you for how much you have transformed each of us! Thank you for never letting us down! Thank you for being the wonderful God of the Universe! Thank you!

I will love you forever - Jesus, my Lord, my king and everything!

Pursuing Truth

You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars
Revelation 2:2b

Jesus is talking to the early churches. It is amazing to me that there were those who were already trying to pervert the gospel for their own gain. I see the same thing to be true today.

It is amazing how many people work really hard to convince others that following Jesus is all about us gaining more in this life.

It is up to us to examine the claims of leaders. It is up to me as a leader to make sure that I am leading others towards truth and righteousness, not selfish interpretations that I may be more comfortable with.

Just this last year I sensed that the Lord was calling to me to address some of the more difficult concepts within Christianity. I did more thinking, study and prayer on Hell and God's wrath.

It isn't easy to work to be a discerning and careful Christian. From day one there have be people who work to distract from what God has called us to live by.

Jesus, today I will be discerning and careful about the influence that I allow in my life. I know there are teachers and leaders out there who I am drawn to, but I also know that they can error and mislead others. May I be one who is driven by your cross and your gift of eternal life for the sinner.

Today, I will follow what has been faithfully passed on to me - Jesus and him crucified. I pray that I would live as a citizen of Heaven - one that has been granted freedom from sin and punishment.

Living on my knees

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, "Don't be afraid! I am the First and the Last. I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave."
Revelation 1:17-18

I feel just a smidgen of what John must have felt. In the moments where I truly acknowledge how vast and wide and significant and truly-other and awesome Jesus is, I dare not breathe without permission. Jesus you are everything to me. You are my purpose, my meaning and my full hope! Today, I live on my knees before you.

I pray that today I would see you for who you are! Alive and beautiful and able to conquer all things! I pray that you would birth and release faith in my heart! I pray you would reign in me and through me! I pray that I would have opportunity to share you with others, to love others as you love them and to care for those in need today.

Thank you for my lovely wife, for my children and for the life that you have given us! I pray that we would not just live in blessing unto ourselves and the end of comfort or happiness, but that we would strive to be a blessing to others. I pray that all people around us would know us as a blessing - of hope, compassion, truth and love.

Lids and Shepherds

My people have been lost sheep.
Their shepherds have led them astray
and turned them loose in the mountains.
They have lost their way
and can’t remember how to get back to the sheepfold.

Jeremiah 50:6

Leadership is something that we can all see, but few of us want to take responsibility for. We know it when there is effective and transforming leadership, but when we are called to lead, we often buck the responsibility. We look for other reasons for failure and try to assign blame to others.

For instance, my first reaction to chastisement over leaving my clothes lying around is to blame my children for distracting me. I use them as a scapegoat for my fault and irresponsibility.

Jeremiah draws attention here to the real problem - the shepherds who lead. Why do organizations wander, go astray and find themselves in trouble? It is a lack of leadership. John Maxwell calls this the "Law of the Lid" - the leader is the lid on the jar of potential - only as the leader grows, will the organization grow.

I see this to be true in my own leadership. I haven't seen growth in those I am leading, unless I myself am growing.

Jesus, today I pray that I would continue to grow as a leader. Help me to become who I am supposed to be. Thank you for never neglecting me.

False Hope

Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, but the people believe your lies. 16 Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘You must die. Your life will end this very year because you have rebelled against the Lord.’”

Jeremiah 28:15-16

Context.

Often within Christianity we here quoted the verses that follow this strange judgment upon Hananiah - a false prophet:

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Hananiah uttered words that resemble how we often quote this verse. He prophesied that Judah would be rescued from captivity in only 2 years. Jeremiah called him on his error and then prophesied that Hananiah would be dead within the year.

I have to put myself in Hananiah's shoes. His people had just been overtaken - their sin had ultimately caught up with them and the people who were once known for being released from bondage and captivity were now walking in chains once again. Hananiah's heart must have been breaking. I am sure that deep down he wanted to sooth the fears of the desperate mothers, the weary soldiers, the widows and the orphans.

And so he stepped out unwisely. He tried to speak for the Lord. On his strength, no doubt fueled by his emotion, he proclaimed an optimistic claim of release and freedom.

I can see myself doing exactly what he did. I want people to feel better. I would like there to be shortcuts for my history of sin. I would "speak" into existence what was never God's heart or voice.

It would be easier not to be Jeremiah - who was called to utter the difficult and true words of God. Intertwined into his proclamations were hope, but they were properly braided along with discipline and correction.

Lord, help me to hear what your voice is. Please help me to hear what your timing is. Help me to be one that proclaims your hope in the context of cleansing and repentance. I pray that I would always be able to walk that line. Jesus, today I love you! Speak to me and help me to listen.

Discplining me

Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant,
for I am with you,” says the Lord.
“I will completely destroy the nations to which I have exiled you,
but I will not completely destroy you.
I will discipline you, but with justice;
I cannot let you go unpunished.”

Jeremiah 46:28

Immediately after declaring such calamity on the nations around Israel, and after the many indictments against Israel (Jacob), the Lord reminds Israel of his faithfulness - one that is wrapped in covenant love. It was because of his love that he chose to discipline his beloved children.

I have endured the disciplined of the Lord in my young life. If Jeremiah were called to prophesy about my life, I have no doubt that he would be able to bring complaint to the Lord of my offenses. My laundry list would be long.

The Lord knows this, and his promise is the same for me. I will not completely destroy you. There is hope in that statement. I am to learn from my mistakes, to wrestle with my weaknesses, but the Lord will never give me something that isn't common to mankind. Whether it be temptation or difficult circumstances, I trust that the Lord has a plan for my own discipline.

I find myself there right now. I am not comfortable with my surroundings at the moment. Life on staff at Evergreen has changed dramatically over the last 4.5 years - and going into this school year, I have more challenges ahead of me than I would care to walk through.

I realize that I have a desire to be seen as significant and as dramatically needed. Gosh, I see the Lord chastising that right out of me.

Lord, I pray that today i would learn to trust in you again. That I would see you clearly and as a resuly demonstrate you in action and attitude all day today. I need you comforting love to surround me. I need you light and goodness to invade all of my senses. Jesus...I am before you again...thank you for you kindness of heart to love me and call me your own...and thank you for constantly taking me through things that grow me.

Counterfeit Prosperity

Lord, you always give me justice
when I bring a case before you.
So let me bring you this complaint:
Why are the wicked so prosperous?
Why are evil people so happy?
You have planted them,
and they have taken root and prospered.
Your name is on their lips,
but you are far from their hearts.

Jeremiah 12:1-2

Always we are in a world of impressive exterior - the creative minds and collaborative efforts of empires and nations have given us the outward appearance of prosperity.

Jeremiah saw this appearance of "happiness." And so he offered complaint to the Lord.

From my limited perspective - this world and what is has to offer is so tempting. People strive for a lifetime to be able to attain, get and have more. But, in this world, what we have, get or accomplish is "rubbish compared to knowing Christ."

Lord, I want to know you today. All of the stuff of the world will fade away. But knowing you will never grow tiring, old or wear out. Thank you for calling me to your kingdom, to be your son. Please help me to strive for the things of your kingdom - not the things of this world.

May I never lose focus or perspective - you give me what I need and you give it to me when I need it. I have never gone without as I have trusted you - but I have created my dissatisfaction by not remaining in you.

Today, with all that I have and all that I don't have - I love you and will live for you. May you be glorified.

A Young King Seeking God pt 2

What would it be like to be a king in a situation where there wasn't any inheritance of Godliness? That is what Josiah walked into when he was installed as the king of Judah. The legacy was that of insane idol worship, human sacrifice and sexually charged religious deviancy.

Josiah did what was wise and right:

There the king read to them the entire Book of the Covenant that had been found in the Lord’s Temple.

2 Kings 23:2b

He went to the source of truth to find out what was right. And then he put it into practice:

He pledged to obey the Lord by keeping all his commands, laws, and decrees with all his heart and soul.

2 Kings 23:3a

This wasn't going to be easy as the whole nation of Israel was entrenched in awful sin and bondage. Much of the rest of 2 Kings 23 describes the various places that Josiah went to tear down idols and shrines and altars that were all dedicated to false gods and to false, licentious and brutal worship.

God never wanted Israel to have a king. He wanted to be their king. He knew that the systems of power in the world would ultimately corrupt his desire. Jesus urges us to live as citizens of that Kingdom.

However, as far as Kings go, Josiah was wonderful. He worked hard to use his position and power to engage with God and to move towards him.

Lord! Help me to be like Josiah!

A Young King Seeking God

Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight and followed the example of his ancestor David. He did not turn away from doing what was right.

2 Chronicles 34:1-2

As a young man, Josiah did what was right. He had the privilege as a king - the position to create any sort of legacy imaginable.

During the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, Josiah began to seek the God of his ancestor David.

He chose to seek God. To seek means that he chose to pursue a greater understanding of God and to choose a greater accountability to God. It would have been much easier for Josiah to accept his (and his culture's) view of God. But he chose to do the hard thing.

Lord, please help me, as a relatively young man, to do the hard thing and the right thing.

Prophet

Child prostitution up after Kenya's election bloodshed

Tapes show victims screaming, crying, gasping for air

My heart is breaking.
My anger is rising.
What are we doing to intervene?
What are we doing when we hear these screams?
Will we fit ourselves for battle or just hang up the phone to avoid the rattle?

Blood, sex, violence, gore
People are dying, but we want more
Blood, sex, violence, gore
People are crying, but give us more

God is angry, God is just
In middle of this blatant lust
For more for now for keeps
He won't let us off the hook
We are the creeps
Its cheap to pick the splinter from the eye
When our lives pass by
In a big lie of me and my and mine
Its brine fit for swine
Point that finger into your own sternum
Let it sink and twist and turn
Its time to think and fix and turn

Repent. Repent. Repent.
God sent, he sent, he sent
He spent, he spent, he spent
So he could relent

Will we go, go, go
To show, show, show
To throw, throw, throw
The vile prince of darkness
To his darkness, where the darkest hour for him yet remains
Evil will be repaid

Halt!
Ready yourself!
Rid yourself!

And GO.

Speak Out

Psalm 107:2

Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies!

Jesus, thank you for your life given that I may be able to have life now and eternally. you have redeemed me! You have given me purpose, hope and opprtunity to be partnered with you. Thank you for taking my shame, pain and failure upon your shoulders so I might have life and have it in abundance.

What have been my enemies? I am my own worst enemy - were it that I lived with an oppressive king striking me so I would work, this passage might ring a bit different. But I read it so say - "tell others he has redeemed you from yourself!"

I am pitiful, sinful and selfish - but you invade all of that, you remove my tattered outward garments and are giving me a new heart, a new mind and a new purpose - one that shines true from the inside - from all of who I am.

Today, Jesus, I ask fo an opportunity to share of your great love. I ask that I might be able to share your love to Arielle, Bubbles, Micheal, Luis, DJ, Austin or Beanie. I also pray for another God-centered conversation with Cody. Lord Jesus! Please rule and reign today!

Psalm 107:43

Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord.