Open door

when a door opens

often the wisest move

takes the most courage

may I be both bold

and brave

choosing to not linger in the shadows

peering out at the sun

but to step out

touched by glory

And while you are at it, add us to your prayers. 

Pray that God would open doors 

and windows and minds and eyes and hearts for the word 

so we can go on telling the mystery of the Anointed

Colossians 4:30 The Voice

  

Unashamed to Bear His Name by R. T. Kendall

I have appreciated the words and wisdom of R. T. Kendall since I watched him on my tiny computer screen as I caught a live transmission of a pastor's conference at the Toronto Airport Church.   He was speaking on forgiveness in a way that I know changed many lives.  When the opportunity arose to read and review his latest work Unashamed to Bear His Name Embracing the Stigma of Being a Christian, I couldn't refuse.

The publisher's page speaks of the book with these words:

In our increasingly secular society, being a Christian carries a cost. Whether through public criticism or the quiet loss of respect, it is hard--and becoming harder--to be known as a Christian. Even as believers try to follow the will of God, they are often misunderstood and left to deal with the awkward, sometimes painful results of feeling disconnected from their fellow man--or even stigmatized.

This past year the Lord has been speaking to me about "counting the cost" and choosing to stand for Him, and Kendall's words breathed confirmation into what I have been sensing.

The things we must avoid is destigmatizing the Gospel, that is taking the stigma out and still calling it the Gospel.  This I fear is what the Church at the present time, speaking generally, has done.  With the destigmatizing process has come a loss of the Church's power. I call upon every reader of these lines to be bold and uphold the pure, unembellished Gospel of Jesus Christ - precisely as it is taught in the New Testament. 

This book embraces the truth of scripture and engaged my mind and my spirit.  If you're seeking a closer walk with Christ and a life that will impact others, this book will encourage you to be both brave and bold.

If you are content with a pale and lukewarm Christian walk, these words may indeed sting, but I believe they will spur you on to higher ground!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Chosen, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

The opinions I have shared are my own.
 

Relevant to who?

I’m looking up relevant:

Having some bearing on or importance for real-world issues, present-day events, or the current state of society

I’m thinking of all the endless discussions about how the church must find ways to be significant to the world, as if Jesus Himself is not important enough.

He Is our God – He Is always relevant. That only becomes obvious to those that truly know Him.

Twisting in my thoughts today is the idea of turning this all upside down. Instead of thinking how we can be relevant to the world, perhaps we need to consider how to make the world relevant to us. Instead of hiding inside the four walls of our church buildings singing “this little light of mine” can we pray and ask the Lord to show us how to allow that light to really shine in the darkness?


Image via Wikipedia



Think about the way that Jesus lived when He walked among us. It was the broken, the hurting, the crippled and lame that caught His attention. He was filled with love and compassion for those who would never think to darken the doors of a temple.

These were the ones that were relevant to Him then.

These are the ones who are relevant to Him now.

If we claim the desire to be like Him, should we not feel the same?

Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.  Matthew 5:16 The Message



Joining Lisa-Jo and others where today's word is relevant

also bragging with Laura today





 

Knocking down mountains

I look up to the mountains; does my strength come from mountains? No, my strength comes from God, who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.
Psalm 121:1-2 The Message

I have looked to mountains
created mountains
sought support and encouragement there.
Am I smart enough? Am I warm enough? Do I have and use the gifts God gave me?
Am I clever?  Am I wise?  Do I have enough empathy?
Do I go to the Source with my questions and insecurities?
Sometimes.  But too often I turn to my mountains.
And here, where I crawl out of my cave
and pray for boldness to (as Billy Coffey said) write naked
and live with transparent integrity
with my words from the inside out
I have looked to the mountains of comments, mentions,
tweets, and retweets
to tell me I'm okay
soaking in that affirmation
like drinking from the wrong well

For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me—the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all! Jeremiah 2:13 NLT

So today, the encouragement I seek
the encouragement I need
is that you would help me
shatter the mountains
and direct me back to my Lord
the lover of my soul
my thirst quencher

and if I see you
looking up to the mountains
I'll do the same for you.




Jamming with Bonnie where we're taling about the need for encouragement

Love that is true...

You know the ads that fill the sidebars of your computer screen? You know, the ones you try to ignore while you’re reading your mail, or typing a tweet, or composing yet another blog post?

Earlier today I was trying to respond to some emails and couldn’t ignore the flickering on the right side of the screen. It was an ad for an online dating/match making service.

At first the ad said:

What if you could be loved for exactly who you are?

Then a flash and the new text read:

Love is out there. We can help you find it.

Both my heart and spirit exploded. There is One Who loves us exactly as we are for He created us. We don’t need to hide or pretend or pretty ourselves up for Him because He sees through all of our camouflage. Imperfect, smeared with the lusts of the world, marred by sin, need and greed, there is much to make us unlovable, and yet He loves us. Exactly. As. We. Are.

The second part of the ad remained on my screen and it struck me as a brilliant evangelical campaign, a new way to share Jesus with those who don’t yet know Him.

Love is out there. We can help you find it.

Have you been keeping the Lord’s love to yourself or reaching out to others? There is no better time than now. 

Have you been looking for love and not finding what your heart desires?  I'd love to introduce you to the One Who loves me more than I can truly comprehend.  Just. Ask. Me.

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation Mark 16:15 NIV

Written on the floor?

I'm fairly bold here in this space, sharing at random whatever the Lord may be whispering in my ear, or pressing on my heart.  So I shall bravely share what happened this morning, well aware that those of you who don't yet think of me as a bit off balance, left of center, or just plain nuts may join those who already know me as crazy.

I love my country house.  I praise God for the gift He has provided.  Here there is comfort, there is peace and there is great joy.  I love the wide open view from our windows and the hundreds of shades of green; the bird songs and yes, even the eerie calling of the coyotes.  But I really dislike my kitchen/bathroom flooring.  There is nothing pleasing to me about the colours or the pattern and most of the time I live in denial and try to pretend it isn't there.  This said, it does seem to have a certain special quality about it.  Sometimes I see pictures in the familiar swirls and blotches.

This morning, as I was sitting in the bathroom (yes, doing what it is one does while sitting in the bathroom), I looked down and instead of pictures I saw words.

First, quite clearly I saw grace. I shook my head, realizing this was something unusual.  When I looked again, I saw changes.

Grace. Changes.  Yes, my heart agreed.  Grace changes everything.  I looked one more time.  Both words were gone.  In their place was the word Jesus.

Of course, it is Jesus grace.  All things that are changed for the good are by His grace.

An ugly floor that sets my spirit pondering and fills this heart with gratitude; a husband who listens to a wife who sees words that don't exist on that ugly floor, knows that she believes that God is speaking to her, and doesn't send her to the psych ward; equals a blessed and glorious way to start the day.

What did you sense God telling you this morning?

Confidence in Who?

I pray that any trust, faith and confidence I have in my flesh would melt like snow in the rains of Spring.  For far too long I have looked to myself for courage, for comfort and for direction.

"No more" I cry.  "No more!"

Let my hope be in nothing less than Christ Himself and His redeeming blood.

How often we talk about people having low self-esteem, yet I do not wish to esteem my self, but instead exalt Who my Lord Is in me.  So I seek to walk in Him at all times.

He has ordered me to walk boldly.

Have not I commanded you? Be strong, vigorous, and very courageous. Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.  Joshua 1:9 Amplified

When I see giants and begin to tremble, leaning in to fear, let me remember not who I am but Who He Is.

Yes, He Is the Lamb, meek, Who spoke not a word as He was led to slaughter.  Yet He is also the Lion of Judah, mighty in battle, forever victorious.

Are you facing mountains that send shivers racing down your spine?  Forget about how small you are and take some time to meditate on just how big Is our God.  Let the truth of Who He Is renew courage in your feet, boldness in your spirit and joy in your heart.

Come on over to Bonnie's and join us as we Jam on confidence and boldness.