"God is jealous." {Na 1:2}
"Your Lord is very jealous of your love, O believer. Did he choose you? He cannot bear that you should choose another. Did he buy you with his own blood? He cannot endure that you should think that you are your own, or that you belong to this world. He loved you with such a love that he would not stop in heaven without you; he would sooner die than you should perish, and he cannot endure that anything should stand between your heart's love and himself. He is very jealous of your trust. He will not permit you to trust in an arm of flesh. He cannot bear that you should hew out broken cisterns, when the overflowing fountain is always free to you. When we lean upon him, he is glad, but when we transfer our dependence to another, when we rely upon our own wisdom, or the wisdom of a friend—worst of all, when we trust in any works of our own, he is displeased, and will chasten us that he may bring us to himself. He is also very jealous of our company. There should be no one with whom we converse so much as with Jesus. To abide in him only, this is true love; but to commune with the world, to find sufficient solace in our carnal comforts, to prefer even the society of our fellow Christians to secret intercourse with him, this is grievous to our jealous Lord. He would fain have us abide in him, and enjoy constant fellowship with himself; and many of the trials which he sends us are for the purpose of weaning our hearts from the creature, and fixing them more closely upon himself. Let this jealousy which would keep us near to Christ be also a comfort to us, for if he loves us so much as to care thus about our love we may be sure that he will suffer nothing to harm us, and will protect us from all our enemies. Oh that we may have grace this day to keep our hearts in sacred chastity for our Beloved alone, with sacred jealousy shutting our eyes to all the fascinations of the world!" ~ Charles Spurgeon
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Thursday, August 7, 2008
"Lord, grant that I may see thee more clearly, love thee more dearly, follow thee more nearly.
God offers himself to humankind in an absolute way through the Son, and humankind responds in an absolute way by a total self-donation.
True and perfect love demands sacrifice, the abandonment of tastes and personal preferences, and the perfect renunciation of self. This can be taken together with the prayer for generosity, which asks for teaching to be generous, to serve God as God deserves without counting any cost or seeking any reward except knowing that one is doing God's will.
The goal of our life is to live with God forever. God who loves us, gave us life. Our own response of love allows God's life to flow into us without limit... Our only desire and our one choice should be this: I want and I choose what better leads to the deepening of God's life in me." St Ignatius of Loyola
"You complain of the want of fervent love. It will come from Jesus. He will give the divine love into your heart with which you can love people." Andrew Murray
"If I am something, then God is not everything; but when I become nothing, God can become all, and the everlasting God in Christ can reveal Himself fully. That is the higher life. We need to become nothing." Andrew Murray
"He pushes you to the limits of your individuality where a choice must be made. The choice is either to say "I will not surrender", or to surrender, breaking the hard shell of individuality, which allows the spiritual life to emerge. The Holy Spirit narrows it down every time to one thing... God wants to bring you into union with Himself, but unless you are willing to give up your right to yourself, He cannot." Oswald Chambers
"We cannot measure ourselves. We start out thinking we can, but soon realize that there is really only one Being who fully understands us, and that is our Creator... You only reach your true identity once you are merged with another person... Once your rights to yourself are surrendered to God, your true personal nature begins responding to God immediately. Jesus Christ brings freedom to your total person, and even your individuality is transformed. The transformation is brought about by love - personal devotion to Jesus." Chambers
"If a person is ever going to do anything worthwhile, there will be times when he must risk everything by his leap in the dark... Trust completely in God, and when He brings you to a new opportunity of adventure, offering it to you, see that you take it. We act like pagans in a crisis- only one out of an entire crowd is daring enough to invest his faith in the character of God." Oswald Chambers
God offers himself to humankind in an absolute way through the Son, and humankind responds in an absolute way by a total self-donation.
True and perfect love demands sacrifice, the abandonment of tastes and personal preferences, and the perfect renunciation of self. This can be taken together with the prayer for generosity, which asks for teaching to be generous, to serve God as God deserves without counting any cost or seeking any reward except knowing that one is doing God's will.
The goal of our life is to live with God forever. God who loves us, gave us life. Our own response of love allows God's life to flow into us without limit... Our only desire and our one choice should be this: I want and I choose what better leads to the deepening of God's life in me." St Ignatius of Loyola
"You complain of the want of fervent love. It will come from Jesus. He will give the divine love into your heart with which you can love people." Andrew Murray
"If I am something, then God is not everything; but when I become nothing, God can become all, and the everlasting God in Christ can reveal Himself fully. That is the higher life. We need to become nothing." Andrew Murray
"He pushes you to the limits of your individuality where a choice must be made. The choice is either to say "I will not surrender", or to surrender, breaking the hard shell of individuality, which allows the spiritual life to emerge. The Holy Spirit narrows it down every time to one thing... God wants to bring you into union with Himself, but unless you are willing to give up your right to yourself, He cannot." Oswald Chambers
"We cannot measure ourselves. We start out thinking we can, but soon realize that there is really only one Being who fully understands us, and that is our Creator... You only reach your true identity once you are merged with another person... Once your rights to yourself are surrendered to God, your true personal nature begins responding to God immediately. Jesus Christ brings freedom to your total person, and even your individuality is transformed. The transformation is brought about by love - personal devotion to Jesus." Chambers
"If a person is ever going to do anything worthwhile, there will be times when he must risk everything by his leap in the dark... Trust completely in God, and when He brings you to a new opportunity of adventure, offering it to you, see that you take it. We act like pagans in a crisis- only one out of an entire crowd is daring enough to invest his faith in the character of God." Oswald Chambers
Thursday, July 3, 2008
First days of July
So much has happened in the last few days...
He is preparing me for this trip, but not just this trip, I believe He is preparing me for something huge that He is doing, not just in me, but in all His church. Revival is coming - and not a lightning strike, but a long burn. He has been reviving me, breathing life into me, equipping me for this next season. And this is only the beginning.
Monday - I was going to watch a movie, but then my VCR (who uses those now-a-days?? :) ) wouldn't work, so I believed that was God telling me to take that time and spend it with Him. So I did. I basked in His presence for hours. It was so incredibly sweet, I was so, so filled. I prayed over this trip, asking God to help me to continually follow His leading, to be sensitive to the Spirit and obey. Well... He answered that prayer right away, and the Spirit was telling me to go down to my neighbors and share the gospel with them. (How can I be so blessed and not be a blessing??) It was late at night, and I hadn't even really said much more to them than passing greetings in the few months that I've lived here. I had plenty of excuses, but God was relentless. Go, Go share the gospel with them. Unfortunately, it took me like half an hour or more to obey, but finally, I realized, it's just so much easier to obey, what's wrong with me. So I got my clothes on and started going down the stairs, evangecube in my hand, not even really conscious of what I was doing. It was weird. Then before I could knock on the door, my neighbor came out, and the first words that came out of my mouth were, "God is telling me to come down here and talk to you." I asked if she was a believer and she said not really, and so I asked if I could share something with her. She was really open and listened the entire time as I used the evangecube to explain to her her need for a Savior, how God has already provided that in Christ, and, like any gift, that she needed to accept His gift of salvation. I said, "if you're ready, I would love to lead you in a prayer to accept His gift", and she said she wanted to wait until her son was there. I found out then that he was in the hospital (I had a sense before coming down that that might be why He wanted me to go down then...). At the end of our conversation, I felt like God was telling me to give her the evangecube, and so I did, and she said she was going to go show her mom (!) I pray that God is using that cube to present the gospel to all her family members!! I'm going to go "check on them" tonight. Maybe they'll receive the gospel tonight, maybe not, that's not my job, my job is to only obey what God is telling me to do, and He takes care of the rest. Please pray for this family!! It's crazy how much God has compelled me to cry out for the salvation of this family that I hardly know!! If the only reason why we were to move into this apartment was to share the gospel with them, then praise God.
Tuesday - I went to a "revival meeting". How can you go to something like that and not be profoundly affected!! Lots happened, but let's just say there's a lot of anticipation in the air that revival is coming, and that we need to be getting the Bride ready not only for a long burn, but ultimately for the return of the Bridegroom!! It's raining, let it rain, but God is about to open the floodgates of heaven!! I was convicted about forgiveness, and mending broken relationships. In order for God's ball of fire to fall, the net of lack of forgiveness and broken relationships must be broken. I'm used to getting excited about this kind of stuff. I've been so excited so much, and I'm tired of just being excited. It's time now to stand up and move with what God is doing. To be used by God to be the catalyst, to get up and take action!! God won't leave me alone about a 24/7 prayer room in Greeley, one near UNC. I believe that He wants me to be much more active in making this happen. Ahhh! God, may Your will, and Your will alone be done!! Forbid it that we as a city and campus and generation would miss out because of disobedience or laziness!!
Wednesday - You might not believe all you read here, I'm not sure I would have either had it not happened to me. But all this reveals a side to God and the Spiritual realm that I don't think we in the Western church have a lot of familiarity with. It is nonetheless very real and happening all the time all around us!!
I got prayed over by the intercessory team at my church to prepare for Peru. They thanked God for His provision (without me ever saying that He had provided all that was needed financially and I know that He has already provided all my other needs to be a leader and watchman of this group), prayed for cleansing, obedience, for me to lay my burdens at His feet, and that I would take communion and consecrate myself to God before I go.
I went home that night and was talking to my roommate when I heard a noise at the door. I thought it was just another everyday noise that houses make, but could sense evil. My roommate asked me why I turned toward the door, and I said, "Don't know, just weired out..." We continued talking about whatever we were talking about for a little bit, but then felt an evil presence much more strongly. Then I asked her, "Do you sense evil?", and she asked, "Why, do you?" Then she looked behind me, at the entryway to the room where her son was sleeping and ran into the room with a look of fear in her eyes. I very forcefully rebuked Satan in that place in the name of Jesus, reminding him that he has already been conquered with Jesus' death on that cross, and through His blood. I prayed His blood over the whole house, and after a while of prayer, could sense an incredible peace in the house. It was insane, it was so tangible, I could literally feel it. I can't see the spiritual realm, I can only sense it when I'm in the Spirit, but my roommate can. She has the gift of prophecy, and can see the spiritual realm. It was insane beyond belief to find hear her confirm those urges that I had gotten. At the very moment I looked at the door, she saw demons enter our apartment, and they made an audible noise. That's way she asked me why I looked over there, but since I'm not always as spiritually perceiving as her, she didn't say anything. She saw them slowly walking in our apartment toward Elijah's (her son)room, and when they were right behind me, that's when I could strongly sense the evil presence and asked her about it. That's when the demons ran into the room where Elijah was sleeping, and that explains the look of terror in her eyes. She said that when I started shouting and rebuking Satan in the name of Jesus, their eyes got really big and the mouths opened really wide. They are sooooooo, so terrified at just the name of Jesus. (Praise You, God!!!) They left, and when we were praying the blood of Jesus over our apartment, she saw blood coming down the walls. At this point, I started praying a lot of things, whatever the Spirit was telling me, and it was insane because then she started sharing with me everything that she saw as we were praying and as this was happening. I begged God to send angels to protect our apartment and that baby, and she saw two angels standing guard over our door. I rebuked Satan and told him to never, never come back, and after awhile of praying in the Spirit, Tanya got a sense that hell was diminished, separated from that place. That's when the peace started, and it has never, ever been so tangible. I was praying for peace in Elijah's room, for God's Spirit and presence to rest in that room, and it was unbelievable how much I could literally feel it when I walked into his room, I stood at the door and walked in and out of the room because I couldn't believe how tangible it was!! I was told earlier that evening to take communion, and that was it, that nearness and oneness with the Spirit, that was communion with God!! Then I got a piece of bread and looked in the refrigerator for something to use as grape juice since we didn't have any. My eyes caught the salad dressing (no, don't worry, we didn't drink salad dressing for communion), but since I didn't think it'd be wise to walk to the liquor store next to our house and buy wine, we used apple juice, and took communion as a little family, one body in Christ. Me, my roommate, and Elijah (which was a God thing that all we had to use was apple juice because the only juice he can drink is apple juice). It was an incredible night, I was so awestruck to see that those prayers that I was praying in the Spirit were answered right away!! That whole experience blew me away. God is so unfathomably vast and deep and beyond our even touching, our puny little minds could spend an eternity trying to grasp how great our God is!!! And I look forward to it. Praise You, my dear, dear Lord Jesus, my King, my Master, my Love, oh, my Love, and Lord, that You would go to such great lengths to ransom a sinner like me, to endure all that punishment that I deserved, to walk into the very gates of Hell for me, Oh God!!! I am so in love with You, for You have first loved me. Amen. Come, come in power, my dear Lord Jesus!!
He is preparing me for this trip, but not just this trip, I believe He is preparing me for something huge that He is doing, not just in me, but in all His church. Revival is coming - and not a lightning strike, but a long burn. He has been reviving me, breathing life into me, equipping me for this next season. And this is only the beginning.
Monday - I was going to watch a movie, but then my VCR (who uses those now-a-days?? :) ) wouldn't work, so I believed that was God telling me to take that time and spend it with Him. So I did. I basked in His presence for hours. It was so incredibly sweet, I was so, so filled. I prayed over this trip, asking God to help me to continually follow His leading, to be sensitive to the Spirit and obey. Well... He answered that prayer right away, and the Spirit was telling me to go down to my neighbors and share the gospel with them. (How can I be so blessed and not be a blessing??) It was late at night, and I hadn't even really said much more to them than passing greetings in the few months that I've lived here. I had plenty of excuses, but God was relentless. Go, Go share the gospel with them. Unfortunately, it took me like half an hour or more to obey, but finally, I realized, it's just so much easier to obey, what's wrong with me. So I got my clothes on and started going down the stairs, evangecube in my hand, not even really conscious of what I was doing. It was weird. Then before I could knock on the door, my neighbor came out, and the first words that came out of my mouth were, "God is telling me to come down here and talk to you." I asked if she was a believer and she said not really, and so I asked if I could share something with her. She was really open and listened the entire time as I used the evangecube to explain to her her need for a Savior, how God has already provided that in Christ, and, like any gift, that she needed to accept His gift of salvation. I said, "if you're ready, I would love to lead you in a prayer to accept His gift", and she said she wanted to wait until her son was there. I found out then that he was in the hospital (I had a sense before coming down that that might be why He wanted me to go down then...). At the end of our conversation, I felt like God was telling me to give her the evangecube, and so I did, and she said she was going to go show her mom (!) I pray that God is using that cube to present the gospel to all her family members!! I'm going to go "check on them" tonight. Maybe they'll receive the gospel tonight, maybe not, that's not my job, my job is to only obey what God is telling me to do, and He takes care of the rest. Please pray for this family!! It's crazy how much God has compelled me to cry out for the salvation of this family that I hardly know!! If the only reason why we were to move into this apartment was to share the gospel with them, then praise God.
Tuesday - I went to a "revival meeting". How can you go to something like that and not be profoundly affected!! Lots happened, but let's just say there's a lot of anticipation in the air that revival is coming, and that we need to be getting the Bride ready not only for a long burn, but ultimately for the return of the Bridegroom!! It's raining, let it rain, but God is about to open the floodgates of heaven!! I was convicted about forgiveness, and mending broken relationships. In order for God's ball of fire to fall, the net of lack of forgiveness and broken relationships must be broken. I'm used to getting excited about this kind of stuff. I've been so excited so much, and I'm tired of just being excited. It's time now to stand up and move with what God is doing. To be used by God to be the catalyst, to get up and take action!! God won't leave me alone about a 24/7 prayer room in Greeley, one near UNC. I believe that He wants me to be much more active in making this happen. Ahhh! God, may Your will, and Your will alone be done!! Forbid it that we as a city and campus and generation would miss out because of disobedience or laziness!!
Wednesday - You might not believe all you read here, I'm not sure I would have either had it not happened to me. But all this reveals a side to God and the Spiritual realm that I don't think we in the Western church have a lot of familiarity with. It is nonetheless very real and happening all the time all around us!!
I got prayed over by the intercessory team at my church to prepare for Peru. They thanked God for His provision (without me ever saying that He had provided all that was needed financially and I know that He has already provided all my other needs to be a leader and watchman of this group), prayed for cleansing, obedience, for me to lay my burdens at His feet, and that I would take communion and consecrate myself to God before I go.
I went home that night and was talking to my roommate when I heard a noise at the door. I thought it was just another everyday noise that houses make, but could sense evil. My roommate asked me why I turned toward the door, and I said, "Don't know, just weired out..." We continued talking about whatever we were talking about for a little bit, but then felt an evil presence much more strongly. Then I asked her, "Do you sense evil?", and she asked, "Why, do you?" Then she looked behind me, at the entryway to the room where her son was sleeping and ran into the room with a look of fear in her eyes. I very forcefully rebuked Satan in that place in the name of Jesus, reminding him that he has already been conquered with Jesus' death on that cross, and through His blood. I prayed His blood over the whole house, and after a while of prayer, could sense an incredible peace in the house. It was insane, it was so tangible, I could literally feel it. I can't see the spiritual realm, I can only sense it when I'm in the Spirit, but my roommate can. She has the gift of prophecy, and can see the spiritual realm. It was insane beyond belief to find hear her confirm those urges that I had gotten. At the very moment I looked at the door, she saw demons enter our apartment, and they made an audible noise. That's way she asked me why I looked over there, but since I'm not always as spiritually perceiving as her, she didn't say anything. She saw them slowly walking in our apartment toward Elijah's (her son)room, and when they were right behind me, that's when I could strongly sense the evil presence and asked her about it. That's when the demons ran into the room where Elijah was sleeping, and that explains the look of terror in her eyes. She said that when I started shouting and rebuking Satan in the name of Jesus, their eyes got really big and the mouths opened really wide. They are sooooooo, so terrified at just the name of Jesus. (Praise You, God!!!) They left, and when we were praying the blood of Jesus over our apartment, she saw blood coming down the walls. At this point, I started praying a lot of things, whatever the Spirit was telling me, and it was insane because then she started sharing with me everything that she saw as we were praying and as this was happening. I begged God to send angels to protect our apartment and that baby, and she saw two angels standing guard over our door. I rebuked Satan and told him to never, never come back, and after awhile of praying in the Spirit, Tanya got a sense that hell was diminished, separated from that place. That's when the peace started, and it has never, ever been so tangible. I was praying for peace in Elijah's room, for God's Spirit and presence to rest in that room, and it was unbelievable how much I could literally feel it when I walked into his room, I stood at the door and walked in and out of the room because I couldn't believe how tangible it was!! I was told earlier that evening to take communion, and that was it, that nearness and oneness with the Spirit, that was communion with God!! Then I got a piece of bread and looked in the refrigerator for something to use as grape juice since we didn't have any. My eyes caught the salad dressing (no, don't worry, we didn't drink salad dressing for communion), but since I didn't think it'd be wise to walk to the liquor store next to our house and buy wine, we used apple juice, and took communion as a little family, one body in Christ. Me, my roommate, and Elijah (which was a God thing that all we had to use was apple juice because the only juice he can drink is apple juice). It was an incredible night, I was so awestruck to see that those prayers that I was praying in the Spirit were answered right away!! That whole experience blew me away. God is so unfathomably vast and deep and beyond our even touching, our puny little minds could spend an eternity trying to grasp how great our God is!!! And I look forward to it. Praise You, my dear, dear Lord Jesus, my King, my Master, my Love, oh, my Love, and Lord, that You would go to such great lengths to ransom a sinner like me, to endure all that punishment that I deserved, to walk into the very gates of Hell for me, Oh God!!! I am so in love with You, for You have first loved me. Amen. Come, come in power, my dear Lord Jesus!!
Saturday, June 28, 2008
"Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshippers meeting together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become ‘unity’ conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship. Social religion is perfected when private religion is purified. The body becomes stronger as its members become healthier. The whole church of God gains when the members that compose it begin to seek a better and a higher life." -AW Tozer
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Why I want to go to that M.E. country that is so dear to my heart for the rest of my life or until Christ comes back:
"-Believing in Jesus carries a death sentence and entry to the country is refused for most non-Musl~ms. All this makes :) the hardest and most terrifying place on earth for people to hear about Jesus and worship him. BUT God is bigger than any strategy that separates Him from the people he loves. Even in :) there are 50,000 people risking their lives to believe in God. This is an amazing testimony to thank God for and at the same a serious challenge for us to pray for change...
-Over a thousand years ago :) had a large Christian population and now it is one of the least ev~ngel~zed nations in the whole world. Pray that God would break open doorways into this country...
-:) probably has the world’s worst record on human rights and Christians suffer higher levels of persecution than anywhere else in the world. Under a strict Isl~mic law all non-M~slims are forbidden to meet together and worship. :) is possibly the most dangerous place in the world for a Christian to live; they are arrested, imprisoned and face the death penalty for what they believe."
http://www.24-7prayer.com/ow/country.php?country_id=43
What would happen if the cities that are the center of Isl~m came to Christ???
Jesus needs radical, recklessly abandoned warriors to go where everyone else is afraid to go and be used by Him to storm the gates of the Enemy with Christ's love!!! I choose to be one of those people, realizing what that means and what it will cost. Bring it, my God is way more powerful. And as shreds of fear creep in again, I choose to say, I lay down, Jesus, I surrender, I am Yours fully and completely, go before me, work and move through me, it's not me, it's You, You do the impossible, "I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God." (Acts 20:24).
"-Believing in Jesus carries a death sentence and entry to the country is refused for most non-Musl~ms. All this makes :) the hardest and most terrifying place on earth for people to hear about Jesus and worship him. BUT God is bigger than any strategy that separates Him from the people he loves. Even in :) there are 50,000 people risking their lives to believe in God. This is an amazing testimony to thank God for and at the same a serious challenge for us to pray for change...
-Over a thousand years ago :) had a large Christian population and now it is one of the least ev~ngel~zed nations in the whole world. Pray that God would break open doorways into this country...
-:) probably has the world’s worst record on human rights and Christians suffer higher levels of persecution than anywhere else in the world. Under a strict Isl~mic law all non-M~slims are forbidden to meet together and worship. :) is possibly the most dangerous place in the world for a Christian to live; they are arrested, imprisoned and face the death penalty for what they believe."
http://www.24-7prayer.com/ow/country.php?country_id=43
What would happen if the cities that are the center of Isl~m came to Christ???
Jesus needs radical, recklessly abandoned warriors to go where everyone else is afraid to go and be used by Him to storm the gates of the Enemy with Christ's love!!! I choose to be one of those people, realizing what that means and what it will cost. Bring it, my God is way more powerful. And as shreds of fear creep in again, I choose to say, I lay down, Jesus, I surrender, I am Yours fully and completely, go before me, work and move through me, it's not me, it's You, You do the impossible, "I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God." (Acts 20:24).
Saturday, April 19, 2008
a chosen generation
Saturday, April 19, 2008. The day before Palm Sunday in the Eastern Orthodox calendar. I believe we will look back on this day and see it as the start of something huge that God is doing, I know we will. I am just so blown away by what God has revealed and done today. I believe with all my heart now that we are a chosen generation. That God has chosen this generation to rise up and live as His bride and be used by Him to bring the remaining people groups to Him and usher in His return!! I used to say that, but after today, I believe it like I never have before. Today we had a gathering of people who want to see 24/7 prayer on all the campuses in Colorado, and all around the nation. Some awesome ladies from KS City who are involved with Student Volunteer Movement 2 and 24/7 prayer USA/Campus America came out and joined us, as well as some parents of students in CO. It wrecked me to hear that God has been telling individuals in our parents generation to pray over our generation, that we would be born, first of all, and that God would raise us up to be used by him in amazing ways, and go out and reach the remaining people groups and see His return. I was so humbled I fell to my knees and started sobbing. Why would He choose us?? We are so unworthy. We have done nothing to deserve His favor. Much of that sobbing was out of repentance. God requires that His children be sold out for Him, completely abandoned to Him. He said we must be hot or cold or He will spit us out of His mouth. He is so serious about us being all for Him. That broke me because He has called me and He has dreamed big dreams for me. Dreams bigger than the ones I have for myself. And He wants me to give up my lesser dreams so He can give me a life that will bring Him more glory and will affect way more than just me. I've been wanting marriage, and when I was sobbing on my knees, I gave it over to the Lord again. Whatever He wills for me is what I choose. Oh, God, give me grace.
God is so huge, and anyone who doubts the existence of God would have to believe after this meeting. We were all just blown away. As we were sharing, we found out things that God has been doing individually are all connected. Visions and dreams He's given and things He's done have all been part of what He revealed to us today. I was just sitting there in awe through the whole entire meeting (Acts 2:43). God had given one girl, named Andrea, a vision of a map of the US and a puddle was on Colorado, and a hand started stirring the puddle and it turned into blood and started spreading to the other states. And the night before her left arm started hurting (another guy shared that his left nostril had been twitching all day), and God kept telling her "left". CO is on the left side of the US. And your left hand is the hand you wear your wedding ring on. Also, the reason you wear it there is because there's a vein that goes from your left ring finger to your heart. God had also given her a vision of a bunch of beams in CO, and when they joined together, God was able to put a ring over the beams. God loves us as His bride and so desires for us to live as His bride. God's heart is for us, He has given us His heart, we are His heart. The pain in the left arm also signals a heart attack. And another girl, Sarah, felt like God was telling her that there is an attack on God's heart, and an attack on our hearts. Satan knows what God's heart is, and what He desires to do in this generation. And he is attacking. This was really crazy, because then Shawn started sharing that he had had chest pains that kept reoccurring, and when he went to the emergency room, they said there was nothing wrong with him. This was the craziest thing for me to hear, because I've been meeting to pray with a few people in the mornings, and when we first started one morning I got some really intense chest pains and it was like a bunch of little needles and it hurt to move and to breathe. I believed it was an attack from the enemy, I asked one of the girls to pray for me, and she said that she had had the same pains a few days before. Crazy!! And this isn't even the half of all the things that God has been giving us as individuals and they all fit into the themes that He is sharing with us that He desires to do in our generation and in CO. There's a chapter in Isaiah that I always turn to without trying to when I open my Bible. I turned there again today, and felt like God was telling me to share it. As I read it, God revealed to me how it fit and what He was wanting to say. It was Isaiah 52:
"1Awake, awake,
Clothe yourself in your strength, O Zion;
Clothe yourself in your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city;
For the uncircumcised and the unclean
Will no longer come into you.
2Shake yourself from the dust, rise up,
O captive Jerusalem;
Loose yourself from the chains around your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion...
7How lovely on the mountains
Are the feet of him who brings good news,
Who announces peace
And brings good news of happiness,
Who announces salvation,
And says to Zion, "Your God reigns!"
8Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices,
They shout joyfully together;
For they will see with their own eyes
When the LORD restores Zion.
9Break forth, shout joyfully together,
You waste places of Jerusalem;
For the LORD has comforted His people,
He has redeemed Jerusalem.
10The LORD has bared His holy arm
In the sight of all the nations,
That all the ends of the earth may see
The salvation of our God.
11Depart, depart, go out from there,
Touch nothing unclean;
Go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves,
You who carry the vessels of the LORD.
12But you will not go out in haste,
Nor will you go as fugitives;
For the LORD will go before you,
And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
The Exalted Servant
13Behold, My servant will prosper,
He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted.
14Just as many were astonished at you, My people,
So His appearance was marred more than any man
And His form more than the sons of men.
15Thus He will sprinkle many nations,
Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him;
For what had not been told them they will see,
And what they had not heard they will understand."
This is how I believe this applies to our generation. The beginning talks about all these things that were shared. "clothe yourself in beautiful garments" - like a bride! "daughter" - this was something that Alison had shared was what we need to first see ourselves as (our identity as sons and daughters). "shout joyfully together" - the necessity of unity. God is starting here, this is the start. He has chosen Colorado as one of the starting places and He is starting with rising up this generation, helping us to see our identity in Him and unifying with one another and with Himself, and then "that all the ends of the earth may see the salvation of our God" then He is telling us to "depart" to reach the remaining people groups, and not us but Him "the Lord will go before you". And then the last part talks about Jesus, the "Exalted Servant". Jesus said that He would return when "This gospel of the kingdom [is] preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come" (Matt. 24:14, Mark 13:10).
This was so much to take in and I was pretty overwhelmed, and yes it did bring me out of my comfort zone a little. But when God does the impossible, it has to be out of what we know because it's impossible. When God does things this big, it is out of our comfort zone. He has been preparing this even since the founding of Colorado. Check this info out about our state seal!!
"At the top is the eye of God within a trangle, from which golden rays radiate on two sides. Below the eye is a scroll, the Roman fasces, a bundle of birch or elm rods with a battle axe bound together by red thongs and bearing on a band of red, white and blue, the word, "Union and Constitution." The Roman fasces is the insignia of a republican form of government. The bundle of rods bound together symbolizes strength which is lacking in the single rod. The axe symbolizes authority and leadership. Below the scroll is the heraldic shield bearing across the top on a red ground three snow-capped mountains with clouds above them. The lower half of the shield has two miner's tools, the pick and sledge hammer, crossed on a golden ground. Below the shield in a semicircle is the motto, "Nil Sine Numine", Latin words meaning "nothing without the Deity", and at the bottom the figures 1876, the year Colorado came into statehood." (How crazy that our state motto is that we can do nothing without Providence, or care from a higher power, God!!)
The ice caps (interesting how there are three too, since that's a biblical number) are also significant because the eye of God wants to melt away the ice of our hearts and cause that water to flow deeply in and through us. (John 4:14)
God, this is all You, and it is all for You. We are nothing and we have nothing without You. This could never be from us. God, this is Your work, and only You can accomplish it. Would you cause us to be obedient, we want to be a part of what You are doing. We don't make waves, You make the waves. We want to just ride them. We want to just move along with what You are doing. Only You can do this, and that is why You get all the glory. God, this is not for anything that we can get, although You bless us immensely in allowing us to be a part of it, but this is all for Your glory. God that is what we desire!! We long to see this whole earth set ablaze for You!! Giving You the honor and glory and worship that You alone deserve. Oh, Jesus, You will do what You will. And we pray for Your will. Whatever it is, however You choose to accomplish it. You are good and we can trust You. Amen. May You be honored and glorified forever and ever. We groan for Your return, Lord Jesus!! And we long for many others to know this love before You do. We give ourselves to You, use us as You will!!
God is so huge, and anyone who doubts the existence of God would have to believe after this meeting. We were all just blown away. As we were sharing, we found out things that God has been doing individually are all connected. Visions and dreams He's given and things He's done have all been part of what He revealed to us today. I was just sitting there in awe through the whole entire meeting (Acts 2:43). God had given one girl, named Andrea, a vision of a map of the US and a puddle was on Colorado, and a hand started stirring the puddle and it turned into blood and started spreading to the other states. And the night before her left arm started hurting (another guy shared that his left nostril had been twitching all day), and God kept telling her "left". CO is on the left side of the US. And your left hand is the hand you wear your wedding ring on. Also, the reason you wear it there is because there's a vein that goes from your left ring finger to your heart. God had also given her a vision of a bunch of beams in CO, and when they joined together, God was able to put a ring over the beams. God loves us as His bride and so desires for us to live as His bride. God's heart is for us, He has given us His heart, we are His heart. The pain in the left arm also signals a heart attack. And another girl, Sarah, felt like God was telling her that there is an attack on God's heart, and an attack on our hearts. Satan knows what God's heart is, and what He desires to do in this generation. And he is attacking. This was really crazy, because then Shawn started sharing that he had had chest pains that kept reoccurring, and when he went to the emergency room, they said there was nothing wrong with him. This was the craziest thing for me to hear, because I've been meeting to pray with a few people in the mornings, and when we first started one morning I got some really intense chest pains and it was like a bunch of little needles and it hurt to move and to breathe. I believed it was an attack from the enemy, I asked one of the girls to pray for me, and she said that she had had the same pains a few days before. Crazy!! And this isn't even the half of all the things that God has been giving us as individuals and they all fit into the themes that He is sharing with us that He desires to do in our generation and in CO. There's a chapter in Isaiah that I always turn to without trying to when I open my Bible. I turned there again today, and felt like God was telling me to share it. As I read it, God revealed to me how it fit and what He was wanting to say. It was Isaiah 52:
"1Awake, awake,
Clothe yourself in your strength, O Zion;
Clothe yourself in your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city;
For the uncircumcised and the unclean
Will no longer come into you.
2Shake yourself from the dust, rise up,
O captive Jerusalem;
Loose yourself from the chains around your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion...
7How lovely on the mountains
Are the feet of him who brings good news,
Who announces peace
And brings good news of happiness,
Who announces salvation,
And says to Zion, "Your God reigns!"
8Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices,
They shout joyfully together;
For they will see with their own eyes
When the LORD restores Zion.
9Break forth, shout joyfully together,
You waste places of Jerusalem;
For the LORD has comforted His people,
He has redeemed Jerusalem.
10The LORD has bared His holy arm
In the sight of all the nations,
That all the ends of the earth may see
The salvation of our God.
11Depart, depart, go out from there,
Touch nothing unclean;
Go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves,
You who carry the vessels of the LORD.
12But you will not go out in haste,
Nor will you go as fugitives;
For the LORD will go before you,
And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
The Exalted Servant
13Behold, My servant will prosper,
He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted.
14Just as many were astonished at you, My people,
So His appearance was marred more than any man
And His form more than the sons of men.
15Thus He will sprinkle many nations,
Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him;
For what had not been told them they will see,
And what they had not heard they will understand."
This is how I believe this applies to our generation. The beginning talks about all these things that were shared. "clothe yourself in beautiful garments" - like a bride! "daughter" - this was something that Alison had shared was what we need to first see ourselves as (our identity as sons and daughters). "shout joyfully together" - the necessity of unity. God is starting here, this is the start. He has chosen Colorado as one of the starting places and He is starting with rising up this generation, helping us to see our identity in Him and unifying with one another and with Himself, and then "that all the ends of the earth may see the salvation of our God" then He is telling us to "depart" to reach the remaining people groups, and not us but Him "the Lord will go before you". And then the last part talks about Jesus, the "Exalted Servant". Jesus said that He would return when "This gospel of the kingdom [is] preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come" (Matt. 24:14, Mark 13:10).
This was so much to take in and I was pretty overwhelmed, and yes it did bring me out of my comfort zone a little. But when God does the impossible, it has to be out of what we know because it's impossible. When God does things this big, it is out of our comfort zone. He has been preparing this even since the founding of Colorado. Check this info out about our state seal!!
"At the top is the eye of God within a trangle, from which golden rays radiate on two sides. Below the eye is a scroll, the Roman fasces, a bundle of birch or elm rods with a battle axe bound together by red thongs and bearing on a band of red, white and blue, the word, "Union and Constitution." The Roman fasces is the insignia of a republican form of government. The bundle of rods bound together symbolizes strength which is lacking in the single rod. The axe symbolizes authority and leadership. Below the scroll is the heraldic shield bearing across the top on a red ground three snow-capped mountains with clouds above them. The lower half of the shield has two miner's tools, the pick and sledge hammer, crossed on a golden ground. Below the shield in a semicircle is the motto, "Nil Sine Numine", Latin words meaning "nothing without the Deity", and at the bottom the figures 1876, the year Colorado came into statehood." (How crazy that our state motto is that we can do nothing without Providence, or care from a higher power, God!!)
The ice caps (interesting how there are three too, since that's a biblical number) are also significant because the eye of God wants to melt away the ice of our hearts and cause that water to flow deeply in and through us. (John 4:14)
God, this is all You, and it is all for You. We are nothing and we have nothing without You. This could never be from us. God, this is Your work, and only You can accomplish it. Would you cause us to be obedient, we want to be a part of what You are doing. We don't make waves, You make the waves. We want to just ride them. We want to just move along with what You are doing. Only You can do this, and that is why You get all the glory. God, this is not for anything that we can get, although You bless us immensely in allowing us to be a part of it, but this is all for Your glory. God that is what we desire!! We long to see this whole earth set ablaze for You!! Giving You the honor and glory and worship that You alone deserve. Oh, Jesus, You will do what You will. And we pray for Your will. Whatever it is, however You choose to accomplish it. You are good and we can trust You. Amen. May You be honored and glorified forever and ever. We groan for Your return, Lord Jesus!! And we long for many others to know this love before You do. We give ourselves to You, use us as You will!!
Saturday, January 12, 2008
"I will be their God." {Jer 31:33}
"Christian! here is all thou canst require. To make thee happy thou wantest something that shall satisfy thee; and is not this enough? If thou canst pour this promise into thy cup, wilt thou not say, with David, "My cup runneth over; I have more than heart can wish?" When this is fulfilled, "I am thy God", art thou not possessor of all things?
Desire is insatiable as death, but he who filleth all in all can fill it. The capacity of our wishes who can measure? but the immeasurable wealth of God can more than overflow it. I ask thee if thou art not complete when God is thine? Dost thou want anything but God? Is not his all sufficiency enough to satisfy thee if all else should fail? But thou wantest more than quiet satisfaction; thou desirest rapturous delight. Come, soul, here is music fit for heaven in this thy portion, for God is the Maker of Heaven. Not all the music blown from sweet instruments, or drawn from living strings, can yield such melody as this sweet promise, "I will be their God." Here is a deep sea of bliss, a shoreless ocean of delight; come, bathe thy spirit in it; swim an age, and thou shalt find no shore; dive throughout eternity, and thou shalt find no bottom. "I will be their God." If this do not make thine eyes sparkle, and thy heart beat high with bliss, then assuredly thy soul is not in a healthy state. But thou wantest more than present delights—thou cravest something concerning which thou mayest exercise hope; and what more canst thou hope for than the fulfilment of this great promise, "I will be their God?" This is the masterpiece of all the promises; its enjoyment makes a heaven below, and will make a heaven above. Dwell in the light of thy Lord, and let thy soul be always ravished with his love. Get out the marrow and fatness which this portion yields thee. Live up to thy privileges, and rejoice with unspeakable joy."
~Charles Spurgeon
Desire is insatiable as death, but he who filleth all in all can fill it. The capacity of our wishes who can measure? but the immeasurable wealth of God can more than overflow it. I ask thee if thou art not complete when God is thine? Dost thou want anything but God? Is not his all sufficiency enough to satisfy thee if all else should fail? But thou wantest more than quiet satisfaction; thou desirest rapturous delight. Come, soul, here is music fit for heaven in this thy portion, for God is the Maker of Heaven. Not all the music blown from sweet instruments, or drawn from living strings, can yield such melody as this sweet promise, "I will be their God." Here is a deep sea of bliss, a shoreless ocean of delight; come, bathe thy spirit in it; swim an age, and thou shalt find no shore; dive throughout eternity, and thou shalt find no bottom. "I will be their God." If this do not make thine eyes sparkle, and thy heart beat high with bliss, then assuredly thy soul is not in a healthy state. But thou wantest more than present delights—thou cravest something concerning which thou mayest exercise hope; and what more canst thou hope for than the fulfilment of this great promise, "I will be their God?" This is the masterpiece of all the promises; its enjoyment makes a heaven below, and will make a heaven above. Dwell in the light of thy Lord, and let thy soul be always ravished with his love. Get out the marrow and fatness which this portion yields thee. Live up to thy privileges, and rejoice with unspeakable joy."
~Charles Spurgeon
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