one of my best...

...can't wait for Michelle & Joshua to come home again!!!

Jesus is for me.

So apparently Jesus is taking over Seattle (jesus-is.org). That's pretty awesome if you ask me. I believe that Salem is also on the edge of a massive spiritual revival & I am extremely excited to be on the front lines.

I went to a football game last Saturday & had an awesome time. In typical Oregon fashion it rained the entire time...but my team won (they blew the other team out of the water) & that's cause for great celebration. There was one point where they brought out about 150 football players from the past sixty years (I believe)- some so old that they were pushed out in wheelchairs or walking on the field with their walkers. I, being a bit overly sentimental at times, felt myself choking up as these players received a standing ovation from the 57,000+ crowd.

Jesus is my biggest fan. Jesus isn’t sitting on the sideline cheering for me—He’s in the game with me! He wants me to succeed & to rely on His strength. In His presence I find peace, inspiration, rest, & life. He’s not in heaven waiting for me to fail—He views me with grace as I continually strive to let Him live in me. I can’t, but He can.

Jesus is for me.

a collage of revelation.

"First priority is God's presence before His plan. His plan is a byproduct of a life in His presence."
- Elijah Waters

"Give your best today & I will better your best tomorrow" (God speaking)
- Judah Smith

"Respond to God, don't react to life."
- Judah Smith

"Jesus was radical! Anything short of being a radical believer can't be normal Christianity. Radical Christianity has become rational Christianity. Let's get disgruntled."
- Pastor Bowles

"You know how you become the blessed of God? Stop trying to be & let Him be."
- Pastor Alex

"There's a big difference between knowing Jesus more & knowing more about Jesus."
- Pastor Nick (quoting unknown tweeter)

"Forgiveness is immediate, but sanctification takes time."
- Pastor Alex

"The most important thing on earth is dwelling in God's presence."
- Pastor Nick

I can either choose to live in complete freedom in grace through Jesus Christ or I can remain a slave to the law of sin & death. The trouble with the latter is that I was powerless to save myself what makes me think I can battle sin? I choose to live under grace & let Jesus Christ take care of the rest...He already took care of the first part. :)

Psalm 16

The past few months, I've been reading through Psalms & the Gospels daily...when I finish them I just start them over. I've probably read this Psalm hundreds of times, but now that I've got my handy ESV Bible (the Bible Jesus used...) it has taken new meaning. Enjoy.

Preserve me, O God,
for in You I take refuge.
I say to the Lord,
"You are my Lord; I have no good apart from You."
As for the saints in the land,
they are the excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight.
The sorrows of those who run
after another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood
I will not pour out
or take their names on my lips.
The Lord is my chosen portion
& my cup; You hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me
in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me
I have set the Lord always before me;
because He is at my right hand,
I shall not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad,
& my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let Your holy one see corruption.
You make known to me the path of life;
in Your presence there is fullness of joy;
at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.


**emphasized words or verses were added by myself.

the little things.

On April 20th of this year an oil drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico causing oil to spill into the marine endangering wildlife & nature & jobs & causing loads of damage. Over a series of days & weeks the spill just continued to pour out. The affected states & national political leaders, in an act of extreme despiration, called upon the church leaders to host national prayer days & cry out to God to move in the situation. During this time, I even made sure to pray daily for the Gulf of Mexico & surrounding areas...I remember being in Ensenada, Mexico over that time & praying that God would work the miraculous as only He can.

A few weeks after I returned from Mexico I received an email from the New York Times, the title of the email said "News Alert: Gulf of Mexico Oil Slick Appears to Vanish Quickly". I've saved it in my phone to remind myself of what an amazing, incredible, powerful, inspiring, indescribable God we are priviledged to be in relationship with.

Yesterday at Reverb, Pastor Nick was talking about how easy it is to overlook God's miracles because they don't happen in the way that we're looking for. God doesn't move the same way twice- just because He opened blind eyes by spitting in mud one day does not mean He'll do it the same way for the next guy.

Far too often I am looking for God to move in the same way He did last time, but I'm missing out on so many of His blessings in doing so. I pray that God will continue to create in me a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit's moving so that I can witness all of the miraculous signs & wonders that He pours out daily.


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/us/28spill.html?_r=1&emc=na

present.

For the past few months I have begun to learn & understand the importance of spending time in the presence of the Lord. I’ve been discovering that it’s not about a ritual- it’s not a ten step process- it’s just time spent with my Saviour…His Spirit communing with my spirit in every way. Through the grace of God & the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we are no longer under condemnation (which means all of those condemning thoughts are not of the Lord). Because there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1) we are the “righteousness of God in Christ Jesus” (2 Corinthians 5:21). This means we can openly come into His presence as sons of the Most High God! It’s a benefit to be able to spend time in His presence.

A few months ago Pastor preached a series about the “Power & the Presence of the Lord”. He talked about Moses & the Israelites while they were wandering in the desert. The power of God that was displayed through Moses was because he spent time in the presence of God. The Israelites knew the power of God while Moses knew the presence of God. The reason the Israelites continually wanted to go back to Egypt was because they had only seen His power…His presence is what sustains us. In Exodus 33:15 Moses tells God “if Your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.” Moses knew the presence of God & knew that he’d much rather stay in the desert if God was there than continue on without the presence of the Lord.

Spending time in His presence keeps us in tune with His Spirit. How can we follow His leading if we haven’t been letting Him fill us up & bring us fresh revelation? The more time I spend in His presence, the more I desire to be in His presence. It’s about relationship. I encourage you to take some time to quiet yourself in the midst of an ever moving society & experience the greatness & transformation that can only come through spending time with the Almighty Lord.

It’s a present (gift).

It’s present (now).

He’s present.

“Show us Your glory.”