His Church

Many a times, we the Church look at people and approach them as projects based on their skill, weighing how we can use them for our benefit. We belittle individuals and cut them down in size yet appearing as if we care and want the best for them.

The church is meant to see people for who they are, as individual lives that are worthy of being loved and being known. They should never embrace someone because they want something out of them but because they yearn to love and affirm just as Christ does.
Our desire should be to see people grow, nourished, mature and  bear fruit through every season. Our goal is to love and bring hope for that very love that we express, that genuine relationship that we partake in transforms imperfect people and stirs them to serve not just God but His church in passion & thanksgiving.

Just as we go before God as we are for the first time.. in our brokenness and failure and just as His love overflows into our hearts only to change us into someone beautifully new so must the Church be transforming, spirit filled gracious, unconditional and genuine . We are his hands and feet. We are meant to be here for each other not to gain but to give. And in this giving comes reward as we become who we are meant to be.

The church does not exist to serve itself nor gain for itself through people but exists to glorify God and serve people for no gain of their own.

It is rare that we approach a person out of genuine desire to serve them and see them grow. It is rare that we put what’s best for them above what’s best for us. We ask ourselves, how will this investment benefit me? What do they have to give back? Perhaps they have nothing. Not now, anyway.
People are real. They are not meant to be pursued based on how much they can be used for the “apparent” glory of god . We the church are meant to serve the heart, soul & body. We are meant to be like Christ, to do as Christ . We are meant to be His Church.

Real Stories

So many of us are too ashamed to share our stories thinking that they are unworthy of being told because of our fallout, immoralities and more. We hide the truth and cover the stains that seem so ugly. Little do we know that there is a power in confession.. confession of the truth even if it’s the brutal truth about our very lives.  The mere utterance of it not only brings liberation but frees those who hear our stories, especially those whose world secretly collides with ours.

You see, the perfect stories are the imperfect ones.. the ones that are raw and uncut. They are the ones that don’t have anything missing.  How ever, we often try to be selective about what we say but that holds no power. Power is in the details that we often hide away and push under the rug. Those are the details that make our stories real and that reach out to the lives of others. It’s the dark stuff that act as a beacon of light to those who are too afraid to lift up their voice to say they are being wronged because they think their sin is to be blamed.

But when we show ourselves as imperfect people, these very hearts who silently struggle realize that there is hope and that they don’t have to be perfect to be justified in their cause. And in bringing them hope, our stories serve a purpose beyond ourselves, encouraging us, our lives as we glorify the Author.

Originally dated: 23/1/2011

Freedom

There is a future in our hearts that we dream of.. A time when all is beautiful and worry does not abide . It is a place where our spirits are full of satisfaction; heavy-laden no more.

The mind of our tomorrows is where the answers to desperate prayers live.. it is where we are weightless.

Freedom needs fighters who will claim all they deserve and more. Freedom needs lovers who are willing to believe that waiting for the prize is never in vain.

If we could wait through the storms then how much easier is it to just walk through the wilderness. Even when we have stepped out of the pain of the past, freedom still needs work and completion. The fight never seems to end but it does.

What has begun must finish. What is hoped for must come to pass. The waiting room has a door that will be opened and the reaping of what was once sown will grow out & cease to be..

Winter will end..

Freedom will be.

Falling Short

At the end of the day, we have all sinned.. we've all fallen short. And the only thing that sets us apart is who's being real about it... who has the courage and the heart to be humble about one's failings in the light of their defense.

New beginnings

Some things are so simple & obvious...

We go through the storms and we no longer can sustain them...We want a way out and we can't help but realize that this is it.

For all time, endurance can't persevere in places where joy must prevail. We are human so  we eventually feel and we know where we are. There is no holding back. Even responsibility, obligation & strength give way and we quietly yearn for something new.

We can't suppress the truth of our condition & desire. We can't hide it forever. At last, what's deeply endured and sacrificed shows itself for what it is. And if we ever choose to to ignore or deny, it exposes itself even more, clanging louder.

And so we come to this inevitable conclusion...

Some things can't be fixed because they're not meant to be. They are shattered glass.

Some things can't be changed because they must be let go off. They are new beginnings.

Limitless

God is holy and unchanging and He takes His stand on things perfectly. I have known that He is limitless and that His ways are profound. His words do not hinder His ways, His holiness is no barrier to His compassion and His covenant does not stop his justice. He desolates the world for one beloved soul, never permitting His own laws to hold them captive.  Each divine command has it's own mystery that is revealed if one looks deeper and opens their heart. Yes, to all creation there is a limit but His ways are boundless.

God breaks no vow he makes but when oppression prevails He moves swiftly destroying that which man once used Him to put together. He is a God of second chances to the weak & weary. His commands do not leave lives bound and neither does He second those who hide behind His law for when injustice conceals itself behind God's command they cause more damage than they ever could on their own.

His laws don't bind.. They fulfill each other... justice  & mercy walk hand in hand.

Never Forget What He Did For You

How hopeless & exceedingly sinful my life was. I remember the danger I was in, how close to death I had been before I'd been shown mercy.

Before you can judge someone else, look at the pit where you would be in without God's mercy. Only then can you say, "God, I know what You did for me and You can do the same for my friend who is in sin. At one time I was just as wicked in Your sight. I can't judge this friend, because You had mercy on me."

Never forget what I did for you, the incredible mercy I showed you. How many times did I dig you out of something that could have destroyed you? You wouldn't be here without My mercy. - God

Paraphrased, David Wilkerson

Young hearts

Young hearts thrive with a passion that burns like fire. What they believe in has depth and intuition. Their thoughts surpass technicality and their discernment is strong and true. Passion gives dynamics to relationship. And when this passion meets honesty there is openess... there is power, greater than any wisdom of old. Such ardor causes God to share His mysteries and truth to them through His Spirit that lives in their heart. And that is why even though they are of youth they are further and deeper than age. He shares His heart with theirs, knowing their passion and burning to simply be a soul ignited

Freedom Fighters

I don’t know where you endure or who you are, yet I know you are somewhere out there, unnoticed and undone. Even more I know we share the mysteries of the same story.

Our prisons have no walls, our fears torment us and our voices go unheard. It has become the norm to be silenced. No one will see the world through our eyes, like a bird in her cage chasing freedom in every breath. Our lives are not our own yet only we know our own bitterness.

But let us believe that there is a God out there who is a an ever present witness to our lives, a God who doesn’t let any detail go unnoticed..One who will decree justice in our favour for the times we’ve borne the pain that our minds and bodies could not comprehend nor contain.

I hope you are fighting to live that you may make it out a freedom fighter

Dated: July 3rd 2010

Love

Christ lay down his life because He calls us friend. It was not his power nor authority that led him to sacrifice. It was never His law that left him obliged. It was simply that He loved us beyond reason to go the distance. He did this that we may be liberated. He did this because that’s what love does. His love shone brightly even in our darkest night.

Promise

“I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
“For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour… . Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. Fear not: for I am with thee"

— Isaiah 43:1-5 

He has delivered

"In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. . . . He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me. They prevented [came upon] me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay. He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me" (Psalm 18:6, 16-19).

 

Forever Faithful

Savoring new found freedom, I strive to walk out of the past and what it made me. Belittled and heavy laden no longer am I. Instead He calls me beloved one, in spite of my reckless guilt and shame. Holding on to the truth that lingers, I fight the lies that I've been told along, gloom that rings loud in my mind and heart. I fight to believe that I am not what they say but what you bespoke over me. In the chaos of my failures and depravity, I still know that I am not forsaken nor given up on. Walking out of the valley, I look to the light in your kind eyes that draws me away from the voices that embitter and I gaze upon the beauty of who you are and what you have done for me.

Most Holy and sovereign , you drew dear to me in my brokenness and drew me out of deep waters and now I am redeemed by your might hands. The hands that sustained me, now delivered me unto liberty and rest. Let your truth capture me and consume every condemnation. Let me believe that I am wanted and known, that I am of worth and a woman after your own heart in spite of my darkness. I plead that my love for you has never been a facade even though my heart and flesh have failed. And Your love kept me standing as I waited for you to come, it picked up my pieces when I broke my life apart, desperate that you would rescue me. You have always been my portion.. the life in my breath, the strength of my heart. Strong tower and my Savior, I could never compare the undeserved favor you show me to what has been given by any other. You are above all.

Help me find myself again, the person you created me to me, the person made in your image. Cast away the dusk of days gone by, the wounding words of those who no longer consider me their own. Redeem the shadows of who I have become to who I should be. Give me a new song. Pardon my falling out for it has been far too deep to be understood by anyone else but me and You. It was all I ever knew.. I never meant to take away. My testimony compromised by my own unintentional actions, I am tried by those holier than I. The storm, too fierce, my strength failed and I was greatly consumed.

Make all things new. Change hearts. Give them your eyes, that they may be merciful too. Make me better, better than I've ever been, let me seek your excellence in all I do and in who I have become. Tired of unsettling comparisons and doubts, I drown in what I only imagine and think I know. Humbly I come before you and hide no frailty but praise the One who saved one who deserved less.

Thank you for knowing me as I am and as I will be. You have always known my heart. Thank you for your loving kindness even when I deserve none. A sum of my mistakes, yet you died for me. You love me even in my sin and you see the pain that brought me here. You see me in ways no other does. It is your merciful perception that caused you to deliver me for no other man would have done so. Even though you are most holy, you chose to save a sinner, while those who have fallen short would never have. How wonderful you are to love me the way you do. How just you are not to over look the hurt caused to me even though I have hurt in return. You have never given up on me though I grew weary to see you come.

Forever faithful you are.

He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me. They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay. He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me” (Psalms 18:16-19).

Our Stories

The authenticity of our stories lie in giving our characters the benefit of the doubt, respecting their reasons for every failure toward themselves, others and us. This gives our words a stand. This shows our character.. who we are and that our stories go beyond ourselves to see a higher purpose... to bring hope to those whose world collides with ours.