Reminding Ourselves Who We Really Are

Today's post on SCL was so well-done, I had to share it. Again, ProdigalJon hits on how we tend to accumulate insecurities and how difficult learning who we really are vs. who the world and our defeatest selves say we are can be.

It's a weird paradox: we know that we all fail at some point (and God knows that more than anyone), we all find it stupidly necessary to, at times, point that out to each other (which causes immense regrettable damage, for which we later beat ourselves up because we've failed, yet again)...but God is the one person who calls us by a new name and not by all that stuff. He's the one person who should rightfully be calling out our faults, and yet He stays His hand and calls us son & daughter. Read this, if you would. ProdigalJon does a much more eloquent job than I could.

Insecurity?!

If I ever find myself in Perth, Australia this will be my church. Riverview's messages always come so poignantly and perfectly in my life. This message is incredibly encouraging to me in my struggle with insecurity and wondering what I am good at and what I am made for. It fills me with confidence in who God is and who I am. I hope it does for you too.

I know listening to sermons take time, so I just pop them on while I'm checking my e-mail. God always brings the right words to my ears even while I'm doing other things.

If y'all do listen, let me know what you think? I hope that these postings are helping encourage you guys as much as they are me.

Quote of the Day

"If we do not fill our minds with guilt and self-recriminations, we will recognize our incompleteness as a kind of spaciousness into which we can welcome the flow of grace."

~ Gerald May

For an explanation, go here

Love Wins

My good friend, Harley, shared this sermon with me. It's simple but it might just change your life.

God's Promise to Redeem our Families

Redemption can start with us, and it can spread in every direction.

My family is a perfect example right now that God is indeed faithful and that our efforts to seek Him are never in vain. I choose to stand for Him, come what may. That's all He asks in the entire chapter I read today (Deuteronomy 30), and compared to the volume of promises He makes in it, giving Him that honor that He is already due is more than reasonable (see Romans 12 for reference).

Becoming Who We Always Have Been - Only Better

If I haven't said it enough, this website is brilliant. I loved today's perspective on becoming who we are, not someone else. I find in it great freedom in trusting God with my growth and development, and freedom from poisonous comparisons and feelings of doubt. Give it a read.

Feeling Unqualified for "That Thing"

I love it when God speaks to us through His people. If you haven't been turned onto the site "Stuff Christians Like" yet, I suggest you take a peek. Just for grins. This guy has God's voice in a very real and human way. Encouraging. Challenging. Graceful. Humble. Today's posting was on feeling "less-than"...something that I think we all deal with in one way or another. It struck me, so I thought I'd share. Enjoy.

God's Promises

I am so glad that Jesus picked this passage in Isaiah (see below) to read when He was in the temple. It is messianic, for sure, but it also speaks of a broader promise, and reveals something of God's character. He is the God of redemption, of second chances, and the God of love. He is a God who sees the plight and feels the pain of His children, and in the right moment, He will come down and proclaim 'the year of His favor'. Translation: The time will come when He turns the tables and begins His redemptive work.

By far, His greatest work was finished on the cross. But He still longs to do smaller, yet still powerful works in each of our lives. Release from addiction, comfort for those suffering, freedom from the lies of the enemy. When God comes, He brings with Him love to comfort, power tools to do the redemptive work (some might call this strength, but i prefer to see him with a powerdrill!), and clarity. He always comes with clarity. Because there is no confusion with God. He is true and righteous. And that's good news.

If you are one of my many friends struggling right now (it seems we all get accosted with life at the same time, doesn't it?! i have theories on that), know this: God is faithful. He will deliver you. He promises it. Read Isaiah's words below and take comfort. Lean on Him, not your own understanding. He is already at the door, ready to save. :)

Isaiah 61
The Year of the LORD's Favor
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,

2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,

3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.

4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations.

5 Aliens will shepherd your flocks;
foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.

6 And you will be called priests of the LORD,
you will be named ministers of our God.
You will feed on the wealth of nations,
and in their riches you will boast.

7 Instead of their shame
my people will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace
they will rejoice in their inheritance;
and so they will inherit a double portion in their land,
and everlasting joy will be theirs.

8 "For I, the LORD, love justice;
I hate robbery and iniquity.
In my faithfulness I will reward them
and make an everlasting covenant with them.

9 Their descendants will be known among the nations
and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge
that they are a people the LORD has blessed."

10 I delight greatly in the LORD;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise
spring up before all nations.

Breaking Generational Cycles

I read this post today, and I found it really encouraging. I'm realizing that sometimes God sends us through trials not just because we were the ones to do something wrong, but because He wants to break down something that's way bigger than us. We have a part in it, for sure, but it's not just us being losers out in left field. It's the opposite: it's God saying that He believes we're strong enough to stand in the gap and that this pain cycle can stop with us, and He's all about making it happen through us. It's Him saying that He will give us the strength and that He's found us faithful. Please take a minute to read this and see if God has something in it for you.

Sanctus Real

You know how sometimes it can feel like that guy on the radio (or the TV) is talking directly to you in a way that kinda creeps you out? Well, I had one of those experiences today while listening to my XM Radio. The band was Sanctus Real and the song was "Whatever You're Doing". Give it a listen, wouldja?