Human Frailty; Divine Strength
December 2009
Selfless Savior
In Romans, it says that Jesus never pleased himself. He always lived for others. We on the other hand, are extremely selfish by nature. Without planning, we default to thinking of ourselves and our own needs all day long… And often times, when we do think of others, it is because it is directly connected back to ourselves in some way. Consider these words about Jesus, our perfect example:
Selfless savior, murmerless master
Simply a servant, lovingly last
Father’s faithful, a generous giver
Only for others, always alive
Always alive, always asking
Hoping and seeking
Vessels to break, vessels to fill
Fruit to abide
This truly is the Father’s desire for us, that we would be changed more and more so that we would act and think the same way that Jesus did. He came to earth as a servant, and he lived his life, and even the death he died, was for others. And in all this, he walked in perfect peace with God. How foolishly we try to provide for our own needs, forgetting others, seeking comfort and assurance that only can come through our Father. If we would just learn to submit to his plan, being broken of our selfishness and pride, and begin allowing his peace and love to flow into and through our lives into the lives of others.
What are you living for? Does it bring you true peace?
Lifter of Burdens
I have often found myself in the midst of a difficult situation, trying to reason my way through it to find the correct understanding of every aspect of it. Sometimes it is about relationships, sometimes life circumstances. Either way, when I seek a solution using my own understanding, or worse yet, when I think I have figured it out, anxiety is quick to follow. The reality that I have come to face through experience is that true peace comes only from Jesus, the prince of peace. It is impossible to find rest or confidence in this life by trying in our own strength to produce it. In my attempts to understand or control all of life’s circumstances, I have literally led myself to the brink of insanity. I am so thankful that my Father in heaven has allowed all this to happen, so that I can come to an end of myself more quickly and ask him to give me his peace and security, instead of me trying, and failing, to find it on my own. All I have ever found down that road is more fear, insecurity and depression. Jesus lived on this earth and experienced life just like we do. He understands what we are going through and has the perfect connection with God that we need. When Jesus was on earth, he had God’s power to do miracles and raise people from the dead. How much more easily can he control the situations in our life if we ask him to help us. Not only will he help us, but he will give us his Holy Spirit to live inside of us and help us in every situation to see life from God’s perspective. What an awesome gift! From inside of us, Jesus can truly lift our every burden. Below are the words to a poem that I wrote about these things:
Self righteousness, self deception
Every thought evil since conception
Self confidence, self assurance
House on sand, stable turned nervous
Think for me, speak to me
Save me from insanity
Holy breath, perfect rest
In your grasp I’m safe at last
Your righteousness, true perfection
Overcome evil by faith’s protection
Trust confidence, rest repentance
My heart your home, the lifter of burdens
Your righteousness, true perfection
My heart your home, the lifter of burdens
One day I came home from work and hung my hat on the coat rack. All of the sudden, for no apparent reason, a cloud of despair and depression hovered over me. It was heavy, and it felt so real. Then, just as quickly as it surfaced, a thought entered my mind, “Feelings are feelings, that’s all that they are”. It was a divine suggestion that held power. Trusting in the advice, I realized that no matter how strong our feelings are, they do not have to master us. I focused instead on the Father’s great love for me, and how no matter how dark the day, his light remained the same because he never changes. His awesome love and power is just not dependent on our feelings. I am so thankful that he shows us how to overcome the struggles of this life, so that we can live as his free children instead of being controlled by our feelings. Don’t get me wrong, I still have feelings (strong ones: fear, anxiety, frustration, anger, depression, etc.)… I am just learning that He is bigger than them, so if I will just choose to hold on to what I can’t see or feel, I don’t have to give in and I will again see his love shine through. I scribbled down these words after meditating on that experience:
I choose to trust Jesus
I choose to be free
I’m not gonna let these little things worry me
Feelings are feelings
That’s all that they are
They come without welcome
They cover like a cloud
But Father, you’re faithful
Your love always shines
It penetrates the darkness
With peace deeper than my mind
Listen to Feelings are Feelings
Download Feelings are Feelings
Father You Are
About 4 years ago, I sat overwhelmed on my couch in Kansas. We ourselves were in the midst of a very difficult season, and I had just received phone calls from 3 other places in the country where friends of ours were enduring heavy situations of their own. As I considered the difficulties in the lives of so many people that I loved, a thought came into my mind. Nothing that was happening meant that God was somehow not in control anymore, or that Jesus was not ruling over each situation. Nothing can happen on this earth unless our Father in heaven allows it to. The weight of our difficulties seem at time to be furthest from what we think our Father would want for us, but when we look back we can see his hand was working in all of it to bring us closer to him. It is in love that he allows difficulties, so that we can learn to find our security in the things that will never change, instead of comfortable circumstances that we are prepared to handle. If we put our trust in his love and faithfulness, we will never be disappointed or discouraged about what is happening all around us. I found great encouragement in these simple words of faith:
Father, you are still in control
Jesus, you are still on your throne
Lord, we embrace what you allow
Be still, my soul, and know he is God
He is faithful
He is loving
In his kindness He allows
What is best
Priceless
When you want something really bad, it is hard to wait for it. The longer you have to wait, the more heart sick you get until you have the thing or circumstance that you want. So many people are trapped by this experience, because life never amounts to what they hope it will. Our Father in heaven has a better plan for our life than the depressing experience of always wanting and waiting for certain things in this life that never end up coming about. And even if they do come about, we seem to get bored with that and then want something bigger and better. However, if we will put our longing and hope into a daily, living relationship with him, we will never grow discouraged becuase he will never let us down. Even though we may not understand all that comes our way in life, we can be sure that He is in control, and that He is letting all these things happen so that we can get to know him and learn to trust in Him as our Father. The more we learn to trust him, the more we realize that He does work every situation out for good in the end no matter how it feels at the time. My wife and I have been trying to have children for 6 1/2 years now, without succeeding. When I look back on that time, I can see how smart God is. It has been an awesome 6 1/2 years even though it has been totally different than what we expected. The sweetest thing has been realizing that while you wait for what you want, you wait on Him, and He is better than the thing you are wanting. So, the longer you have to wait, the longer you get to put your hope in Him instead of in the thing you want. From that comes joy and contentment deeper than any child could bring. It is truly priceless.
It is priceless to not recieve
The deepest longing of your dreams
Something better, something unseen
Remains waiting, quietly
I am your shield, your great reward
What else are you hoping for?
Lift your head and joy will come
Am I not better to you than ten sons?
This cherished gift, to you I’d lift
But can I confess
That what I now possess is truly yours?
Modern day Moses
Just like Moses came down the mountain, Jesus is coming back for those who are waiting for him. When he was on earth, he wondered if he would find faith when he returned. Moses returned from Mt. Sinai to find God’s children failing to wait for him. Instead they were doing whatever they wanted and trying to make it spiritual. I hope that is not what we are doing, or we will be surprised on that day. Very surprised. Consider these words:
All it took was forty days
For them to make a god that they could praise
A diety who understands
Their wants, their needs and their demands
Quickly pray and then they play
By design their god had nothing to say
While they indulge their Creator arrives
All those who cannot wait must die
Who is on this side?
What is the reason for your pride?
Why won’t you wait for me?
When have I forgotten your needs?
Draw near you for the Lord
On your side strap your sword
Without favor raise your hand
Purge the evil from your land
When the modern day Moses comes
To gather all his Father’s sons
A faithful family will he find
Or twice dead daughters and sons blind?
Start in my Heart
During an outdoor gathering, as the sun was going down and a brother was sharing his heart; a simple urgency continued to form inside of me. As I considered my great need to become completely like Jesus in every way, I knew that it must start from the deepest parts of my being. This need is so great, that sometimes as I consider it, a desperate longing overwhelms my heart, with desire that expresses itself as begging like a poor man. Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for their’s is the kingdom of Heaven. This is my prayer:
Start in my heart
Break it all apart
Crush all my pride
Fill me inside
Let the river flow
Humility grow
Give me what I need
Plant in me your seed
I am knocking at your door
Here I come again
I am begging you for more
A Work that Lasts
Angela wrote this song shortly before we moved to Missouri. It is a heart cry for something stable, something steady in a life so filled with changes. While we are still learning exactly what that work looks like, we are more convinced each day that the only sure thing that will not be shaken is Jesus, and experienced fully in a life that is abiding in him.
Father, how I love you
I want to see your kingdom come
I’m learning daily how to see
That in your love we can be one
I want a work that lasts
On a strong and sure foundation
That will stand and not be shaken
And endures until the end
Try my thoughts and motives
Change me, Lord, in all my ways
How I long to serve you fully
For the glory of your praise
Lord, you laid your life down
Showing us the way to live
Jesus, help us live for others
Until there’s nothing we won’t give
Listen to A Work that Lasts
Download A Work that Lasts
Desperation
Our Father gives us his own Spirit to live inside of us and enable us to talk to him and understand his immense love for us. God’s love was revealed to us in the life of Christ, who the Spirit reveals as we listen to him. The father’s plan for us is to completely fill us with the life of Jesus, so that we can fully experience him. As we grow in him, this desire he has for us consumes us, so that it becomes all that we want, to be filled completely with him, and to be fully consumed by his love.
Father, I see your son
His compassion, mercy and love
Your desire is real, it fills me
To change me into his image completely
In desperation I cry
Only one thing will satisfy
In desperation I plead
Fill me with your Spirit
Until Jesus is everything in me
I’m longing, I’m yearning
My heart won’t stop burning
This passion, this groaning
My burden is growing
Jesus, I need you
I must be just like you
Father, I praise you
Your Spirit is speaking
Make me a Glass
In Psalm 34 David said, “O magnify the Lord”. The word magnify makes me think of a magnifying glass. Consider a magnifying glass and how it works. If you look through it, it makes everything you are looking at bigger. Also, if it did not have a frame, you wouldn’t really be able to see it. All you would see is whatever was in front of it, BIGGER. That is what I want my life to be. I want people who see my life to see Jesus bigger than they have ever seen him before, and all the while, not even noticing me. Then the Father will recieve all the glory and honor that he deserves, without me getting in the way.
Make me a glass that others look through
Never seeing me, only beholding you
Magnified greater than they ever knew
Before through this window they set their view
For the praise of your glorious grace
And the honor due your name
In the works that you have prepared for me
Father, let me reveal your fame
We’re with You
Here are the words to this simple song about loving and trusting our Father:
We rejoice to be alive
Of all the places we could be
We’re with you
And we long for what you will do today
Your thoughts toward us are great
So we wait — and expect to see
Revelations of your glory
