His beauty

I sought to see His strength,
Kindness covers my weary cares.
His heart beats hope,
My love finds longing.

Today's Inspiration

April 29, 2009

Gracious Uncertainty

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. . . it has not yet been revealed what we shall be . . . —1 John 3:2

Our natural inclination is to be so precise— trying always to forecast accurately what will happen next— that we look upon uncertainty as a bad thing. We think that we must reach some predetermined goal, but that is not the nature of the spiritual life. The nature of the spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainty. Consequently, we do not put down roots. Our common sense says, "Well, what if I were in that circumstance?" We cannot presume to see ourselves in any circumstance in which we have never been.

Certainty is the mark of the commonsense life— gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life. To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, not knowing what tomorrow may bring. This is generally expressed with a sigh of sadness, but it should be an expression of breathless expectation. We are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God. As soon as we abandon ourselves to God and do the task He has placed closest to us, He begins to fill our lives with surprises. When we become simply a promoter or a defender of a particular belief, something within us dies. That is not believing God — it is only believing our belief about Him. Jesus said, ". . . unless you . . . become as little children . . ." (Matthew 18:3 ). The spiritual life is the life of a child. We are not uncertain of God, just uncertain of what He is going to do next. If our certainty is only in our beliefs, we develop a sense of self-righteousness, become overly critical, and are limited by the view that our beliefs are complete and settled. But when we have the right relationship with God, life is full of spontaneous, joyful uncertainty and expectancy. Jesus said, ". . . believe also in Me" (John 14:1 ), not, "Believe certain things about Me". Leave everything to Him and it will be gloriously and graciously uncertain how He will come in— but you can be certain that He will come. Remain faithful to Him.

Love in the face of fear.

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
They are of the world.

Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them.

We are of God.
He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us.
By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
No one has seen God at any time.
If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.
By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.
Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
And we have known and believed the love that God has for us.
God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment.
But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.
-1 John 4:4-19

This is a hard excerpt from scripture to swallow. The end message is that HE LOVES US, but the first part means we actually have to acknowledge that we know He loves us... and sometimes that's hard to do. We often don't see ourselves as His beloved little children. I don't think I've ever woken up thinking... "I am God's beloved little child." Most of the time I wake up thanking God for who He is, but never considering how He may feel about ME, His child.

It would be a lie to run away from it.

I've been finding it difficult to pull things to the surface. We spend each day surrounded by tasks and interactions with people and to do lists and maybe a friendly conversation or two. It's not too often that I (or others) really sit down and get to the meat of it all. That's what love is. If God is love, then those conversations are essential. God gets down to the bare bone with us because He LOVES US, and in turn, we should do that for one another.

I think the Bible calls it out perfectly - it's fear that paralyzes us from love.

I know I've put some thoughts out there, and to be honest - I don't have an answer for this. I guess that's why I've put it out here... for your input. This is been stretching in my brain the past couple days. Let me know what you think.

Pathways

Right now I'm going through the study of "A 30-Day Walk with God in the Psalms" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. So far it's been amazing journey. Right now we're walking through Psalm 19 and it's probably been the most impacting for me.

Oh how I wish to be the simple made wise. David's desire to be close to the Lord is contagious when you read how beautifully he puts his excitement for the joy of Him.

How often do I radiate His law? I pray that the breeze of the Spirit takes over me as I strive to be well pleasing to Him.

Psalm 19
¹ The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

² Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.

³ There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.

⁴ Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,

⁵ which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

⁶ It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is hidden from its heat.

⁷ The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.

⁸ The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.

⁹ The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure
and altogether righteous.

¹⁰ They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the comb.

¹¹ By them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.

¹² Who can discern his errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.

¹³ Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then will I be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.

¹⁴ May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Updates!

Well, it's been a while since I've blogged. To be honest, I'm not sure anyone reads it anyway...??? Ha, that's ok. If you are reading, here's updates!

My move to Franklin is inching closer!! It's a little over 2 months away and there is a ton of work to be done. We have a lot to do at the house to get it ready... painting, cleaning, putting stuff in the attic, gardening!!! (the back yard is so bad..) and so much more! But we are so excited!

In the midst of getting ready to move, I'm trying to think of a way to bless the people here in Cookeville that have meant a lot to me. People that have really impacted me and been there for me in the past 2 years. Any ideas?

I'm really going to miss this small town. Just popping in The Way With Coffee everyday and knowing each person there and just living life with them.. it's been so cool. It's the best coffee shop I've ever been to. The community is wonderful.

The biggest thing I'm going to miss is being a part of the staff here at The River. These people have been my family. I've learned so much from them. This is the closest Biblical church I've ever seen. God has such a huge hand on this church, it's crazy. Since our start 7 years ago, we've gone from 2 families to now averaging 850 people each week. But it's not about PEOPLE... it's about JESUS. And man... He has done huge things here. It's humbling to see how everyone is dedicated to what God wants and how God can use people's chioce to surrender to His will. It's scary to think that this may be the only time I see God using a church like this. But I pray everyday for Steve's vision of 5555 to become a reality. It's becoming a reality, but it will take some time.

For those of you who don't know about 5555.... In the next 32 years, we feel that God has called us to initiate the following...
5,000 disciples in Putnam County
500 new churches in TN
50 hubb churches (1 per state) that will do the same
5 countries that we will adopt

It's been cool to see how God has already begun this! So far we have 850 disciples, 6 churches in TN, 2 churches in other states, and 3 nations that we've adopted. It's time to start the charge!!

For more info, visit www.therivercc.com.

Let the revolution begin! It begins with us.