For This Cause

Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are you a king then?" Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."

For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world. For this cause. For the cause of His body. For the cause of Christ. For the cause of His Kingdom. For the cause of the cross. For the cause of truth.

Not for my cause. Not for my dreams. Not for my ambitions. Not for my hopes. Not for my kingdom.

But for His cause. For the cause of people. For the cause of salvation. For the cause of redemption. For the cause of Godliness.

"For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."

Awake and Alive

Don't you love a great song? One of those that encourage and pump you up like Eye of the Tiger did for Rocky? I have one of those songs. It speaks my heart and sets fire to my spirit. The song is called Awake and Alive by Skillet. I relate to the second verse the most. The words are as follows:

I'm at war with the world cause I
Ain't never gonna sell my soul.
I've already made up my mind
No matter what I can't be bought or sold.

When my faith is getting weak
And I feel like giving in
You breathe into me again.

I'm awake, I'm alive
Now I know what I believe inside
Now, it's my time
I'll do what I want 'cause this is my life
Here, right now
Stand my ground and never back down
I know what I believe inside
I'm awake and I'm alive

That's my heart ~ I will never sell my soul and I can't be bought or sold. I'm sold out and in love with my Lord and Savior. I am so excited about Him, His Word, and forever committing my life to Him. And I love when He breathes into me. Don't you? It's the most incredible experience EVER. He's such a mighty and powerful God.

I pray for you that He breathes into you as well. I pray you find the strength in Him to stand your ground and never back down. Never back down to this world and what society says is true and right. Never back down from God's ways and thoughts. Never back down. Stand on God's truth. He's the only One who can make you and keep you awake and alive !

Passion

As Pastor Miracle was speaking New Year's Eve. about becoming restless in our lives, I began to relate to his message. I, too, was finding myself in a daily battle with self. I was in continual conversation with the Lord asking, pleading, and begging for answers about life and purpose that seemed to never be found. On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the greatest, I found myself a 10 on the restless meter. I had lost my focus on the real purpose for my life; the purpose of sharing the love of God. I ultimately had lost my passion for Jesus.

As I went to God with this new revelation, I became aware of these truths:

I can not try to intellectualize who God is. Trying to "figure God out" is futile and I need to stop it. My mind can not comprehend His ways, His wonders, or His mighty acts. I had begun to allow my intellect to hinder my passion for Him. The constant asking of why and how had detoured my focus from others to me. I had become self focused. I allowed my inability to understand my surroundings cause my relationship with Jesus to suffer.

While God was showing this truth to me, I realized that God is a heart doctor. He is the Ultimate Cardiologist as He deals with the matters of the heart. God does heal our minds, He created them, but most of the issues we have that we consider "mental issues," such as stress or depression can be linked to heart issues. We will find when our hearts are whole and healed, we will have fewer mental worries.

I feel like one of the greatest truths God showed me during this time was that people will respond to me when I present the gospel to them with my heart, my heart of passion, rather than my intellect. Passion provokes people. It will provoke them either positively or negatively and I must be prepared for both.

I want passion. Passion for my Jesus and passion for souls. I know as my passion for Christ comes alive so will my passion for His creation.

A heart for Him = His heart. And His heart is my absolute goal.

2011

After reading the book, Radical, I have come to understand the idea of discipleship a little better. You see, David Platt, the author of Radical explains how in today's Christian culture, we tend to go to church with a mindset of receiving. I know I have for years. But the real need is for us to attend with the motivation to reproduce. Receiving the Word spoken is beneficial to me, but reproducing the Word spoken is beneficial to others and helps promote discipleship. Today, I have chosen to reproduce the Word I received last night at Strong Tower New Year's Eve service.

Pastor Miracle made the following thought provoking points:

1. The secular world doesn't think much about the church and we (the church) have given them every reason to think this way.
Why? you ask. Because we (the church) have been so self consumed that we do not put the needs of others before our own, but are focused every day for ourselves. We have been living day to day in survival mode. We have a spiritual struggle just to get in our Word, to pray, and to reject temptation. The focus on self denotes a problem within - this problem hinders my (and your) ability to disciple others, to share Christ with them, and to be a Light to the hurting in my community. This focus on self moves me into a spiritually dry place in my life because I am neglecting what I am designed to do. I will be complacent, discontent and restless.

2. We the Body of Christ must go back and seek out the old paths.

Jeremiah 6:16 sates:

"This is what the LORD says:

'Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.

Today's world is full of hopeless, hurting people. Every day people are leaving this Earth without Jesus and we the Body of Christ are designed to do something about it. Jesus left us on Earth to do a work in the world and He left us with the help of the Holy Spirit. I as a Christian am on this planet today to bear witness to the Light of Life. When I seek and fulfill what I am designed to do, I will find rest for my soul. Jesus has commissioned me, as part of His body, to compel others into His Kingdom.

3. There needs to be a move of God in our individual lives.
I must seek a heart of flesh. My heart must be pliable, soft, and tender. If I do not have compassion and a love for God's creation then I am going to find it difficult to reach out to them. Seeking God's heart must be a priority in my life. I must also understand that revival in my life is something I must overtake. The woman with the issue of blood overcame Jesus and received her healing. She went to Jesus, much like I must go after Him; hungry and thirsty. My passion for Christ must be alive! Without passion, I am just another monotonous voice.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how restless are you? Do you find yourself struggling within, asking God questions, seeking out answers that never seem to be found? Have you forgotten the purpose for which you were saved? If so, seek out the old paths and find rest for your soul.

A Call to Repentance

I was thinking today about the word (or idea) that is going forth into the congregation of which I am a connected. The word is relationship. The idea is relationship leads to desperation and that desperation leads to revival. When I hear the word revival, many thoughts come to mind. I think of energetic services where people are uninhibited in their praise. I think of excitement and enthusiasm and people passionate for the things of God. And I think of what it will take to bring revival into my life and into the lives of those around me. I truly wonder how many people are willing to pay the price in order to receive revival in their lives. Or is there a price to pay?

Often times when I hear the word revival it is followed by a well known scripture from Joel that states, "And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth..." Joel 2:28-30

Verse 28 begins with these words, "And it shall come to pass afterward..."

After what?

To find that answer we must look back to verse 12 in that same chapter. It states, "Now, therefore," says the Lord, "Turn to me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning." So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God..."

It is a call to repentance. Anytime we are turning to the Lord, we are turning away from ourselves. We choose Him, His thoughts, and His ways. God is asking us to turn to Him with all our hearts. It's so easy to say He has all my heart when in reality He does not. I have to ask myself what I truly spend most of my time doing, what are my loves, and how do I spend my money? That will give me a good idea of what my heart is truly set upon.

The scripture also states we turn to Him with fasting, weeping, and mourning. True repentance is not merely an outward demonstration, but an inward heartrending brokenness for our sins. True repentance leads to holiness. Weeping and mourning will come as we cry out for His mercy and forgiveness after realizing our desperate need for salvation. We turn our hearts to Him and He pours out His Spirit upon us.

My Friends

Friends are so very precious and I am so honored to have some of the best people in the world as my friends. We have laughed together, shared together, and fought together. We make one another better and have the honor of praying for and empowering each other. It's great having friends to minister the gospel with. I have no doubt that God has brought us together for His purpose and a great purpose that is. He must love us to give us such great friends.