Hey, Sweet Things!
I’m writing this post to you on Saturday night from the seat of a gigantic United Airlines plane on my connect flight from DC back to Houston. The Living Proof Live team and I had the tremendous privilege of serving in Providence, Rhode Island and God worked in such a distinct way that I will remember it for many years. I hope forever. God is doing something different this year at LPL. I don’t quite know how to define it but I have been flat-on-my-face grateful that He is not only still in it but stirring the pot. Not one of us on the team wants to be there a moment longer than Jesus is. We don’t even want Him to make an obligatory “appearance” because He loves us and feels sorry for us after we’ve scheduled all of this. We want the event to be proactively Jesus for His own sake and for His own glory and because it is a delight to Him and because He looks forward to it. Nothing less than that and, if it’s not that, we want Him to move us each elsewhere.
It’s so strange. We began this year looking back to the previous 15 but, by our 3rd event, it was like we all fixed our faces forward as if nothing in the world mattered but what was in front of us. No “yesterday’s plan.” No “yesterday’s work.” This is today. Something is up. Something new to us. There is something liberating and also a little frightening about just saying to Him, “Do what You want, God. Anything You want. We’re in it with You or we’re not in it at all. All bets are off.” Anyway, I’m not sure why I went off on all of that. God just really has my eyebrows high on my forehead right now wondering what He’s doing.
I have a group of about 30 of you Siestas fresh on my mind because we met up quickly after the event for our group picture. These were your northeastern sisters and the cutest things you can imagine. Well, just like all of you are. All ages and types, with this one glorious bond: the lively love of Jesus Christ. I am so crazy about you guys. I cannot fathom the grace of God to have stirred up a community of encouragement in Christ where relationships really do seem to have some substance to them. It’s an anomaly that still isn’t wasted on me.
You have marked my journey of faith. You’ve encouraged me and made me want to keep running my race energetically and earnestly. You’ve helped me get back up even at times when you didn’t know I was down. You have been a harbor of joy, peace, and laughter in an online Christian world that can be astonishingly fractured. You are a corner of courageous gentleness in a culture that has lost its manners.
And, good grief, you guys have impacted my Scripture memory life so dramatically that I hardly have words. After every Living Proof Live when we meet up for our (clandestine) Siesta picture, I always ask, “Will I be seeing any of you in January at our SSMT celebration?” Invariably there are those who answer with infectious enthusiasm, “YES!” It makes me so happy. The previous celebrations have been like a family reunion on steroids. I hope so much you’re staying up with your Scripture memory, saving your money, and planning to head to Houston that weekend. We aren’t really a beautiful city but we’re a happy one and a hospitable one, I believe I can confidently say. And we can offer you Tex Mex at virtually every four way stop. I mean, what more could you want, people?
The verse I’ve chosen this time around is one God seemed to lift from the page of my early morning Scripture reading last Monday. I continued to say it and pray it throughout the week and referenced it several times this weekend in Providence. It’s easy to memorize and it puts a concept in a nutshell that is as vital as breath to us in this believing life we’re living. Here it is:
Beth, Houston. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. 1 Corinthians 4:20 NIV
God is using it to remind me that this thing isn’t about incessant chatter and nonstop Twitter noise and learning to speak fluent Christianese. It’s not tantamount to Bible banter and doctrinal debates and holy hair-splitting. It’s not about getting together at church and threatening week after week to live changed lives and think renewed thoughts. It’s not about getting all lathered up and sweaty-headed at events over theories of effective, influential, and abundant lives. This Christ thing to which we’ve been called is about actually doing it and through an unction not remotely our own.
When the Holy Spirit comes, He comes with power.
Where the Holy Spirit goes, He goes with power.
Whom the Holy Spirit infiltrates, He infuses with power.
Our lives were meant to be powerful. Less talk. More demonstration. Through things like a love that we know good and well is utterly beyond us and a faith that emerges in tact from a minefield soaked in blood and strewn with flesh. We were meant to be able to do what we can’t, like who we don’t, bless who we’d curse. We were promised strength in weakness and extravagant grace in our deprivation.
We were meant to wonder what has derailed or gone awry when a season of our lives persists in powerlessness for weeks on end. We were promised more than this. We’re not meant to write our own personalized chapters in a revised standard version of The Emperor’s New Clothes so the world could have a harder laugh at us. We who have placed our trust in Christ Jesus, the living, breathing-on-us Son of God, have been clothed with power from on high. (Luke 24:49) And it’s supposed to show.
Every limb of our lives where we welcome the Holy Spirit can be infused with strength not of this world and, yes, even in continued weakness or infirmity, should that be the case of our present calling. The coexistence of the two is the mystery of it. We’re not superwomen. We’re a long shot from perfect. But we were meant to be vividly powerful through the One who saved us and made Himself at home in us. Let’s not forget that today. Let’s not be satisfied just to talk about it. Let’s not just clap and cheer during that part of a service when a pastor or teacher tells us we’re called more than conquerors. The New Testament is not the theory of Christianity.
You may feel powerless right now, Sister, but, if you are in Christ, make no mistake: you are not. Get some backbone back in your prayer life if your spiritual spine has deteriorated. With reverence for His holiness and with the boldness He said we could bring to the Throne of Grace, read to God from His Word where He promised His people victory as they looked to Him alone…
…and where He promised to clothe us in power
…and where He said He’d make Himself conspicuous through our spiritual gifts and through supernatural works in His Name.
If you don’t know where those places are, go hunt them down. (But you could start in Romans 8, Luke 24, Acts 1, Acts 2, 1 Corinthians 12 and Hebrews 4.)
Tell Him you’re going to ask for it and ask for it and ask for it in His great Name and for His glory until He gives it to you and frees you from whatever this present powerlessness is. And then DO IT. Ask and ask and ask and tell Him you will do whatever it takes to cooperate and mean it! Throw your hands out to receive. And, then, when He gives it – and He will – don’t take credit for it. Appreciate it. Thank Him and thank Him for it. Know that it’s grace. Use it audaciously to bring Him attention.
Sister, you cannot fulfill your foreordained purpose without power. Go back after it but, whatever you do, don’t try to get it without Jesus coming with it. Power for power’s sake will blow you up. God-given unction isn’t meant to just come and go with periodic personal revival. We were meant to live powerful lives. Let’s get to them. If you’ve got an area of carnality that is quenching it, I promise you it’s not worth it. Believe me, I’ve been there. Repent, turn from it and get on with it. You’ve got a calling. And it takes divine power.
You mean so much to me. Hold tight to Jesus.
Tags: Scripture Memory 2013
For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. Hosea 6:6 (ESV)
“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Galatians 6:10 NIV
Kay Martin
Tupelo, MS
My response to relational hurt, over time, is simply to give up and withdraw. There comes a point when my heart can take no more and so I withdraw, quietly. (Let me say, I do speak up first during the relationship, I’m not talking about passive aggressive stuff here.)
So, I need this verse because I find myself doing that with my grown children. They are married and have children. I adore my grandchildren, but I cannot compete with the other grandparents. I don’t even want to compete with them. I’d love it if we all shared and loved and adored our grandchildren.
But, I have boys, and boys go where their wives go. Countless holidays–Christmas, Thanksgiving, Fourth of July, summer vacations, camp at the other grandma’s house– are all part of my grandchildren’s lives. My kids moved to the hometowns of Nashville and Detroit to be near their wive’s families. After a few years of trying to find ways to insert myself into my grandchildren’s and children’s lives, and never really finding that way that wasn’t already occupied by their friends, other grandparents, work, vacations and so forth, I found myself withdrawing from my own children and grandchildren. And, yes, I spoke to them asking how I could be more involved in the grand kids’ lives first.
Come babysit for a week, so the parents could go someplace? They found that sweet but not necessary. The kids are with her parents, thanks anyway.
The grandkids could come to me for a week? I’ll pay to fly them here? Oh mom, how nice, but the other grandparents paid for them to go to camp this summer and there isn’t another week. What about next year? How about I come for the holidays and spend a week? I could help with the cooking and shopping and keep the kids occupied to give you two a break. Great idea mom, but her parents already made plans for the holidays. (this is in June).
My response is always the same, “Well, have fun!”
I really don’t want to cause problems with their marriages, either. “YOur mother is SO DEMANDING,” or whatever.
So, I’ve spent the last few years working hard at my job, and making friends and basically “accepting” that I have no place in their lives. After awhile, it just hurts too much to see yet another picture on facebook of a Sunday afternoon over at Grandma’s house, and me pressing like or saying something like “Oh, what a fun day ya’ll must have had!”
I really did not know what else to do, except protect my heart from the heartbreak of being excluded, whether intentional or not. And, reminding myself that they live in the same town,, what do I expect?
This verse seemed to say that I did not have to withdraw. That God could protect my heart and I could love anyway. Even if they never allow me into their lives and busy schedules. I had just never considered that before. I had told God that I was so tired of being heartbroken over all of it that I just needed to withdraw, and so I did, to protect my heart.
This thought doesn’t seem to go with the verse really, but the thought of God being the protector of my heart and not myself is brand new to me. The thought that he even knows I’m hearbroken is brand new to me. So, I can begin to “un-withdraw” and while, it won’t change the circumstances, i.e. I don’t see my daughters-in-law suddenly making room for me, (and they do like me, they just adore their own moms), it will change me. Huh.
Sorry this was a processing comment!
Ephesians 1:17 (NIV)
17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[a] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
Dee, Zeeland, MI from NIV84
Jeremiah 15:16 “When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God Almighty.”
Stacey Gaines
Corpus Christi, TX
“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight…”
(Philippians 1:9, NIV)
Sherri, Marietta, GA: “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” Matthew 11:30 NKJV
Kim from Bloomington, IL
For God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.
Romans 11:29 NIV
Dori
Meridian, ID
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances;
For this is God’s will for you in Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Julie
Tallassee, AL
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. John 15:18 ESV
Debbie Nicholson
Gulfport, MS
..then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. Proverbs 3:10
Jeannie, Charlotte
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Heb. 11:1, ESV
“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” -1 Corinthians 4:20 [NIV]
Kasey from GA, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.”
1 Corinthians 4:20 NIV
Nancy, Versailles Ky
A good one for me this week, as I continue with Psalm 71
“But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.”
Psalm 71:14 NIV
Walker, LA:
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:26 NIV)
Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You. Jeremiah: 32:17 NKJV
Sarah, Oklahoma City, OK. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. (1 Corinthians 4:20 NIV)
Katie g; Knoxville, tn
Soo planning on coming in January for celebration with my Sister.
“But He said to me, ” my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV
Angela, Warsaw
Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. Romans 14:6 (NIV)
Alicia, OKC
“The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so quit before the quarrel breaks out. “Proverbs 16:14 ESV
Andrea, Cartersville;GA: “You’re blessed when you are at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.” Matthew 5:3 The Message
Jo Ann, Philadelphia. “Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14 (NASB)
Melissa, Columbus, OH
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. Col. 4:6 ESV
Elvira. Grande Prairie, Alberta
1Chronicles29:11. NET
“O Lord, You are great, mighty, majestic, magnificent,
glorious and sovereign over all the sky and earth!
You have dominion and exalt Yourself as the Ruler of all!”
Laura, Minneapolis.
“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge.” 2 Peter 1:5, ESV
Redfield, AR
[12:1] Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)
Mark 11:24 Therefore l tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Suzie, Wenona,MD; Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving. Colossians 4:1 NASB
Tamara Ward
Alexandria, VA
“If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot disown Himself.”
II Timothy 2:13 (NIV)
I love the Lord because he hears
and answers my prayers. Because he bends
down and listens, I will pray as long as I have breath!
(Ps.116:1-2)
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 (NIV)
Shantha, Lincoln, RI
Sacramento,CA
Your word is a lamp to my feet and
a light for my path. Psalm 119:105 NIV
Diane – Roswell, GA
“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” 1 Corinthians 4:20 NIV
When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness. (Proverbs 31:26 NLT)
Kim Baker, Louisville, KY
James 1:16 ESV
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
Rachel, Ft. Smith, AR
“God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to Him for protection.” Psalm 18:30 (NLT)
Linda, Little Rock, AR For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. 1 Cor 4:20 ESV
Jill E., Export PA
“And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” Romans 5:3-5 NIV
Jody from Traverse City, MI
If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling,
~Psalm 91:9 (NIV)
Cheryl, Huntington, WV Yours O Lord is the greatest and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. I Chronicles 29:11 ESV
Jessica from Clare, MI
If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling,
~Psalm 91:9 (NIV)
Kristy from Tallahassee, FL says:
“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.”
1 Corinthians 16:13 NIV
Ali C., Pleasanton, CA- For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. 1 Corinthians 4:20 (ESV)
Judy from Gladwin, MI
If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling,
~Psalm 91:9 (NIV)
Bethany, Evart,Michigan The steps of a good man are
ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way.
Psalms 37:23 NKJV
Cindy Cannon, Otterville, IL
The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense.
Proverbs 27:9 (NLT)
Kelly, auburn, al – Taste and see that The Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him. Psalm 25:8 NLT
Danielle from Cedar Park, TX
Who am I, my Master God, and what is my family, that you have brought me to this place in life?…You’ve done all this not because of who I am but because of who you are – out of your very heart!
2 Sam. 7:18,21 (MSG)
7/1/13 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings. Jeremiah 17:9-10. NKJV