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
Barb, Urbandale, IA
For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace
Romans 8:6 (NASB)
Julie Payne, Muskogee, OK. The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense. (Proverbs 27:9 NLT)
Lydia, Warman, Canada
Ps. 19:14 NIV
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Lisa from Arlington, Tx
Psalm 116:2 NLT
because He bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath.
Emily, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life. (Psalm 143:8 NIV)
Thanks, Kimber Blount from Panama City, FL!
Sarah, San Diego
“Let the beauty of The Lord my God be upon me…
Psalm 90:17a
Sandy, Niamey, Niger, West Africa
“The Lord foils the plans of the nations; He thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations.”
Psalm 33:10-11 NIV
Charlotte, England
“I lift up my eyes to the mountains – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth” Psalm 121: 1-2 (NIV)
Paula Stemple, Marlinton, WV
(2 Timothy 1:9 NIV)
He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,
Beth Beckerman Mt. Carmel, IL
Ps 32:7 NIV
“You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble & surround me with songs of deliverance.”
Kathi Jacksonville, Fl “Remember the command that Moses the servant of the Lord gave to you, ‘The Lord your God is giving you rest and has granted you this land.’ Joshua 1:13 NIV
Mary Jane, Wilmington, DE
“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11:24 NIV
Doris, Whiteville, NC
Joshua 1:9 ESV
Have I not commanded you? “Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for The Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14 NASB
Betsy from Westerville, Ohio
Ephesians 2:10
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed.
Psalms 20:4
Elaine, Jefferson, Ga
Verse 14: Heb 11:14-12:1
God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. 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 perseverence the race marked out for us.
Heb. 11:40-12:1 NIV
Sara, Garden City, KS
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Romans 8:37 NIV)
Megan
Goodlettsville, TN
Isaiah 12:2 (NIV)
“Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.”
Gina from Ruston, LA
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31, 32 NIV)
Tammy from Fort Myers, FL “I, Wisdom, share a home with shrewdness and have knowledge and discretion.” Proverbs 8:12 HCSB
John 7:37-38 NIV “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him”
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10 NIV)
Psalm 11:6-7 NIV
The lord protects the simple hearted ; When I was in great need, He saved me, Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord God has been good to you.
Lynn, Pittsburgh ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Jer. 29:11 NAS
Laura, Townsend, MA
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
James 4:10 NIV
Jody in Huntsville AL
Romans 12:2 NIV
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test what God’s will is- His good, pleasing and perfect will.
Bridget Cadillac, MI
You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. James 4:3 (nkjv)
Toni, Argyle, TX
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? NASB
Toni, Argyle, TX
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword?
Romans 8:35. NASB. (I forgot to put the reference when I posted this the first time. Sorry!)
Brenda Cousino, Frisco, Texas
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1 ESV)
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8 (NIV)
Lori, Waxhaw, NC
Teresa Tyler TX
Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.” (Psalms 50:15 NLT)
2Chronicles 20:20
Believe in The Lord your God and you will be established:believe his prophets and you will succeed.
Kim, Frankenmuth, MI
“Give and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be paid into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” -Luke 6:38 NIV
Ellen, Chattanooga, TN
“The Lord is like a father to His children, tender and compassionate to those who fear Him. For He knows how weak we are; He remembers we are only dust. Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die. The wind blows and we are gone—as though we had never been here.” Psalms 103:13-16 NLT
Amber from Manor Texas: Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 17:8 NIV
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, bit of power. I Corinthians 4:20 NIV
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. 1Corinthians 4:20 (NIV)
Ohio
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.
1Cor. 4:20 NIV
Tara, Eustis
Psalm 63:8
My soul clings to you, your hand upholds me. NIV
Joyce, Wahpeton ND
Romans 8:31 ESV
What then shall we say to these things?
If God is for us, who can be against us?
“The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life.”
Proverbs 31:11-12 (ESV)
Cathy Morris Sedona, AZ Eph 3:17b-19 NIV
” And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all fullness of God.”
Vanessa, Anderson, SC:
“Pleasant words are like honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.” Proverbs 16:24 (NKJV)
Riverton UT
For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. (Philippians 2:13 NLT)
Daniela
Abingdon, MD
1 Corinthians 4:20 NIV
Stephanie McKenzie
Red Deer, Alberta
Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. (Psalm 86:11 NIV)
Tonia Booker from Meridian, Idaho
Galatians 5:1
It is for freedom that I have been set free
Tiffany, Nampa, ID
Psalm 139:14 NLT
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous-how well I know it.
Anne Boschma | Phoneix | AZ
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. | Micah 6:8 NIV