I sorta miss blogging!

I think blogging for me in the last year has just been deleting spam comments on my posts, haha. But whenever i visit my little "moments passed", i get a little nostalgic! I miss blogging!

But who reads blogs anymore? I don't even know!
Praying if you are reading this blog that you are touched in some way today by God's hope, love, joy, and grace. Here's a little passage from John 14 in the message version that has been REALLY stirring in me; especially now around Easter...
God doesn't leave us orphaned or bereft; HIS road is perfect (he is the WAY, the TRUTH (Road), and the LIFE), he love YOU!

^23-24"Because a loveless world," said Jesus, "is a sightless world. If anyone loves me, he will carefully keep my word and my Father will love him—we'll move right into the neighborhood! Not loving me means not keeping my words. The message you are hearing isn't mine. It's the message of the Father who sent me.

^25-27"I'm telling you these things while I'm still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I'm leaving you well and whole. That's my parting gift to you. Peace. I don't leave you the way you're used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don't be upset. Don't be distraught.

::meg

A note about hardships...

This morning I was reading in Numbers (about the Israelites in the wilderness) and I came across something really interesting.

¹ Soon the people began to complain about their hardship, and the Lord heard everything they said. Then the Lord’s anger blazed against them, and he sent a fire to rage among them, and he destroyed some of the people in the outskirts of the camp. ² Then the people screamed to Moses for help, and when he prayed to the Lord, the fire stopped. ³ After that, the area was known as Taberah (which means “the place of burning”), because fire from the Lord had burned among them there.

Notice that it says soon they began to complain about their hardship. God hears what they're saying! He isn't ignoring or denying the fact that the wilderness is hard; it also seems to me that the Israelites had probably been doing alright not complaining up to this point. Obviously WE can see that their complaining spirit had been inwardly bubbling; eventually spilling out of their heart and through their confession. They had gotten comfortable and familiar with the provision/miracle/answer. THIS is when the Lords' anger blazed against them.

In just a few verses later we hear some of what they are complaining about:

“Oh, for some meat!” they exclaimed. ⁵ “We remember the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted. ⁶ But now our appetites are gone. All we ever see is this manna!”

God wasn't mad that it was hard for them. He made them human, he knows its hard but He had equipped them with promise and help in time of need.! Every night He would send manna, it was always there when they woke up each day.

Suddenly, I find myself laughing! If you were to take a literal translation of the word "manna" and insert it into verse 6 it would read something like this:

"But now our appetites are all gone. ALL WE EVER SEE IS THIS UNEXPECTED MIRACULOUS PROVISION!"

That makes the complaint sound kinda funny doesn't it? It should be praise!
I imagine that this is why God turned the place of their complaint to Taberah (which means “the place of burning”). There is no room for provision where complaint lives! So you're refining fire isn't something to rebuke...it is making room for unexpected miraculous provision.

My note about hardships today: God understands your hardship, your wilderness, your pain; and he cares! so much in fact that he DOES supply unexpected miraculous provision and he is working it out in the midnight hours! Pastor Shane said it best "God has his hand on your need and your supply" So let his supply outweigh the hardship, watch your confession and never forget his faithfulness. He has miracles for you today!

//meg

Wonderfully Broken

There's something peaceful about being broken before Jesus - when you come to the end of yourself and realize, again, that He holds you all together. {"Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love." Eph 1:3 (MSG)}

There's something reconciling about being helplessly quiet before the creator of the universe - looking up from the hands that formed you. {"It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone." Eph 1:11-12 (MSG)}

Trust, pray, be still and KNOW that He is God.

{ "My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth." Eph 3:14 (MSG) }

~ When we live in the illusion of entitlement we neglect the power of inheritance and negate the influence of God's blessing. ~
This is true with more than money!

{ "God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us." Eph 3:20 (MSG) }

Graciously saved & Wonderfully broken. Joyfully healed & Continuously praising.

Whether you "tweet" or not :) here are some tweets and tweetERS that i've really loved. God's perspective is everything!
*LisaBevere RT @MattChandler74: When the illusion of control disappears we become men & women of prayer ...may it be so.
*ChristineCaine If you are in a transitional time between "no longer" & "not yet"..don't get anxious..trust that God is in control..His timing is everything
//meg

It's all meaningless.

::a blast from the past::

I love finding old stuff. :) i wrote this my second year of Interns for a "mini sermon." The word of God is ALWAYS relevant though!

**the only thing i would add here is there is amazing, wonderful purpose in the life God put us here to steward... read through before you jump to theological anger ;) to explore that is another post... just sharing my find :)
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It’s all meaningless! Wait, it's ALL meaningless?? The book of Ecclesiastes clearly states that our day-to-day work is not only completely meaningless but also wearisome “beyond description”(Ecc 1:8). The sun rises and sets, generations come and go, the ocean tides rise and fall; yet regardless how many mornings we see the sun faithfully rise, or the miracle of a new life come into the world, we are never truly satisfied. We are never content. Nothing is new under the sun. What is Solomon’s point? What then is there to believe in and if we find an entity on earth to believe in, is it truly reliable? God had revealed to Solomon a most intimate glimpse the only steadfast reality in this life; his relationship with the Sovereign Father. The dictionary defines “trust” as : “reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence.” We know it is the creator that causes the sun to rise, and commissions generations. He is the only one to give the ocean it’s boundaries and His covenant with man is everlasting!

In Mark chapter 5 verses 21-43, Jesus meets a man named Jarius and agrees to go and heal his sick daughter. When Jesus stops to confront the woman with the issue of blood, his daughter dies. While doubt had it’s chance to defile his promise Jesus tells Jaruis “Don’t be afraid, just trust me”(vs 35). Jesus then went to raise his daughter from the dead! How much more faith did Jarius have after Jesus raised his daughter from the dead? Likewise, the woman healed of her issue of blood had even greater faith after Jesus asked “Who touched my robe?”(vs 30) It’s not that Jesus needed to know who touched his robe; but that he wanted her to go beyond knowing that He can heal her by touching his robe and truly realizing that it is Son of Man she must put her trust in. Trust is going beyond the robe; behind the veil. Christ wants to show us his power in our lives! We have to take the step of trust! 1 Peter 5:6-7 says:

"6-7So be content with who you are, and don't put on airs.

God's strong hand is on you; he'll promote you at the right

time. Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you"

(MSG).

I love this picture of God. I can rely on him because he is most careful with me.

I can truly believe and trust in God’s promises even as I am “still and know that He is God!” Trust is a daily surrender, and lifetime of faith. The surety of Christ in me is my hope for today. The trust in Christ for tomorrow is my conviction lived out.

::meg

A Kingdom Cityscape

A 5pm, rush-hour "prayer drive" is great for your faith, AND your ever refining patience. :)

As I drove down the connector today I took a minute to focus past the cars ahead, above the traffic signs, over the tree line and just look at the mountains. I forget to do this A LOT; but when i do, it reminds me of so much: like how God is SO much bigger than my "traffic view" of life.

In the traffic view of life it can get crazy, unsettled, bottle-necked and uncertain. We lose patience, trust, and sometimes control: helplessly stuck in a mess of road rage. Even if we aren't the source of the madness, we have to respond. [Stick with me here] :) so many situational thoughts running through my mind; but it's great to know that God puts a few red lights in front of me; He causes me to wait.
Getting past the sheer inconvenience of slow-merging vehicles; I find myself grateful for the slow downs that make me think about someone else; or make me thankful that no matter when a person finally "merges" (aka salvation); God's gracious to lead us to the same place. :)

Yes, It is SO cheesy yet SO relate-able!

Through it all what greater promise to hold onto than "I will never leave you or forsake you." I love the picture in Psalm 61: "... as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I." Whatever the circumstance/slow down/red light/merging it takes; God keep my eyes fixed on You, my heart transfixed in Your grace, and my hope steadfast in Your will!

So I find myself looking up and I'm so grateful for his grace to even be able to see this Kingdom Cityscape.

{Since God assured us, "I'll never let you down, never walk off and leave you," we can boldly quote,
God is there, ready to help;
I'm fearless no matter what.
Who or what can get to me? }

yet another moment passed; so graciously given with hope and peace and joy

::meg

RE-VI-VAL

Have you stopped to think about what's this word "revival" means that we keep hearing...?

Websters dictionary defines "revival" as:
"restoration to life, consciousness, vigor, strength or the act of reviving."

What does this mean to me? This means that its not just a "one week/month/moment feeling" of excitement or purpose. It's the ACT of RESTORING the kingdom principles on earth! I got this picture of CPR or reviving someone's heart. How effective would that be if you only gave a dying person ONE chest compression. ONE breath? After wards, if they happen to come around you just give them a high five and tell them "well good luck with that!" No, there is a long period of rehabilitation and NEW ways of doing and sustaining life!
Or how about restoring an old car, or a piece of furniture. We (as the church) don't want to be THAT person who start a project just to leave it tired and neglected months later.

So we keep PUSHING, we keep praying, we keep ACTing on the kingdom restoration principles!

I've been so excited about our GCDowntown services. {Thursday Nights, 8pm, at "The Center"}
Seeing College students really finding themselves smack in the middle of God's love and finding their purpose in Him! But I WON'T be found driven by HYPE. I'm constantly asking Jesus to re align my spirit to be driven by HOPE. Christ in me the HOPE of Glory... HIS glory on earth.

My life hope is this: that my life, my mantra would be to reflect God's heart and ACT as an agent {a person or business authorized to act on another's behalf} of revival.

SO I keep running, I keep praying, I keep Hebrews 12:1-3 in my spirit:

"^1-3Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!"

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I've been MIA from the blogging world for months now- but its definitely NOT because I haven't thought about anything for months. HA! {see previous post "Analyze Much?"} :) Therefore, in advance I apologize (in an un apologetically, sardonic sort of way) for the onslaught of thoughts that have either been cooped up in my head or sitting idly in my blogger drafts :)

::meg

All for nothing.

You know the scripture in Luke that says "NOTHING is impossible with God"? Let me tell you I believe it! God has redeemed my life, he's healed my body from a crippling disease, and he's given me a song!

God is in the business of working with a whole bunch of nothing. Better yet:

"First this: God created the Heavens and Earth—all you see, all you don't see. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness." (Gen 1:2 msg)

ALL you see (present purpose) and ALL you don't see (promise).

Luke 1:37 says:

"For nothing is impossible with God

For nothing will be impossible with God.

For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment.

For with God nothing shall be impossible

God can do anything!

For no word from God shall be void of power"

Luke 1:37 in the Message version says:

"Nothing, you see, is impossible with God" (MSG)

To me, this is one of the most beautiful promises given to us. I don't need writing on the wall to believe that God is shaping something out of my nothing. He displayed that on the cross.
I also don't need a dove to dive daily into my room; holding a promise that He'll never leave me or forsake me. He took care of that with a rainbow.

Think on this:If NOTHING is, will be, is ever, and shall be impossible with God :: It is impossible for God to DO nothing when he is on the throne.

SO selah on this for today:{"Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life."} Phil 4:6-7



::meg