Day by day You waken me, put the wind beneath my feet.
The title of this entry comes from the Shawn McDonald song, ‘I am nothing’, its an incredibly powerful song. Shawn basically is explaining why we are nothing without the love and power of God. That we are nothing if we don’t have Him to guide us, we only have power if He is with us, we only have peace through His grace, only mercy through His forgiveness. Its an awesome song, the chorus states: “I long for the water, it brings life to me, Yes I long for the truth, oh, its sets mine free” The second verse is really the most powerful, one that always stirs my soul when I hear it: “I am nothing without you, only the dirt beneath your nails, my heart is bruised and its broken and my soul is very frail, please give me a reason, a name to a nameless man, and no longer this broken treason, only on your I will stand.” Think about that. What he is saying that he knows that he cannot do it on his own, that his heart and soul are battered and torn from the battle between the flesh and the spirit, he is crying out to God saying, “Give me a name! Give me your power, your peace, without You, I am merely the dirt beneath your nails” How powerful is that? I know I feel that way, a lot; it’s hard to be human, even more so, it’s hard to be a Christian in the world today. It’s a constant battle, a constant struggle to see the things of the world, see those who walk in sin and evil getting what they want, while I struggle. Its hard to remember that God is always with me, its hard for me to realize that I’m never truly alone, that God loves me at my absolute worst, and at my absolute best. God doesn’t care if I wake up early enough to put on makeup and dress nicely, God doesn’t care if I don’t do my run every day and get cranky and feel fat. God is there, with me, always, always, always. He has never left me, and He never will. At the times in my life where I had hit absolute rock bottom He was there wiping away the tears and cradling me in His arms, and He was there standing with me when I accomplished those things that are so important to me, He was always there. He doesn’t want to leave me, and God knows, I don’t want Him anywhere but right with me, I know that without Him, without His guidance, I would make some pretty crap decisions and my life would be nothing compared to what it is now, what it will be as I walk with Him along my life’s path. I know that my desires and life will be great, because I’ve given everything over to Him, and trust me, I’m happy to have the burden lifted. All I give in return is what He has commanded of me. Which brings me to the purpose of this entry. I’ve been reading Louie Giglio lately, his book, I am not, but I know I AM is truly wonderful. It explains in great detail and great form that we are small, and God is BIG. His vastness is infinite, and we are just little ants on this little blue planet in this little solar system in this little corner of this little galaxy of this BIG universe. He explained, (as my previous entry on Louies ‘Indescribable message explains in further detail) that it must be understood that we are small, and that God is vast and real. That we are ants on an ant hill in Africa compared to Him, and yet, He knows us each by name, and loves us so much that He sent His own child to die for us, even before we were born, He loved us. If it had been just me on the planet, He would have come and died for just me. Imagine that! What love! I’ve been reading this book and listening to Shawn and Kutless and Chris Tomlin, and Jeremy Camp most of this trip and I’ve been realizing more and more that there are several commandments that God gives us, that are so simple, and yet so hard for us to do. We all know what they are, those who have been through any kind of Bible study usually hear them all the time, say, “Oh ya, I need to work on that” and then forget them the second you walk out of the door. It comes to me very clear recently. As I said in previous entries, this summer has been a big life changing time, I’m finally seeing what God really has in store for me, what I’ve done wrong, what I’ve don’t right and were I need to go. I’ve grown infinitely these last few months, and I’m really loving the woman of God that I’m growing up to be. I said it earlier, that I’ve finally learned to just give God my life, give him my power and completely surrender to His will, to walk hand in hand with Him throughout my life and just bask in His peace. He commands only that I believe in Him and trust in His will for me and His will for the world. I’m very happy to do this, and because of the love that I have for Him, I desire to fully submit to the commands that He has given to all of us.
I. We are called to spread the Word to the world. Matthew 5:13-16: "13"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."
Spread the word? Why do that? Well, because God commanded it, that should be enough, but since we’re human lets look at this logically, shall we? What spreads information accurately? Usually it’s first hand sources, like the Bible. Gods Holy Word, given to us to use as a tool to grow, to know His will, His commandments, and to show us, most importantly, how much He truly loves us! This is always the most reliable source. However, God commands us, as Christians to go forth and salt the earth. To spread the love of Christ to others who will (hopefully) see His joy and power in us. Why do it? Well, I don’t know about you, but I like people, I like live people (although my job deals with mostly dead not so fresh ones), and I am personally not inclined to see people suffer, think about what Hell is, an endless sense of falling (think of those awful dreams where you wake up with a start because you’ve been dreaming of falling off a building or some other high edifice, (they usually happen when you fall asleep in class, you know, that embarrassing moment when you hit the ground and you wake up and knock your papers off your desk and you give yourself away.) Endless falling, mingled with complete and utter darkness, like, cant see your hand in front of your face darkness, the heavy inky blackness like at the bottom of the sea where there’s absolutely no light and those really nifty looking glowy fish with big teeth and little lights hanging in front of them (see ‘finding nemo’ for more details); screaming everywhere, screams of torment, absolute painful loud and terrified screams, every day, all day, forever; and finally that lovely feeling of being burned alive, with no refreshment, just burning, forever. What worse punishment can you think of? Would you want to go there? Of course not, that’s why Christ came and sacrificed Himself for us, to save us from that, all you have to do is believe in Him and your in a really great place (no income tax, free private real-estate, great music, oh ya, and this really great guy God, always with you, and I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a few zillion questions for the big man when I get up there…”Lucy!! You got some ‘splainin to do!!! Hahaah) So do you want to send someone to the fiery, fally, loud, hot place, or the really cool, tax free, rockin sounds place? Hmmm… Lets see, DUH! So this is why Christ commands us to share this wonderful story, to save as many people as we can, I love people, I want lots and lots around me when I get up there, I don’t want to leave anyone behind, I want some rockin neighbors, I want to throw some really great pool parties, what’s a heavenly pool party without God and people to come play Marco Polo?
II. We are called to worship, to make a joyful noise, Psalm 100 " 1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. 3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his ; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;his faithfulness continues through all generations."
You mean like sing all the time? No, please, really, Josh Groban, Sarah McLauchlan, Shawn McDonald, no they are more than welcome to sing all the time, but really, some of us, really, just worship. God gave us eardrums for reasons, so we’ll leave that constant singing to angels and the kids with the gifts, cool? No. Louie Giglio is a big supporter of this one. He’s got his hands in a lot of really great Christian acts (see the set list for Passion ’07, which everyone should join us in attending by the way). He’s absolutely right. God has called us to worship, all the time, never ceasing, and always worship. Look around you next time your outside; the Bible says Psalm 19:1-2 "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge." Just look around, look at the absolute beauty around us. The trees, the flowers, the gorgeous animals. Look on the inside; think about the intricacies of the human body, it’s just an absolutely gorgeous system. All are the creations of the Lord. What does God NOT deserve credit for? (porn and that other crap excluded, can we say…eww). Louie explains it best, that we should always be in an attitude of worship, that the joy in us should just pour out of us every moment, and its true. Worship in prayer, in singing (if you can hehe) in whatever talent God has given you, worship Him, for He is worthy to be praised! I have friends who are amazing vocalist, amazing pianists, amazing songwriters; they praise Him with their music. I praise Him with my skills at writing, with my artwork, with my oratory skills (when I’m ready to talk, I can talk. Trust me, I’m an excellent debater). You may praise Him in running your business in fairness and in equality, or spreading knowledge to your students, to your friends. Whatever you do, whatever God has given you, do it all in His name, with praise on your lips always. Its easy to forget that God has given each of us very specific talents, and that He intends those talents to be used in some way to further His plan and to glorify the father above. It’s easy to look around and see what your really good at, what is your passion? What makes your soul burn, what makes your mind race with ideas? Got it? Good. Now go forth and prosper!
III. We are called to love one another, as we love ourselves, to be an example, John 13:34-35 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
Love one another, like your know, hippy stuff? No, God commands that we love our friends and our enemy’s alike. To recognize that Christ, in His infinite wisdom and compassion came and died for ALL of us, not a select few, and certainly NOT because we deserved it. We’re all sinners and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). However, we’re all human. It is part of our fleshes nature to want to love some and hate others; God speaks much to this being wrong. We are to love everyone as we love ourselves, to turn the other cheek when our enemies attack us. Look at the hate in the world. Its enslaved whole nations and races, its segregated women and men, its deified some and demonized others, turned brother against brother. We all recognize how this is wrong; God calls us to be the exception to the rule, to love others, no matter what they’ve done to you, to turn the other cheek. This doesn’t mean that these people are not wrong, this simply means that, as opposed to your human nature telling you to strike back, that your Christian nature should prevail and that you should forgive and forget. It’s hard, really really, REALLY heard, that’s not denial, but try it sometime. Trust me, people notice. Remember that old saying your parents and pastor said over and over and OVER again? ‘You’re the only Jesus some people are going to see’, This isn’t saying you’re a god, duh, this means that your, as a Christian, as part of Gods chosen people
(not the Jews, duh again, welcome to the Christian nation, Gods chosen people post resurrection) your responsibility is to represent, like thug represent, (fingers and hands waving wildly). Your job is to show the principles of our nation, love, forgiveness, respect, compassion, worship etc. As a Christian you may be the only Bible someone gets to read, your on watch 24-7 to the world, we are to be in the world but not of it, to be a light, to show that we are different, to love all without question, to understand, and offer guidance that will (hopefully) lead someone directly to Christ’s feet, and not to hells pit. So go on, throw a hug around, tell people you love them (refrain from gushing to members of the opposite sex un less you know them well, as this could lead to problems, haha)
Of coures, these are only three of the many commands that God has given us, this will surely be an entry that will be elaborated upon many times. There is another song, by Mr. McDonald, that must be remembered as well, for in Christ, we are ALL free...
"You said your burden is light & Your load is no more
You said your ways are right & in you I will soar
I want to be free, Free to dance & free to sing
Free to live & learn & free oh, free to be me"
I. We are called to spread the Word to the world. Matthew 5:13-16: "13"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."
Spread the word? Why do that? Well, because God commanded it, that should be enough, but since we’re human lets look at this logically, shall we? What spreads information accurately? Usually it’s first hand sources, like the Bible. Gods Holy Word, given to us to use as a tool to grow, to know His will, His commandments, and to show us, most importantly, how much He truly loves us! This is always the most reliable source. However, God commands us, as Christians to go forth and salt the earth. To spread the love of Christ to others who will (hopefully) see His joy and power in us. Why do it? Well, I don’t know about you, but I like people, I like live people (although my job deals with mostly dead not so fresh ones), and I am personally not inclined to see people suffer, think about what Hell is, an endless sense of falling (think of those awful dreams where you wake up with a start because you’ve been dreaming of falling off a building or some other high edifice, (they usually happen when you fall asleep in class, you know, that embarrassing moment when you hit the ground and you wake up and knock your papers off your desk and you give yourself away.) Endless falling, mingled with complete and utter darkness, like, cant see your hand in front of your face darkness, the heavy inky blackness like at the bottom of the sea where there’s absolutely no light and those really nifty looking glowy fish with big teeth and little lights hanging in front of them (see ‘finding nemo’ for more details); screaming everywhere, screams of torment, absolute painful loud and terrified screams, every day, all day, forever; and finally that lovely feeling of being burned alive, with no refreshment, just burning, forever. What worse punishment can you think of? Would you want to go there? Of course not, that’s why Christ came and sacrificed Himself for us, to save us from that, all you have to do is believe in Him and your in a really great place (no income tax, free private real-estate, great music, oh ya, and this really great guy God, always with you, and I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a few zillion questions for the big man when I get up there…”Lucy!! You got some ‘splainin to do!!! Hahaah) So do you want to send someone to the fiery, fally, loud, hot place, or the really cool, tax free, rockin sounds place? Hmmm… Lets see, DUH! So this is why Christ commands us to share this wonderful story, to save as many people as we can, I love people, I want lots and lots around me when I get up there, I don’t want to leave anyone behind, I want some rockin neighbors, I want to throw some really great pool parties, what’s a heavenly pool party without God and people to come play Marco Polo?
II. We are called to worship, to make a joyful noise, Psalm 100 " 1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. 3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his ; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;his faithfulness continues through all generations."
You mean like sing all the time? No, please, really, Josh Groban, Sarah McLauchlan, Shawn McDonald, no they are more than welcome to sing all the time, but really, some of us, really, just worship. God gave us eardrums for reasons, so we’ll leave that constant singing to angels and the kids with the gifts, cool? No. Louie Giglio is a big supporter of this one. He’s got his hands in a lot of really great Christian acts (see the set list for Passion ’07, which everyone should join us in attending by the way). He’s absolutely right. God has called us to worship, all the time, never ceasing, and always worship. Look around you next time your outside; the Bible says Psalm 19:1-2 "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge." Just look around, look at the absolute beauty around us. The trees, the flowers, the gorgeous animals. Look on the inside; think about the intricacies of the human body, it’s just an absolutely gorgeous system. All are the creations of the Lord. What does God NOT deserve credit for? (porn and that other crap excluded, can we say…eww). Louie explains it best, that we should always be in an attitude of worship, that the joy in us should just pour out of us every moment, and its true. Worship in prayer, in singing (if you can hehe) in whatever talent God has given you, worship Him, for He is worthy to be praised! I have friends who are amazing vocalist, amazing pianists, amazing songwriters; they praise Him with their music. I praise Him with my skills at writing, with my artwork, with my oratory skills (when I’m ready to talk, I can talk. Trust me, I’m an excellent debater). You may praise Him in running your business in fairness and in equality, or spreading knowledge to your students, to your friends. Whatever you do, whatever God has given you, do it all in His name, with praise on your lips always. Its easy to forget that God has given each of us very specific talents, and that He intends those talents to be used in some way to further His plan and to glorify the father above. It’s easy to look around and see what your really good at, what is your passion? What makes your soul burn, what makes your mind race with ideas? Got it? Good. Now go forth and prosper!
III. We are called to love one another, as we love ourselves, to be an example, John 13:34-35 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
Love one another, like your know, hippy stuff? No, God commands that we love our friends and our enemy’s alike. To recognize that Christ, in His infinite wisdom and compassion came and died for ALL of us, not a select few, and certainly NOT because we deserved it. We’re all sinners and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). However, we’re all human. It is part of our fleshes nature to want to love some and hate others; God speaks much to this being wrong. We are to love everyone as we love ourselves, to turn the other cheek when our enemies attack us. Look at the hate in the world. Its enslaved whole nations and races, its segregated women and men, its deified some and demonized others, turned brother against brother. We all recognize how this is wrong; God calls us to be the exception to the rule, to love others, no matter what they’ve done to you, to turn the other cheek. This doesn’t mean that these people are not wrong, this simply means that, as opposed to your human nature telling you to strike back, that your Christian nature should prevail and that you should forgive and forget. It’s hard, really really, REALLY heard, that’s not denial, but try it sometime. Trust me, people notice. Remember that old saying your parents and pastor said over and over and OVER again? ‘You’re the only Jesus some people are going to see’, This isn’t saying you’re a god, duh, this means that your, as a Christian, as part of Gods chosen people
(not the Jews, duh again, welcome to the Christian nation, Gods chosen people post resurrection) your responsibility is to represent, like thug represent, (fingers and hands waving wildly). Your job is to show the principles of our nation, love, forgiveness, respect, compassion, worship etc. As a Christian you may be the only Bible someone gets to read, your on watch 24-7 to the world, we are to be in the world but not of it, to be a light, to show that we are different, to love all without question, to understand, and offer guidance that will (hopefully) lead someone directly to Christ’s feet, and not to hells pit. So go on, throw a hug around, tell people you love them (refrain from gushing to members of the opposite sex un less you know them well, as this could lead to problems, haha)
Of coures, these are only three of the many commands that God has given us, this will surely be an entry that will be elaborated upon many times. There is another song, by Mr. McDonald, that must be remembered as well, for in Christ, we are ALL free...
"You said your burden is light & Your load is no more
You said your ways are right & in you I will soar
I want to be free, Free to dance & free to sing
Free to live & learn & free oh, free to be me"
posted by Jamie | 8:50 PM
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