the power of an encounter

 

What does it take to impact a life so much
that one would change the course of their life forever?
A God encounter.

I was just thinking the other day....God encounters are so much more than simply a physical manifestation; they are intimate and powerful. When you live your live out of 'function' without an encounter, all you are left with is religion--dead, powerless religion. Lord, save us from it.

I'm also realizing that the reality of an encounter with the Lord often proves to be more difficult than at first thought. From the beginning of the Bible to the end, the ppl who have God encounters can tell you-- they change your life. I'm so hungry for the same. Also....a God encounter defines who you are.

I am challenged by Abraham. What kind of God encounter did he have that caused him to take his whole family and begin to wander into the unknown? His simple act of obedience was the seed of a nation that would change the world. But his obedience was birthed from a God encounter. It swept him up and captured his heart and moved him into something that lasted more than a moment-- he believed. He believed that there was something greater than him, something greater than now, and he wanted to lay hold of it and invest in it.

Remember Moses with the fiery bush, David as he played his harp and before he led his armies, Job in the midst of the storms of life, Isaiah as he produced a life-altering revelation, the disciples as they left all that they knew to simply follow Jesus, Saul on the road to Damascus, and Peter when he declared that Jesus was the Christ.

Again, a God encounter defines who we are. I pray for more of them for myself and also for you! Come, Lord Jesus.

Getting there is half the fun... (Day 1)

Many of you have already heard, but many still have asked about my trip up north and how it went. I wish I could say all was smooth sailing... I think Steve Sargent hit the nail on the head when he said, "this adventure will be more difficult than you anticipated yet much better than you anticipated." So I've had the "more difficult" already and so now looking forward to the "much better".

Note to self... things always take longer than you expect. Due to selling my car the day before and just taking an excruciating amount of time to haul stuff to goodwill, the trash, and finally pack the smallest amount possible... I left a day later. This was a hard decision because I'm all about making the plan and working the plan but couldn't hop in a car and drive 12hrs after being up all night.

I left beloved Indy Saturday morning with cat in tow and joyful heart, ready to embark on all God has for me. It's a wonderful place to feel and know that you are in the center of His will for your life. So secure, so safe. The Lord really gave me the opportunity to truly decide if that's lip service or I really believe that in my core. Just a few miles west of the IN/IL border a van just a bit ahead of me and in the other lane lost control and swerved in my lane. Of course my first reaction was to break and try and get out of his way which really only made matters worse. We hit each other and both went into the median. He stopped there but I went through it into uncoming traffic and hit another car coming from the other direction causing him to flip. It all happened within seconds, of course, and so I sat there, air bag activated, trying to "get a grip" on what had just happened. Of course I was concerned about my cat's well-being as well. Avis sent a new rental, my parents traveled from Indy and helped me transfer my stuff, and I was back on the road by about 2:30pm. No lie, it was a challenge to not get discouraged. I was minding my own business (in my own lane) and driving carefully on the very slick road. Can't other people drive? what the heck?

But the Lord is faithful. He brought a measure of peace to my stressed out soul and I felt His nearness with me in increased measure. I'm so thankful for so many of you that prayed for me, especially on Saturday. Your calls and text messages were so encouraging. I don't know that I've ever felt the intense prayers of family and friends like I did on Saturday. It was incredible.

More to come... (it gets better).

The Power of Poverty

Recently, I was reading through someone's blog and chanced upon this quote below from a book written by Thomas Dubay called “Happy Are You Poor.”

“It must be noticed that the values of the kingdom are just about 180 degrees removed from the values of the world…What are the world’s basic values?...It is assumed that every one knows them and that most people live by them. What are these premises: prestige is a primary value… bodily comfort and pleasure are indispensable… this life is all we have, and so let’s enjoy it to the full… impressing people with one’s possessions and accomplishments and attractiveness is important… sexual excitement and satisfaction are crucial… success is ‘coming out on top’ in relation to others… money is a must, for without it one can have very little of anything else worth having in life."

“If we turn to the pages of the New Testament we find a picture as opposite as it could be: humility, being last, unknown, hidden in Christ, is a condition for getting into the kingdom… prestige is worthless and even an obstacle to greatness… the hard road and the narrow gate, carrying the cross every day is immensely important… dying to our selfishness and crucifying our illusory desires are indispensable… impressing people is of no importance at all, whereas being pleasing to the divine eyes is everything… virginity is a favored and privileged state, and chaste fidelity in marriage mirrors the very union of Christ and his Church… one may not try to best others; rather he is to serve them as though he were a slave… it most difficult, indeed it is humanly impossible, for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of heaven…It takes little imagination to see that one who freely chooses to be poor is far more prepared to understand the previous paragraph than one who is surrounded with luxury, comfort, pleasures of sense, who basks in prestige and position, who lives only for the good opinion of other human beings.”-Thomas Dubay, Happy Are You Poor, pp. 57-58

The moment I read this quote my soul was convicted and my spirit was awakened to what it means to truly live as a believer in Jesus. To live as a Christian, one must renounce the love of this world: 1) Lust of the flesh 2) Lust of the eyes 3) Pride of life (1 John 2:15-17). In order to do this, one must be detached from worldly things and walk in humility as one who looks to please God and not men. Poverty has much to do with both of these concepts.

Jesus is the best example of someone who lived in this world, but free from its entanglements. He was not controlled by people or things, but He was controlled by the will of His heavenly Father. My prayer is the Lord would teach me to live in simplicity and to be free from all that is evil and selfish. I have failed many times in being selfish instead of self-less. Faith without deeds is worth nothing. I pray I would be one who doesn’t carry the title “Christian” but rather one who is known to love. To love others as I would love myself, to love each in a way God would love them.“Lord Jesus, forgive me for the deceitfulness of my heart in desiring anything besides You. For nothing can satisfy me apart from Your very Word and precious presence."

Welcome to my blog...

well, here we go... day number one. Just wanted a place to update my family and friends with my progress and preparations on getting to Canada. The Lord is providing in one way or another every day. It's so exciting. Praise His name.