Gots My Back

I've been reading Jeremiah for my QT, and there are actually a couple of sections titled "Jeremiah's Complaint", and really, he had plenty to complain about. Jeremiah was God's prophet at a time when Israel was in deep sin; idols everywhere, God's own priests ignored God and spread about false prophecies of peace and security. So Jeremiah wasn't exactly the bringer of good news. Message after message predicting disaster for Israel: famine, sword, captivity...that God was hugely displeased with Israel and is planning to destroy them. Needless to say, the Israelites weren't particular thrilled to have Jeremiah around.

So Jeremiah complains: "God, I've done everything you've told me to do. Every time I've received a word from you I've stood at the gates and shouted it like you told me to. And you know, these messages aren't exactly pleasant, they're not exactly happy to hear that they'll be killed by foreigners, taken away as slaves, or that they'll starve to death. And I'm sure that the next time I stand at those gates, bringing another message like that, they're GOING TO KILL ME! Where are you God?! Do you really have my back?"

This is how God answers Jeremiah, Jeremiah 15:19-21:

Therefore this is what the LORD says:

'If you repent,
I will restore you that you may serve me;
if you utter worthy, not worthless, words,
you will be my spokesman.

Let this people turn to you,
but you must not turn to them.

I will make you a wall to this people,

a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you
but will not overcome you,
for I am with you to rescue and save you,"
declares the LORD.

'I will save you from the hands of the wicked
and redeem you from the grasp of the cruel.'

That's it. "if you repent...if you utter worthy words...if you don't turn to the world", "I will make you a wall...they will not overcome you...I am with you to save you and redeem you". God says, do what I tell you to do, and I have your back.

Maybe you're wondering, with all this school/work stuff, should I still spend time at bible studies, at discipleship group, spending half the day serving on Saturdays. Maybe you're afraid of rocking the boat with this one person that God is telling you to reach, maybe a family member, a close friend, or a classmate. Maybe God's telling you to take on a new ministry, to step out in faith knowing that it's totally new territory for you. And you're thinking to yourself, well, this probably won't go well. What should I do?

Well here it is: You do what God tells you to do, He's got your back; if God gives you a clear word, and you DON'T do it, I'm convinced you've already missed God's best in that situation. And who knows what 2nd best is like, what 3rd best is like, what 4th best is like. Honestly, if we let God's conviction slide like I used to do, that number rolls straight into the 50s. If I ever manage to stop myself on the slippery slope of disobedience, I'd be lucky to receive God's 53rd best.

God is waiting, desiring, to give you His very best. All you have to do is listen, obey, and receive. So let's ask God to search our hearts, are there any areas of disobedience? Things that I know He's asked me to do that I just plain haven't done? He won't bless us until He knows we are willing to obey in every area of our lives. So before we claim anything in our lives in Jesus' name, let's repent of any disobedience that God finds in our hearts.

Ginny Owens - Own Me

Got a stack of books, so I could learn how to live;
many are left half-read, covered by the cobwebs on my shelf.
And I got a list of laws, growing longer everyday;
if I keep pluggin' away, maybe one day I'll perfect myself.

Oh, but all of my labor, seems to be in vain.
And all of my laws, just cause me more pain.
So I fall before You, in all of my shame,
ready and willing to be changed.

Own me,
take all that I am.
And heal me,
with the blood of the lamb.
Mold me,
with your gracious hand, break me till I'm only Yours.
Own me.

Oh, you call me precious, and you take my blame.
And you run to meet me, when I cry out your name.
So I fall before You, in all of my shame.
Lord, I am willing to be changed.

Own me,
take all that I am.
And heal me,
with the blood of the Lamb.
Mold me,
with Your gracious hand, break me till I'm only yours.
Own me.

Ginny Owens - If You Want Me To

The pathway is broken, and the signs are unclear.
And I don't know the reason, why you brought me here.
But just because you love me, the way that you do;
I'm gonna walk through the valley,
if you want me to.

Cause I'm not who I was, when I took my first step.
And I'm clinging to the promise, you're not through with me yet.
So if all of these trials, bring me closer to you,
then I will go through the fire,
if you want me to.

It may not be the way, I would have chosen.
When you lead me through a world that's not my home.
But you never said it would be easy,
you only said I'd never go alone

So when the whole world turns against me, and I'm all by myself.
And I can't hear you answer, my cries for help.
I'll remember the suffering, your love put you through.
And I will go through the valley,
if you want me to.

Ginny Owens - This Road

A million miles away, from anything familiar,
a thousand places I would rather be.
So I choke back the tears, and try to find the bright side,
though I find it hard to see though all my suffering.

In my heart I know your plan is so much bigger,
but this small part is all that I can see.
And I believe you haven't left me here to wander,
still I can't help but ponder where you're leading me.

And I ask why this road,
why this way,
and this load.
Tell me how far must I go;
till I see, till I know why,
this road.

A million miles away, from anything familiar,
what was it like to be so far from home.
Though you came in love, the world misunderstood you.
There must have been some days when you felt so alone.

But you endured, 'cause there was joy before you.
Joy that came because you sacrificed.
Since you gave yourself just to spend forever with me,
surely I can trust you'll lead me through my darkest times.

When I ask why this road,
why this way,
and this load.
Tell me how far must I go;
till I see, till I know,
why...

From here I cannot see,
why you'd choose this path for me.
But I don't have to understand, to believe,
that you know why...

You know why this road,
why this way,
and this load.
You know how far I must go;
till I see, till I know why,
this road.

Loved (to) Pieces

So my sister invited a friend of hers from our old church to Westside Sauga over the break, someone she knew was open to seeing Westside. Well, 2 of his friends ended up tagging along. Unfortunately, those 3 friends together make exactly one attention lacking 12 year old. My sister was pretty peeved, that those 2 really distracted this one friend from experiencing God fully during service, and really hindered her from speaking to him about her transformation and his spiritual life. That got me pretty ticked too, especially since one of those 2 has been to Westside a bunch, and doesn't like it. Really, it's OK to not like this church. When I first came to Westside, I thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread, and I thought everyone should be here. But I know now that God has great plans for other places for other people. So people don't have to be here, they don't even need to like it, that's totally cool. But why tag along if you knew you wouldn't like it?!

I look at all of you here and I know each of us has found a home, a family, that we call our own here at Westside Hamilton, but I'm forced to realize now that some people just don't get it. And I thought, well, what makes us different; that people look at us, scratch their heads and say "what's wrong with you people?". The only difference I could come up with is this: that each of us here knows with certainty, knows by experience, and can actually feel every single day, that without God, we are flawed, damaged, and broken. We've all experienced the sort of despair, the sort of pain, the sort of hopelessness that lives far God can bring.

I look back at retreat, at that room of people crying out to God, and I start remembering the stories of brokenness that each of you have shared with this family. Whether it be finances, relationships, family, addictions, failures, sickness; we've been abused, outcast, made fun of, unloved, hurt. Each of us has an area of our lives, past or present, that just won't heal without God.

And that's why Isaiah 53:4-5 are not just verses to us, it's just plain reality. It says

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

We don't need to convince ourselves of these words because we know our iniquities are plenty; that even without having to see them through Christian glasses, we know our transgressions are great. But we know most of all that the one reason, the ONLY reason, we are here today, is because Jesus took all of that away; that the punishment due us even in THIS lifetime, He took upon Himself on that cross, that by His wounds, by His scars, we are healed, restored, blessed.

And so, all I wanted to do in this time today, is to thank God. You know what to thank him for in your life. And even if this is your thousandth time thanking him for that one thing He has reconciled, you know he deserves a thousand more.

Good ol' Snoop

From "Handle with Prayer"

"One primary reason God allows us to suffer is so we can identify with others in our prayers. Until we suffer, we tend to stereotype those who suffer as inferior or weak. We have little patience with them, much less any burden to pray for them. But Christ lived among the rejected and suffering. He was one of them."

- Charles Stanley

True Vibe - I Live for You

I was lost in darkness,
never knowing where to turn.
I thought I had all the answers, but
I had so much to learn.
Like a child I had gone astray,
trying to make it on my own.
Like a father You embraced me,
and You showed the way back home.

Now that I know,
the truth that you proclaim.
I will keep trusting You, to fill me up,
till only You remain.
And I will not rest until my every word,
brings glory to Your name
All that I am, all that I do,
I live for You.

Only You could save me,
from the debt I had to pay.
So now I want to tell the world,
the difference You have made
You have changed the way I live and love,
and made my heart brand new.
Now that we are joined together,
I know I'm nothing without You.

Now that I know,
the truth that you proclaim.
I will keep trusting You, to fill me up,
till only You remain.
And I will not rest until my every word,
brings glory to Your name
All that I am, all that I do,
I live for You.