by | Faith Lived Out
What started out as a typical Sunday, didn’t end as it usually did. My friend Leah and her daughter attended church that Sunday morning as usual. On their way home they decided they would wait and get lunch later, as neither of them were very hungry. Minutes later they were flying through the air.
As they drove over the top of the hill they were met head-on by another car. The truck she was driving flipped. As she rolled the only thing she could do was close her eyes and pray. Pray she did. Then reality and panic set in as she tried to get her little girl out of the truck. No such luck. She cried. She screamed. She prayed. Then she heard her little girl’s cry as she was slowly removed from the truck.
What’s amazing is that they only walked away with some bruises and scratches. God is awesome!
As I replayed Leah’s story in my head, I couldn’t help but get another visual. As her little girl laid trapped in the truck, all she could do was wait. Wait and hope that soon she would be released.
How often does God do that with us? Many times I have been trapped in my own sin, and He has just had to wait. I have kept myself stuck in a web of sin, while God’s breaking heart sits and patiently waits for me to come to my senses and cry out to Him. He would love to pick me up and carry me to safety, but He can’t do that every time. What I love about Him though, is that He is always waiting. His arms are always open, and He forgives me despite the hurt I cause Him. Wow!
His left arm is under my head and his right arm embraces me. – Song of Solomon 8:3
Do you have a story to share about God patiently waiting for you?
by | Faith Lived Out, Life Application
A couple weeks ago I spent my Sunday afternoon in the emergency room. It wasn’t my funnest moment, but I certainly saw God in it.
My nurse, let’s call him, Isaiah, was a pretty incredible guy. I immediately looked at him and knew there was a story behind the man. He had burn scars all over both arms. We began chatting as he hooked me up to this and that, and he began to tell his story.
There was an earthquake and the building he was in exploded. His body was immediately burned. He died.
“Then,” he said, “I saw the white light. I heard the most beautiful wind. I heard the waves crashing on the shore. I heard peace. Then I heard God say, ‘Isaiah, it’s not time for you yet.’ Then I woke up.”
Wow! He spoke with a gentle, soft voice as he told the story. You could see the peace in his eyes as he recaptured the event in his mind.
Then he explained that sometimes he has to ask God why in the world He brought him back to earth, especially as this world gets more crazy everyday.
I said outloud before thinking, “Wow! That’s a tease. You almost get to heaven, and then He sends you back. Bummer.”
Before leaving the room to get supplies, he stopped, turned around and asked, “Can I pray with you?” Duh! Like I would say no. The man talked to God once. Please feel free to pray over me. I accept. He did. It was amazing. He didn’t care who was looking, who was in the room, or what other people walking by thought of him. He followed God’s call and prayed with a sick patient. That is boldness in my book.
Have you been teased by God or know someone who has?
by | Faith Lived Out
I recently saw this post floating around Facebook:
Keep this going!! Heavenly Father, walk through my home and take away all my worries and any illnesses and please watch over and heal my family and friends in Jesus name, Amen. This prayer is so powerful. Stop what you’re doing & set this to your status. Watch what He will do.
It reminded me of all the chain letters you get in your inbox. Remember these? If you love Jesus, you’ll forward this email to fourteen people within the next five minutes. I used to send those emails, because I thought that would score me points with Jesus, though I didn’t really understand who Jesus was. I used it as a way to gain salvation, again, not really understanding what that was.
I still smiled at the status update, though, because it was a step for a potential new believer. Forwarding those emails was a step for me in a way, because I was at least grasping onto something with Jesus’ name in it. I should have stopped then and prayed that God continued to touch their life. I didn’t. I’m still learning, and God is patient with me.
Three hours later, they had another status, using four letter words mixed with some sarcasm. Again, I was reminded of where I used to be and just how far God has carried me.
I would forward those emails and an hour later drop the f-bomb because I didn’t get my way. I would tear up reading a story about God working in someone’s life, wish that could be me, forward it to someone else, then light a cigarette.
Isn’t God’s love amazing? We walk around lost in this world and he never stops pursuing us, no matter what we do. It may be the most popular Bible verse recorded, but read the truth in it:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
God so loves those who don’t yet know Him. God so loves those who cuss like a sailor. God so loves those who hold a cigarette in one hand and a Bible in the other. God so loves those who don’t understand what love is. He loves us enough to keep pursuing us, no matter what our sins.
Feeling blessed that He never gave up on me.
Can you feel Him pursuing you?
by | Faith Lived Out, Life Application
Have you ever fallen so in love with a song that you can’t stop listening to it?
That has been my experience with the song “Oh Lord, You’re Beautiful”, from Jesus Culture. I can’t stop listening!
I’m guest blogging over at Testimony and Tunes today. Read more here…
by | Faith Lived Out
Carolyn Hill is a wonderful friend, wife, mother, and most importantly, you see Jesus shine through her. She makes her home in Branson, MO with her husband and two children.
Seriously, why would a 35 year old wife and mother love teen sensation, Justin Bieber? Well, let me explain. Sometimes when God is trying to get through to me, He uses some unexpected people and things to bring me revelation. Do you ever get amazed at how God will bombard you with the same message over and over? It comes from many different sources and yet it’s the same message! It’s like, “Ok Lord, I am seeing that this is not a coincidence.”
So back to JB: here’s this 16 year old kid who honestly I hadn’t thought twice about, until I saw his movie, Never Say Never. If you don’t know who or what in the world I’m talking about, Justin Bieber is one of those phenomenons who has unexplained, raw, natural abilities to sing, dance, play drums, piano, guitar and all with no training or coaching. And by the age of 16 he has the charisma to sell out huge arenas like Madison Square Garden in 22 minutes!
After seeing the movie, I couldn’t help but be a fan! I mean, he’s so young and so obviously gifted by God. When he was 10 or so, his Mom put some of his performances on youtube and he became one of the most popular hits on the internet. But what struck me was that despite hundreds of thousands of cyber fans, the “experts”in the music industry turned him down, over and over. However, he was not deterred ( remember he’s like 12 at this point) and he just keeps trying. Long story short, Usher (a famous pop singer) saw him perform and said, “This is a no brainer!” Usher began to produce him, and the rest, so they say, is pop culture history.
So what did God show me through Justin Bieber? Here it is: If God puts a dream in your heart and gifts to use for His glory, someone will probably tell you, “No way.” Someone else may even tear you down with negative comments and try to intimidate you. There are going to be a lot of obstacles to overcome. But the truth is– God will make a way and He wants you to dream!
Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3
We’ve all probably heard this message before, so why don’t we think it applies to us? Many of us don’t dream because we’re afraid. Afraid to fail and afraid to succeed.
With Justin Bieber’s story fresh on my mind, I went to church the next day. At the last minute I decided to attend a special “Spiritual Parenting
Workshop.” Guess what we talked about? Yep, dreaming! We started analyzing our life’s journey, and looking back to see how God has truly directed our paths through positive and negative turns. Hmmm, God planted the seed and now He was having me really apply it to my own life.
Well guess what? That night my husband and I were sitting around a table with 3 other couples at church and guess what the discussion was all about? Dreaming! Wow, God, you really want me to think about my dreams!
Then the next morning I received a message from a friend of mine who has stage 4 cancer, and it was a beautiful plea to her friends and family asking them to live their life and to dream big. From her perspective life is precious and short. Everyone is so busy just trying to make it through the day to fulfill their daily duties; it leaves very little time to dream and to dare to believe that God wants to do amazing things through us.
Ephesians 3:20 says Now to Him Who by the power that is at work within us, is able to do superabundantly far over and above all that we dare ask or think, infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes or dreams.
So my friends, I dare you to dream. Don’t be afraid, God will show you the way. I challenge you to take some time and write down your dreams. You may think that its too late or just hopeless, but like Justin Bieber says, “Never Say Never!”
What would you do for God if you knew you could not fail?
by | Faith Lived Out
I am guest blogging today for Faithful Feet. The topic? Radical Faith.
Thanks to Haelie Heard for inviting me to guest blog.
I once knew a girl who thought salvation meant wearing a cross necklace around her neck and saying her prayers every night. She was living in a lifestyle the world deemed appropriate. As long as she said her prayers, though, she was okay. She had heard of Jesus Christ, but didn’t really understand who He was. She was baptized at 11, because that’s what the other kids were doing.
Read the rest of the post here…
How often does God do that with us? Many times I have been trapped in my own sin, and He has just had to wait. I have kept myself stuck in a web of sin, while God’s breaking heart sits and patiently waits for me to come to my senses and cry out to Him. He would love to pick me up and carry me to safety, but He can’t do that every time. What I love about Him though, is that He is always waiting. His arms are always open, and He forgives me despite the hurt I cause Him. Wow!
