New Years

Reorder Your Life.

/ Jana / Leave a comment

This is a weighty statement. It is not one you can just blow past or check off. But when the question is: how can I live my life with more of You, more peace, more connection, and this is God’s answer…what do you do? What will you do?

It stopped me cold in my tracks.

If minutiae is a demonic distraction, if fretting is evil, if my busyness  just avoids the rest and trust in the Almighty, if there is more and all I have to do is reorder my life — then how and where do I begin?

This blows new year’s resolutions right out of the water. This requires a surrender of supposed needs, desires, wants, isms, have-to’s and ought-to’s.

Think of Abraham. Think of Deborah. Think of Paul.  Their lives were as loaded, strained, demanding, and draining as ours. And, God totally interrupted their lives for a holy calling. I don’t think the calling was the “outcome.”  I think the calling was saying yes when God asked them: Will you do whatever I ask? This is before the outcome was known. Maybe we deceive ourselves and think we will respond to God when He calls us to “big” things. But it is the “yes” in the moment He is after. Will you lay aside whatever YOU think is important to follow Him?

Think of Jesus.  He actually knew and understood the outcome of His calling. Yet he was not hurried. He was not distracted from the person in front of Him, though the masses pressed in. Nor was He distracted by the person in front of Him, though they wanted  more and more from Him. He was utterly present, and completely surrendered to His Father to live and move according to His will. His surrendered intimacy changed and challenged the status quo. He lived a “reordered” life. We can too.

But it might kill us in the process.  What I mean is, it might kill the whims and excuses, the fads and phones, the complaints and crammed calendars. How about just keeping up with all the “stuff”?  I don’t know about you, but I am ready for some of this to die off, not to become monks or hermits and withdraw from life. But to shed the layers of lies that keep us from our God and each other.

He and I are still talking about exactly how to “reorder” when I have obligations and others depending on me. But the first step was my “yes.” Yes Jesus, I am willing to do whatever it takes to have more of You.  I will gladly trade the American manic panic lifestyle if I can have more of His presence.  How about you?

 

Moving Forward

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Seems the Holy Days can be hard on our hearts.  I find myself surrounded by powerhouse people who have been brought to their knees by sin, sickness, and struggle. It has been a whirlwind of emotions. And I have been asking the Lord to give me insight, not only to know how to pray in power for them, but to learn from their stories, their reactions, their deep, deep aches.

And I repeat again something that my friend and spiritual teacher, John Dee, taught me, “Go mainly, mostly to Jesus.”

We don’t give in to the flesh. It betrays us with destructive deceptions.
We don’t give in to idolotry. Those man-made gods have no breath or healing or comfort.
We don’t give in to running away. Those helpless days are past.

We can’t go back to Egypt. We were slaves there.
No, we must press deeper into the desert. Our God has led us here, and He will provide for us here. He will make Himself known as the great I AM. As I have been praying for God’s people to be lifted up, the song “Moving Forward” came to my spirit. It makes me weep every time. He makes all things new. All things. He makes them new.

No, we cannot go back.  Only forward into more of Him.
May God bless your journey with “all power in His hands as He gives a second chance.”

Moving Forward
by Israel Houghton

What a moment
You have brought me to
Such a freedom I have found in You
You’re the Healer
Who makes all things new
Yeah yeah yeah

~Bridge~

I’m not going back
I’m moving ahead
Here to declare to You
My past is over in You
All things are made new
Surrendered my life to Christ
I’m moving, moving forward

(2nd verse)

You have risen
With all power in Your hands
You have given me
A second chance

Hallelujah hallelujah
Yeah, yeah, yeah

(back to bridge)

~Chorus~

You make all things new
Yes
You make all things new
And I will follow You
Forward

When God Gets His Way

/ Jana / 1 Comment

It is so fun to see God continue to surprise and wow and provide. He is quite the show-off you know. What I love is His tender call to step out, to feel His nudges. He is relentless in His invitations to trust.

And then His reassurances, provision and promises come to life. The book “Dine with Me” was only a whisper at the beginning of the year. The “Real. Love. Life.” Worship cd was only a point of reluctant whining in January.

And now reviewing how God has persuaded and cajoled and inspired and honestly, how God has Done the work is awe-inspiring.

What have I learned?  That it is childish folly to resist Him. And it is childlike abandon that brings the peace that passes understanding. When I looked down the road at the beginning of the year, I could only say, “You want to do what? And how???”

And now looking back, I can only say, “You did what? And how???”

It is the way of God. Unpredicatable in His methods, Unchanging in His love. Unstoppable in His plans.

This Christmas season look at Jesus with new eyes. God’s unpredictable method to show His unchanging love in His unstoppable plan to be with you.

Willing to Change

/ Jana / 2 Comments

My head is abuzz with a newly scratched out “To Do List” for 2010. It is full of a grand vision, scary possibilities and deep, deep longings of my heart.  And it is a lot of work.  I was so inspired that I had to take a nap.

I figure I might as well rest up first before beginning anything new. Have you ever felt this way? Wanting to quit from the sheer hugeness of a task?  Throwing in the towel before you have even dared to go one round in the ring?

There is one key ingredient that the Lord keeps whispering to me and Chuck as we look down the coming year: Discipline.

Before you groan, listen to the definition. Discipline:  training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character.

That doesn’t sound so bad now, does it?  And to throw my own spiritual spin on it, discipline is being willing to be taught a better way.

Isn’t that what we are all hungry for?  A better way to — fill in the blank — get in shape, manage money, improve our marriages, stop addictions, have healthier relationships, perform better at work, etc.? And if we were honest, what we are doing right now may not be working so well.  We aren’t getting the results we long for.

But when we ask the Lord for discipline, we are in essence asking Him to teach us a better way for better results. Now instead of us working it up in our own strength, we are seeking the supernatural, the God Factor.

Last night, John Dee quoted Roman 2: 4  – that it is God’s kindness that leads us to repentance. “Which means,” he added,  “It is the kindness of God, His love and affection for us, that causes us to ‘change our minds.’ Repentance is changing the way you think, to agree with what God thinks.”

So now put these two words, discipline and repentance, together – willing to be taught a better way, and aligning our thoughts to think God’s way – and we have a pretty potent cocktail.

Change is bound to a happen because you have tapped into what God wanted from you all along: His strength in your weakness. Make your lists. Take your naps. Then go after your dreams.  God is with you all the way.

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.” Psalm 32

“Lord, grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.” Psalm 51

No Ear Has Heard, No Eye Has Seen. . .

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First, let me say “thank you!” for your responses and questions surrounding the blogs.  It is really nice to know that when you send something out in the big internet cosmos there is someone live to catch it. And in answer to a one of those responses, I want to encourage us all that journeying with God is not “doing better,” but trusting, waiting, asking for more. Then believing when God begins to answer our frail prayers. The change to come is not on our shoulders, but on His mighty, loving, transforming shoulders.

Our job is to believe. His job is to transform.

Second, I finally found that verse that the Lord had been poking me about. It goes along with this hope of growth, change and transformation. It is in 1 Corinthians 2.

However, as it is written:
“No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him”— but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.

What God has prepared for those love him…When you think about your 2010, ask the Lord to show you what He has prepared for you. And then claim the promise for Ephesians 2: 10. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

Did you catch the subtle nuance?  God has already prepared these good works, as in, past tense, done, completed. So that we can walk in them. Not run, panic, scramble, but walk. Walk with Him in the goings of our day to day life. There is a resting here, a peace.

Want me to really blow your mind?  We are God’s good works.

You and me, right now. All of heaven looks at us and sees who we are, who we are becoming and looks back to the Father and declares, “Good job. Well done. Nice work.”

Resolve to love Him more. Everything else will follow this one thing.

A Note from Laura Jones: New Year’s Revelation

/ laurajones / 5 Comments

For most of my life, I’ve avoided New Year’s Resolutions. I hate them. Who needs one more hampster wheel to burn out on, right? I certainly don’t need another way to fail.

However, the Lord’s been up to something new in me.  Since I’ve been in Jana’s class and John Dee’s class, they’ve taught me to ask for New Year’s Revelation: to ask the Lord to reveal Himself to me more, to show me the desires He put my heart, to give me His word over the coming year.

You know what’s amazing? He’ll actually answer.

For example, in 2008, I asked the Lord to give me a new song (Psalm 40:3). I meant metaphorically. All I wanted was a fresh start. But He took me literally! He gave me lyrics to six songs that year, each one verbalizing some of His love He’d been teaching me about. Love that gave me the fresh start I longed for.

In 2009, He pressed on my heart, “Be ready.” Didn’t even have a verse for that one. I had no idea what I was getting ready for. Just a sense that I was to prepare and be watching for what He had next, whatever that was. Sure enough, 2009 has been about weeding out. Setting boundaries. Learning about how He wired me. All things that have prepared me to walk through new doors that He’s opening like working with Women Getting Real and going back to school – things I was not ready for last year!

The fabulous thing about asking for New Year’s Revelation is it takes all the pressure off.  It’s not about performance.  It’s looking at Jesus and listening for His answer.  It’s reaching up to put my hand in His as He leads me through the New Year.

Why don’t we ask Him together? Ask Him to give you more of Himself. Ask Him to show you the desires He put in your heart and His desires for you. Ask Him to give you a word for the year. And as we have this dialog together, post back here when you hear His answer!
 
In His Love,
Laura

Looking Beyond

/ Jana / 1 Comment

I have a lot of BIG things on the horizon for 2010. But I told dear friends of mine last night, “When I look out, it starts getting very dark and fuzzy; I can’t see very far right now.”

Funny how God does that. He calls things forth in dreams and Scripture. He confirms what He has said many times in many ways. But then when I go to look at the map of “how to get there,” it turns kind of gray and dim. I think God is brilliant for doing it like that, because if I had my way, I would grab the map out of His hand and take off down the road. Without Him.

But, if I know where we are going yet don’t know the way, we HAVE to go together.  Which is honestly what my soul longs for anyway. To journey with Him into crazy adventures.

So for today, soak on the incredible quote another friend sent to me:
“Never be afraid of an unknown future to a known God.”  ~Corrie Ten Boom

Just because we don’t know the future doesn’t mean that God doesn’t know. He knows the plan for our hope and future. We don’t have to be afraid; He knows, He cares. Here is the song He woke me up with:

“Since The World Began” – Matt Maher, Amy Grant, Ed Cash, Mac Powell
Isaiah 64:1-9 (NLT)

Verse 1:

Oh, that You would burst from the heavens
And how the mountains would quake
But You would make the nations tremble
All Your enemies would learn from Your fame

How then shall we be saved?
How can we be saved?

Since the world began,
No ear has heard, no eye has seen a God like You
Since the world began,
No ear has heard, no eye has seen a God like You

Like autumn leaves, we all wither
Swept away by the wind
Oh, have mercy on us Father!
Please don’t remember our sins!

How then shall we be saved?
How can we be saved?

Since the world began,
No ear has heard, no eye has seen a God like You
Since the world began,
No ear has heard, no eye has seen a God like You

O Lord, You are our Father,
We are clay, You are the Potter
We are all formed by Your hand
According to Your plan

Since the world began,
No ear has heard, no eye has seen a God like You
Since the world began,
No ear has heard, no eye has seen a God like You