You Make Everything Glorious

I took the title of this post from a David Crowder Band song I heard on the way home. I am sure I have heard it a few times but today it just seemed to speak right to me. The words were a bit more clear as if I was meant to hear them. God is funny like that sometimes. I don’t think I was in a state where I needed that bit of reassurance. Or maybe I was now that I think about it. I have been thinking of somethings lately. Ok, God, you win. Thanks for the unexpected bit of comfort. You rock.

The lyrics stood out more than everything.

You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
And I am yours
What does that make me?

God makes everything glorious…even us. We are made in His image so if He is already glorious, we get His glory and righteousness by default. We belong to the living Savior and it is by His grace that we have been saved and made whole again. He loves us, He delights in us, He wants to shower us with the one true and perfect love.

So why doesn’t everyone get this? Why don’t we all let God’s love dwell in our hearts and minds and not be consumed by the desires of the flesh? Why don’t we simply accept His free, no strings attached love instead of giving away every bit of ourselves to carnal desires, only to be left broken. Why don’t we all know that we are already glorious?

The world shows us that we must seek love and acceptance. We must date around, have sex, run a muck and live life to the fullest to find true happiness. We must lose ourselves in relationships, submit to the desires of our heart in order to feel love. We have to have someone complete us. Women have to flirt and dress sexy to get the attention of men. Men have to treat women like objects instead of precious rubies. We have to put on our best face and sometimes ignore obvious red flags for the sake of having someone in our lives. We have to give into our own desires or the desires of others in order to prove our love. And if it doesn’t work out, we break up, nurse our wounds for a while until the next one comes along. Notice I said nurse our wounds cause rarely do we let those wounds heal before we rip the band aid off and let someone else get subjected to our infections.

Gross I know, but how true does it all sound? Been there, done that.

Sometimes it’s hard to break habits that we have grown accustomed to. Trust me, I was that girl that dressed sexy and gave myself away to men in the hopes that they would give me love back. If that’s you, I can save you the wasted time and heartache. I know how the story ends and trust me, it isn’t good. Man, was that a hard lesson learned. But, I did learn and am thankful for knowing my worth to God.

The world we live in does an awesome job of helping us buy into the enemy’s lie that sexual immorality, idolatry, greed and a host of other sins are the key to happiness. Sex sells. Sex is in the music we listen to, the televisions shows and movies we watch, the books we read. Everywhere. Romantic comedies have women swooning over happily ever after, unrealistic expectations of men that usually leave women disappointed when things don’t end up like the movies. It life were like the Notebook, there would be far more happy couples in the world.

But God makes everything glorious. Even me. Even you. To Him, your past does not matter. He just wants your heart. No strings attached. No putting on your best face to impress Him. He wants you just the way you are, even if you are a bit broken and bruised. No wondering if He likes you. Trust me, He loves every bit of you. No pressure, no awkward “where is this going” conversation. He wants to shower you with treasures and blessings beyond your imagination and with a love that transcends all understanding. That sounds sweeter than any romance movie I’ve seen.

And all He wants is your heart. Cause you are already glorious. You are already His beloved.

Amazing s2s opportunity

As I mentioned in my 1st post, some amazing things have happened in my life over the past few weeks. My young adult ministry, Fusion, has kinda like its own dedicated missions team called Sunday2Sunday or s2s. s2s is the brain child of Avery and Dede Nesbitt who decided to create a way to do missions work right here in the city. And boy does Atlanta need some missionaries!

So I got the chance to go on the June 2010 s2s missions tour and man…talk about life changing. s2s’s mission is to open your eyes to the city and world we live in so that you can’t leave unchanged. And trust me…ministering to the homeless, laughing and talking with those that depend on kind strangers for food and praying for sex trafficking victims on the streets put life into perspective. It breaks your heart for what breaks the heart of God.

I left the experience wanting to continue doing something, anything. Even if I couldn’t go back out and sit with some of the people I encountered, I wanted to let the world know about the atrocities right here in our city. I’m a Facebook junkie and I often post articles and my own commentary about social justice issue and I guess Dede and Avery were noticing. It struck me the other day that I needed to have an outlet to vent my frustration and I knew journal writing wouldnt be effective. I would get bored and not keep it up but would still have all these thoughts and emotions bottled up. So what else could I do…start writing. I have always liked to write though I got out of the habit of writing creatively years ago. But now was my chance to let my voice be heard, well to an extent. I didnt want anyone reading my blog just yet. I wanted to share my own private thoughts and start getting some sort of structure and order to all the chaos in my head.

Almost as soon as I posted the desire to start writing again, Dede and Avery commented and inboxed me about writing for s2s’s blog about the plight of the city and country. They had never any seen any of my writing but they wanted me to blog for s2s!!! I was excited, honored and absolutely nervous. Avery and Dede are awesome and down to Earth but I hold them in high regard cause they are leaders that I admire. s2s is their baby and I wanted to make sure I do good work.

I have so many articles to comment, its the narrowing it down to relevant issues and to not sound too preachy. So I took a stab at my first s2s blog entry. I hope they like it cause I’m kinda proud of it. Thanks to all of my new friends that inspired that entry.

http://sundaytosunday.org/index.html

One Simple Thing

I made some new friends recently. There’s Samuel, tall and lanky, almost like a gentle giant. He speaks softly as he tells stories about his life and family. Then, there’s Wallace. He’s a licensed barber who was taught how to cut hair by the same man who taught his mother 40 years earlier. There’s Robert, who works construction, and has a weakness for sweets. Melanie, the avid movie fan, has a laugh and quick wit that makes anyone feel right at home. Lewis is a former rodeo bull rider from Jacksonville, FL with a love for fishing. He has a heart of gold and smiles at the thought of his 13 year old daughter like any proud father would.

My friends are all people who are full of life, hope, and faith for the future. As the day winds down, just like us, they prepare themselves for bed. While we check the locks and windows before climbing into bed, my friends line the steps of warehouses and churches with thin, tattered blankets and their belongings stuffed in a bag as a pillow. They are regular people just like you and I, except they are all homeless.

These are the names of some of the homeless people that the city of Atlanta chooses to ignore. They are not just a statistic. They are not just the people we avoid eye contact with as we stroll pass Woodruff Park. These are not just people to pity during the 90 second news clip during dinner. These are God’s children, just like us. So why have we forgotten them?

The world teaches us through the media that the homeless are a nuisance, a burden to the city. They tarnish the image of prosperity and safety our city officials try so desperately to portray. But when was the last time a police officer or a politician stopped and spoke with the man sitting alone by the fountains of Woodruff park? When was the last time you stopped to bring a warm blanket and meal the woman sleeping on a church steps?

So, the question many ask is “What can I do to help the homeless?” Yeah, we can all do our Christian duties and volunteer at homeless shelters or food banks passing out hot meals and smiles. But when your assignment is done, what do you take from that experience? What do you remember? The nice thing you did for the less fortunate? The lady in the green shirt that asked for a second helping? The man in the red hat that just stared off into the distance? The little kid with the holes in his shoes?

Is that it?

What were their names? Where was the lady from? Does the man with the red hat have any family in the city? What does that little kid want to be when he grows up? Do you remember? Did you even stop and ask?

I’ve read countless articles and news reports about the plight of the homeless. Plenty of facts, stats and weak solutions. But I don’t recall seeing many names and stories associated with these percentages. Why? Cause a name and a story makes that lady in the green shirt real. It’s hard to ignore a bright eyed kid with dreams for the future and holes in his shoes.

Again the question is “What can I do to help the homeless?” The answer is very simple. Take a minute to stop and ask them their name. Sit along side them and let them tell you their story. Make them real and watch God change your heart towards them.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/05/07/homeless.project/index.html

Bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to Earth

A couple of weeks ago, our small group assignment was to create a collage of words and pictures of what we think it would look like to bring the kingdom of Heaven to Earth. We were given magazines, poster boards, scissors, glue and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Simple enough.

I finished my work of art rather quickly and was proud of the results considering I had to use magazines like Cosmo, Style, Essence and other “worldly” mags. I realized it wouldn’t be easy to find images or phrases that represents the Kingdom of Heaven here on Earth. Those magazines teach women 99 ways to please your man sexually…outside the covenant of marriage. They teach you make up and hair tricks to make us feel beautiful on the outside…yet broken and wounded on the inside. They teach us that being stick thin is to be idolized when the word of God tells us that we are not to bow before any idol.

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.” Exodus 20:1-3. A simple concept that has escaped the mind of the masses. Though people aren’t praying to golden calves, they are obsessed with the “treasures” of the world. Sex, money, fame, careers, the quest for love, beauty…you name it, someone is freaking out about it right now. We spend more time worrying about our outer appearance than we do about our inner appearance.

If God were to show up right now and ask to take a look at your heart, would He find something to be proud of? Would He be pleased with the state of your heart and mind? Would He dwell there?

How do we bring the Kingdom of Heaven to Earth? Change. We change our hearts by letting the Holy Spirit dwell in us. We change our perspective on the world by allowing God to break our hearts for what breaks His. We change the way we see people, the way we see life, the way we operate in the world filled with sin and despair. We change…and we allow our transformation to be the light of Jesus that people see.

We change. We stop running from God’s truth and surrender to His will. Yeah that’s the tricky part. Surrendering to God’s will means we will have to let go of the pleasures of the world. We would have to stop having sex, stop polluting our ears and eyes with lustful and degrading music and film. We would have to start loving others even when they sin against us. We would have to step out of our comfort zone and stand up for Jesus even when others refuse to listen. We have to pray and discern matters instead of flying by the seat of our pants. We realize that God sees us a beautiful and holy and that we don’t have to give ourselves away to be loved. We have to stop searching for the one and allow God to shine us up and present us to the one He has waiting for us. We have to learn to put all of our hopes, dreams, fears, and sorrows in His hands and not try to do life on our own. We have to read His love letter to us. We have to shed our old lives, die to ourselves, and follow our Savior.

Have I lost you yet? We have to change. To bring the Kingdom of Heaven to Earth means we have to change the way we do things now. The world can no longer be our measuring stick for progress…our Father in Heaven is the standard.

Change comes with time but God is patient. Change doesn’t happen over night but at some point, you have to make that first leap towards Him. Trust me, He will catch you.

‘Virtual preaching’…wave of the future or problem waiting to happen?

OK so obviously this blogging things is going to be my saving grace cause I surf the net for news stories and opinions daily. Some I agree with, some I don’t. This one is leaving me with mixed feelings.

Virtual preaching. Yep We’ve finally arrived in the age of technology taking over the Gospel. So to speak.

CNN posted an article about churches that use technology to “beam” the image of the pastor on to the church’s main stage for the sermon. Yeah, they still have praise and worship, offering, etc, but when its time for the message, the likeness of the pastor is displayed on stage and on the monitors for the congregation. Sounds very Star Trekky to me but I’m sure its effective.

Or is it?

Pros: I attend Victory World Church in Norcross, GA. It is an awesome 9,000 member multi-national non denomination place of worship that has basically saved my life and sanity. With 9,000 members and growing, you can imagine the problem with the crowd on the weekends. We have 4 services each weekend. Yes, 4. One on Saturday night and 3 on Sunday. Our senior Pastor, Dennis Rouse is amazing and delivers the messages at each service with so much energy and gusto. But I know it wears on him. So being able to open satellite locations to ease the congestion of our main campus sounds ideal. Pastor D does one service and we have less traffic in the parking lot.

Cons: But what about that much needed access to the pastor? I applaud any pastor that takes a few minutes after service to be available to speak with their congregation. No pastor should be inaccessible to their flock. So if you attend a virtual service, when do you get that hand shake from the pastor? That brief moment to bounce an idea or questions off the pastor? OK, I know that associate pastors will be there to fill in the gap but if a satellite church has its own staff, pastors, etc, why not make it a church plant avoid all the tech confusion?

I am open to any creative ways to bring more people back to the church. Even if it means wearing jeans to services, having flat screens in the sanctuary, and debit machines for the offerings. Whatever makes it easy for people. I am just in fear that all this ease and convenience will lead people to just attend church via the web or TV and not be apart of a corporate environment of other believers. Where will people tithe if they don’t attend an actual church service? What happens to community building when people rely on streaming sermons? Who and what will keep the doors of the church open when everyone is at home in front of their computers on Sunday morning? Virtual preaching is good in theory, but can it be doing harm too?

I’m officially a blogger

So where do I begin? I’m actually kinda surprised I decided to enter the every popular world of blogging. How this all happened was not out of me wanting to be up on the latest media craze. I think this was all birthed out of the need to be obedient to God. I have been on an absolutely roller coaster of a ride for the past few weeks and have been filled with so many emotions, visions, thoughts, ideas, etc but I haven’t been able to get everything out in the open. Sometimes I feel like I can’t express my thoughts to people around me for various reasons but after all that has transpired recently and over the past year, I knew it was time to let the flood gates open.

So where do I begin? I’m a Jesus freak…plain and simple. I have come to know the love of God and I can never imagine operating in this world without that peace and protection. My life has undergone a complete transformation within the past year…all for the greater good. I will slowly catch the world (by that I mean myself) up on how I got to where I am today…a lover of Christ, a missionary in the making, a world changer, a leader.

More to come…