Showing posts with label Sharing Jesus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sharing Jesus. Show all posts

Crushed

Oswald Chambers said, "...but it takes a heart broken by conviction of sin, baptized by the Holy Spirit, and crushed into submission to God's purpose to make a person's life a holy example of God's message."

I keep saying to Cory lately that I feel like we have been in survival mode for the last 3 or so years. We are doing all that we can, just to keep our heads above the water.

When I read Chambers thoughts this morning, I realized that survival mode can also feel like being "crushed into submission to God's purpose."

Surprisingly, I was encouraged by this. No matter how hard things are, no matter how exhausted I am, or how badly I just want things to be easier, I am stubbornly in love with our God. And I refuse to move or change without knowing His perfect will for me.

I want my life to be a holy example of God's message.... even if that means I need to be crushed again and again.

Posted in: , , on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at at 11:57 AM 1 comments  

Perservere

(painting done by EJ)

I'm supposed to be lesson planning right now. I have about 8 weeks worth that I need to get done asap. But, really my hands just want to type and my head wants to write. I don't know if you actually log onto my blog or if you read it in bloglines, like I do for everyone else. But, when its time for me to write a post, I generally have my site up just to listen to the sweet piano music that I have on my playlist. I could listen to it over and over again for hours. I enjoy it that much.


This has been a good week for me. I feel lighter then I have in a long time. And I feel like I am actually enjoying God again, which is a relief.


Last night we had Lindell Cooley at our church. He was the worship leader at the Brownsville Revival, over 10 years ago. Now, he pastors Grace Church in Nashville while still doing worship. Last night, he brought such a sweet sense of the spirit of the Lord with him. And when it was time for him to preach, he spoke from his heart sharing that in a time where so many are looking for the miracles, signs and wonders, we need to be delving deeper into the word of God.


He talked about perseverance in the Lord. In a microwave society that we are in, we want to skip the work and diligence of reading the word and go straight to the power. And yet, if we miss out on the word, we won't withstand the wait from God.


It's good for me. I struggle with reading my bible regularly. And yet, if there is anything God has been teaching me about in this season of our lives its perseverance.


We had a bit of a breakthrough recently in our lives. And last night as I was worshipping I was thrilled with our Lord. I was ever so grateful for Him. Quietly in my mind, I was working hard to log what it feels like to have this breakthrough. So that when times get tough again, I will have the strength to persevere and the trust to wait until His perfect timing comes.


PS - Rita Springer attends our church. Last night CJ formerly introduced the two of us. You know what she said, "Now aren't you just pretty!" To me!!! Yea, I'm not sure if she says that to everyone or not. But, I'm going to pretend she doesn't and I'm going to savor the compliment!

Posted in: , on Friday, September 05, 2008 at at 12:53 PM 4 comments  

Monday's Musings



TCC is at it again this week, with her Monday's Musings. I highly recommend checking her site out for yourself and consider sharing your thoughts too.

Here is this weeks quote:


"I set myself on fire and the people come to see me burn." ~John
Wesley


God made this quote real to me recently. I woke up early one Sunday morning with a rotten sore throat and feeling as though I had been hit by a mack truck twice. I honestly wanted to crawl back into bed and sleep it all off.But, I had made a commitment to share with the congregation that morning, and up until then had been looking forward to the opportunity. I got out of bed, dragged myself into the shower, did my hair, make up, and clothes. I swallowed some breakfast and gathered my crew.

Arriving in church, I still felt, awful. As worship began, I pulled out my journal and out of the corner of my eye, I saw the above quote. I had written it down days before hand.

I joined in with the worship, allowing God to come to my rescue. I felt the pain and tiredness fall to the wayside. Literally I could feel His glory in our midst. Inside I realized that today was a choice, do I want to burn with Him and share His amazing stories with others or do I just want to get by. His majesty is more thrilling and worth it for me not to. I chose lighting myself on fire, through worship, that morning.

I immersed myself in Him and pushed past the mornings woes. I then shared with our congregation a powerful testimony. The power was from Him. By that time, I was on fire, with joy and excitement in Him.

As I see it John Wesley said, he set himself on fire. Which shows me that he had to make a choice. He probably didn't always feel up to it. I'm sure there were many days that he felt sick and exhausted or would have preferred to go back to bed. Let's be real, I am sure that he too had his doubts, confusions, and his own problems with the Lord.

What I am learning is being on fire is a choice. There are so many times that I struggle with the Lord for my own personal life. I don't always understand Him. However, no matter what I feel, I KNOW that He has given me a life that is full of hope and love. I also know that I want others to have this hope. Perhaps, I need to find a way to ignite myself more often.

Just so you know, because blogs only show one side of a multifaceted, defective person, many times then not I have chosen to NOT be on fire. It has been more recently that I have felt a push and a realization of the choice!

Posted in: , , on Monday, March 17, 2008 at at 1:29 PM 1 comments  

I Challenge YOU...

To go and listen to this. Then come back and tell me how this applies to your life. I'm 100% serious. Don't neglect this. Go and listen to A Burning Heart. And then talk to me.... talk to me.

Posted in: , , on Thursday, March 13, 2008 at at 10:08 AM 4 comments  

My Answer to Monday's Musings

The Campbell Corner is giving us the opportunity to dig deep and think things through, with her Monday Musings, editions. Today she offered the following as a backdrop for going deeper.

"Miracles are not to be interpreted as divine acts against the laws of nature (for those laws are themselves expressions of God's will) but as more profound revelations of the character of the divine relationship to creation. To be credible, miracles must convey a deeper understanding than could have been observed without them." ~ John Polkinghorne

I've been chewing on the supernatural for some years now. I remember one specific time standing at a conference in my home church and praying with everything in me that a little girls leg would grow. When I left that night, she was the same as when she walked in. I was so frustrated, because I had believed that my faith and all those around me had the faith in God, to see that little girls leg grow.

I've pushed God on all of the supernatural. Show me angels, Lord. I didn't have a choice on demons, I saw them very quickly. Show me healings. She me Glory clouds. Give me visions, give me prophetic words. Give me dreams.... I want more of You. And so on and on...

In the beginning, I desired all of those abilities because I personally wanted more of Him, for myself. I was searching for what Polkinghorne is talking about "but as more profound revelations of the character of the divine relationship to creation." As I was seeing it, I was His creation and I wanted a deeper more profound revelation of who it was that I was worshipping, this one I called Jesus. The bible is full of miracles, of supernatural happenings. If this is the God I am going to follow, shouldn't we be seeing this today too?

As my faith has grown deeper and I have begun to witness miracles and truthfully not always witness them too, slowly I've been grasping part of what He is doing on this earth. If in my heart, I desperately want to see people come to know my loving God. If, I as a simple human being on this vast earth, desire people to know real Hope, real Love, real Comfort. Then what must He be feeling? His love is beyond words. I will never be able to love and care as much as He, on this side of Heaven.

There are serious revelations when God gets your attention with the supernatural. He provokes you to stop looking at the rest of the world or daily life and look upward, to Him. He gets your attention and says, "Hey, its Me. I'm real. And I love you and I want to be part of your life. I can give you rest. I can give you hope. Please let Me into your life."

Let me end with this testimony from Mexico. There was this sweet older woman who came into one of our services during the week. Towards the end of the evening an altar call was made and specifically a call to those who were sick or with ailments to come forward. This 4 foot woman came forward. I stood behind her as one of the other missionaries prayed with her. Her right eye was blind because her husband had beaten her. As she was prayed over, the Lord restored her sight and she was healed.

She was so calm about it. I, on the other hand, was jumping up and down for joy, shouting Jesus! Jesus! She looked over at me and smiled, simply.

The very next night, she came back to the service, this time she brought her entire family. They filled two entire rows of chairs. Again, the evening was ending with a salvation call. She stood up and looked at her family and motioned for them to come forward. Every. single. one. of them went forward and received Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Was there a deeper understanding in that healing? A revelation of our Creator? Absolutely!

Posted in: , , on Monday, March 10, 2008 at at 7:46 PM 2 comments  

I'm Inspired

"I set myself on fire and the people come to see me burn." John Wesley

"The greatness of man's power is the measure of his surrender." William
Booth

"I long for the love without any coldness, light without any darkness, and
purity without spot or wrinkle." Robert Murry M'Cheyne

"Holiness is the losing of self and being clothed with the spirit and
likeness of Jesus." Andrew Murray

Posted in: , on Friday, March 07, 2008 at at 9:33 AM 3 comments  

Encountering God Night


Last night we had our mid week service. I was so excited to go, because I just knew that God was going to show up. I could feel it in my bones.

Worship was good, but I felt the fight during it. It was clear that if we wanted more of Him, then we were going to have to push through. And push through is what we did.

Soon after worship, our team from Mexico gave some testimonies of what we saw while down in Guadalajara. Give me a mike and watch out, I purposefully had to control myself from not going over my 3-5 minutes! Seriously, who can give testimony of all that we saw in 3 minutes??!!!

Dr. P (our team leader and the leader of our missions sending agency) then showed a 10 minute video of our time down there. He captured me declaring to the congregation that "tonight would be a night of miracles." I had to laugh at myself! Anyways, Dr. P then went on to give a quick exhortation on "encountering God."

The best part was literally as he was speaking pockets of our church began to get touched. It actually became funny as he tried to continue on with what he had prepared. But God.... He had a whole different plan.

Dr. P, wrapped up quickly and then had our team came forward to pray for people. It didn't require much from us at all, as God was in the house!!! Just about everyone I came in contact with got seriously touched by God!

The night ended with a healing. One of the girls, we so love, was having problems with her ear pain, full of fluid, causing sinus headaches, etc. I prayed over her and asked the Lord to heal her, she shook and shook. Twenty minutes later she came over to me, smiling, saying, "the pain is gone!"

Gotta love an "encountering God night!"

Posted in: , , on Friday, February 29, 2008 at at 2:09 PM 2 comments  

This Just In

I'm writing from Mexico!!!

I've officially seen blind eyes healed and deaf ears opened. A crack addict, gave his life to Jesus! A woman with a tumor on her eye has been healed. Tons of people have given their life to the One we call, our Savior!

Rejoice and pray! There's more to come, today is only Monday!!!

Posted in: , , on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at at 12:24 AM 6 comments  

It's About that Time...


Well tomorrow is the big day! I leave for Guadlajara, Mexico, for an 8 day trip. I, along with many others, will be ministering in the "Crusade of Miracles." This seven day tent meeting was designed to meet the direct needs of a specific village, ending with a church plant on Sunday. The hope is to teach these precious people about who Jesus Christ really is! The missionaries down there believe that thousands of people will come each night.


It's a different thing in Mexico, then in America, to hold a "tent meeting." Americans, tend to snub that sort of thing off. While the other countries, thrive on something like this. I find that interesting to understand.

These people are hungry for God. They expect that God will heal many! They know that hundreds and hundreds will get saved and give their lives fully to Christ. The exciting part to me, is knowing that there are teams and nationals set up to begin discipling them immediately.



So, if I come to mind over the next 8 days or so, I ask you to pray! Pray for me, that I will be safe and healthy. Pray for my family as I am away from them. But PRAY for these beautiful people, that they will truly see God, that the crusade, named the Crusade of Miracles, will be just that, full of miracles.

Matthew 10: 7-8 As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,[b]drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

Posted in: , , on Thursday, February 14, 2008 at at 1:00 PM 6 comments  

Cue in God...


Last week my landlord visited our home. He had a project that he was working on, so he brought one of his trusty friends along to help. His trusty friend brought his wife. And so, there I was with three people standing in my livingroom, working on new french doors.

I love my landlord. He talks and talks and we have the best conversations. He doesn't know it, but he has been used mightly by the Lord, in blessing us with this house. So, I'm usually in a great mood when he stops over. This day was no exception.

I began talking with his friends, Ed and Linda, getting to know them. I found out that they lived here all their lives, knew our landlord for 37 years, and had children around the same age as me. They found out that we had a heart for missions, that my husband was in bible school, and so on.

Then, in the middle of Ed working on the doors, he stood up and said something about his back and how much pain he had.

Cue in God....

The previous evening I had been at a "Mexico prayer meeting." One of the women on my team was sharing with us, how her back had just been healed of scoliosis. She stood before us and bent down, touching her toes, with NO pain!

I remembered that, as I stood in front of Ed. Casually, I told him about her and asked if I could pray for him. He said sure and then for the remainder of the time, he and his wife told me about their church and other churches around.

The opportunity for praying for him was fading quickly and I didn't want to force God's hand. So I enjoyed their company and allowed things to go as they were.

They stepped out the door, waving good bye, my chance to pray with them going out too. I said one more quick thing, "I'll be praying for your back."

And that is when God opened the door up. His wife looked right at him and said, "you get over there and get your back prayed for, now!!"

And so, I stood on the street, in front of my landlord, Ed, and his wife Linda, and I proclaimed healing over his back. I even said, "God there's no need for shouting or hoopla, I just calmly ask you to heal this mans back." And off Ed and Linda went.

Good news ... Ed just returned to my home, to tell me his back is feeling great! He is pain free!

I'm joining with angels, doing a happy dance for my God, the Great Healer!

Posted in: , , , on Tuesday, February 05, 2008 at at 2:43 PM 8 comments  

It's All About




You Jesus.

Lately, I've been pondering my blog name, On Fire For Jesus. I've been questioning the depth of my love for my Savior. I've been wondering, am I lukewarm? Am I really "on fire" as I profess to be in writing?

It seems more and more, I'm writing about daily life, home, kids, and such. Less and less I am writing about Him.

I think that writing is an overflow of my heart. Thankfully, my heart is overflowed with my children, my husband and my friends. That's good.

But I want more.

Even when I sit down to write about what God is doing, like sending me to Mexico, or beginning a new childrens ministry, or the awesome words that God has spoken into me recently, I feel like I can't get the depth of it on to "paper."

I've seriously considered changing the name of my blog, because I feel as though somehow I am not representing authentic "fire" for Jesus, in my writings. But, I can't. I mean what would I call this online journal, that would truly represent me?

So, I am at a stand still with this blog. I am ready to grow in a new way with writing. I want to get across more of Jesus and less of me. I am not so sure how to do that yet. But, the Lord knows my heart.

All I know, is I want this to be all about You, Jesus.

Posted in: , , on Friday, February 01, 2008 at at 10:26 AM 6 comments  

A Little Traveling, In Store for Me!!!


You read that right! I am actually going to be traveling next month, all the way down to sunny MEXICO, for a missions trip!! Just me and well, 6 other people from my church. But no kids or husband, or even students.

I can't believe it! It's amazing how things work out.

I've felt as though the Lord wanted me to go on this trip since the day I heard it announced. In my spirit, I knew that I was supposed to be there. And yet, daily circumstances weren't adding up to going.

Want to know a secret victory for me???

I. didn't. stress. about. it. at. all.

Not one little tiny bit. I laid it down (really I did!!) at His feet. I told Him, that I wanted to go and that I felt as though He wanted me there. I took the directions He told me, stored them up in my heart, pondering them. And then waited.

A couple of times, I thought that I was going. And then things would fall through. I would find myself a bit disappointed. But then I would shake it off, and think to myself, God will get me there if I am supposed to go.

Last Friday, I got word that I indeed was going!

To think, I have less then a month to pray, prepare, and organize!

But, hey!! I'm going to Mexico! I really am!!!


PS - Those of you who know me in real life, will get the exciting details sooner then later!

Posted in: , , , on Monday, January 14, 2008 at at 2:55 PM 3 comments  

The Preacher Kid


My EJ. Oh, do I adore my little EJ. He is such a neat kid. At five years old he amazes me, constantly. EJ is outgoing, smart, funny, and desperately wants to please his family and God.


Last week, it was our family's turn to teach the kids in the Ninos Ministry. We were teaching on the Lord's Prayer, specifically about the two verses, "Gives us this day our daily bread. Forgive us for our debts as we forgive our debtors."

As I was putting together the lesson, I was looking for a way to really capture the kids attention. It occurred to me, that EJ has almost his entire kids bible memorized!!! He could recite the Lords prayer and the story behind it.

EJ has no fear of getting up in crowds. As soon as I asked him, he began to tell me how he would like to do it.

EJ: Can I have one of those stands mama, you know where you put your bible on?

Me: Do you mean a podium?

EJ: Yea. And can I please use one of those things that you talk into?

Me: A microphone?

EJ: Yea, that's what I am talking about.

So, complete with costume, my son stood up in front of about 30 people and told them the story of Jesus teaching his disciples the Lords Prayer. He slapped me five, when he was done and sat down on the chair.

I then taught the rest of the lesson, with joy in my heart! EJ and I had just done a duo lesson together!

Posted in: , on Tuesday, October 16, 2007 at at 10:00 AM 9 comments  

Trapped


Our first day back with the Ninos de Cristo ministry was this past Tuesday. Our goal this trimester is to teach the children how to really pray and talk with their Father in heaven. But before you can teach them about that, you need to make sure that they even have a relationship with Him, right? So, this week we did a hands on practical lesson.

We duct taped a kid to the wall!

Now, before you get a little too excited and try this at home with your own kids, let me explain to you the purpose.

We placed a child on a stool against the wall. Then we asked the kids to start telling us about sins, what they mean, what they are, etc. For each sin, we placed a piece of tape across the child and onto the wall. Soon, there was tons of taped "sins" on this kid. After awhile, we kicked the stool out from underneath him and had him hang there.

The guy who was doing this, acting as God, then asked the child to come to him. He told him that he loved him and wanted to spend time with him. The child couldn't move, couldn't get out and was trapped by his sin.

We offered a message about salvation, with a time of prayer and discussion afterwards.

A couple kids gave their lives to Jesus that day!

Posted in: on Saturday, September 15, 2007 at at 1:49 PM 6 comments  

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