Swing open the gates

Swing open the gates,
I pray revival all around,
hearts to burn with the song of freedom rising deep from within the ashes.

And as I marvel, you whisper fiery words of loving discipline that press me to cry out and say something unexpected:
"Jesus, start with me."

I've only skimmed the surface of You, danced across it.
Merely flipped the pages and caught a summary.
How I need Him more.
How we all need Him more.

How can we expect others to see You? To care? To desperately want You as their God
If they don't see our own face radiating with the swelling love and blinding light of the King of Kings.

Pour out Your lifestream into our hearts,
the burning and jealous love that ransomed us from the grave,
that turned our fragmented blindness into glimpses of heavenly redemption,
that reached down into the depths of the grave and pulled us out with mighty hands
to shine a Light that changed it all.

For Your own sake shine upon us,
the desolate sanctuaries you ignite to burn for a lifetime,
never to be overcome.

I pray revival all around.
Yet my prayer begins with the heart I shakily offer to You in prayer.

Revive this heart, the only one I can truly offer at Your throne
but the one which You will use to spread the radiant truth and bells of freedom to ring.

For you care for the masses, the nations,
yet You speak tenderly to Your children.
Melodies and sonnets of tender love to the orphaned living apart from You,
Painted dreams across the blackest of skies of regret and shame,
whispering the freedom that winds its way around our chains, unlocking them in victory.

I humble myself and say:
Purify me,
change me,
mold me,
move me.

Yes, they need You even if they can't see it now
but my command is to love You with all that I have.
The overflow and steady stream of Your love will always be the source

Jesus, I pray revival.
I pray revival in this heart, in this season, with these people. For I know it is only through You that my little life might extend itself in compassion and love to blow up the smallest or largest of sparks within another.

Swing open the gates,
Start with me.

Psalm 119:19-24

Immerse

Drowning.

This is what initially came to mind as I pictured the word immersed. Someone submerged and immersed in water, drowning and gasping for breath...not exactly positive imagery.

And looking up the definition of "immerse" I found that this is one of three definitions.

The first states that it is "to cover completely in a liquid". The second is to "baptize by submerging in water" while the third and most clearly relevant one states "to engage wholly or deeply; absorb." 

This is where a recollection of the past four days begins.  Immerse 2012.  You might say we were drowning but only in the most positive of ways :), surrounded by and sinking into the love and grace of God! :) Haha.

I had the opportunity this past week to attend Cru's Christmas conference and what an immense privilege and blessing it was.  Engaging deeply in the life of Christ and being reminded of the grand invitation to step into the epic story He is telling, Immerse 2012 was a conference worth remembering. Here are some of the highlights:

Opening for worship, the song "Forever Reign" screamed the truth out we all need to resonate and be immersed in.  Forever reigning, our King has appeared and because of this, our soul can feel again. Our soul can know its worth secure in Him.  The first speaker, Brian Loritz, preached the hard Truth that the gospel of Christ must never be confused with religion.  The gospel states I am accepted therefore I do, not I do, therefore I am accepted.  



Break out sessions
The second day there were break-out sessions with topics ranging from how to have girl/guy friendships in the Body of Christ without something more attached to it to the one I went to which was how to freely love others by the power of the Spirit.  The one I attended was absolutely wonderful and proclaimed such freedom to walk in the truth and how devoting more of your time and life to Him frees you to love people more by His power.  Was a great reminder our greatest call is to love and not be the Savior who rescues people!

Skill set sessions

The last full day there were skill set sessions ranging from advanced evangelism, how to effectively lead a small group, healing from addiction, and how to truly change by the power of the Spirit. I attended the first option and came away with a fresh perspective on sharing my faith and it was awesome!

Amazing Grace.
And for the moment that touched the depths of my heart and stands very vividly in my memory.  Before this, Mike Erre, a speaker paved the way for it, paving a very powerful message relating to identity.  His main point derived from the central message of the gospel Ephesians 1 that we have already been chosen in love to be His children.  Mike provided the horrifying facts behind the cultural context of this passage that explained how deformed and imperfect babies at the time were left at the top of the hill to be abandoned and eventually die.   Ephesians 1 paints the picture of our beautiful God who runs to the top of the hill to the unwanted, the hurting, the empty, the sick, and provides them with permanent adoption into His family.

Delving into the profound implications of this radical idea of being chosen amidst our sin and mess, Erre chose to examine the perfectionist cloud hanging over our society. The airbrushed women, million dollar bank accounts, billion dollar Hollywood industry, and an emphasis on perfect grades, all shoving us to be immersed in the lie that we will never be "good enough", never have enough, or be satisfied as we are.

The truth He proclaimed at the end was that the deepest longing of the heart is to know we are loved in spite of the darkness within us, that there is a Father longing to wrap His arms around us and make us new.

He painted the picture of a child who has been abused his entire life and because of this picks up habits such as hiding food around the house due to his punishment which included being starved. Once he is later put in the foster care system, his new loving parents take him into their home and are grieved to find out he is still hiding food around the house as a result of the pain.

He went on saying very seriously: "You don't have to do that here. This is not like your old family. You willnever be hungry again."

Just as this child experienced a new adoption with loving parents, so have you. You now have a loving Father who has in the riches of His grace and mercy, bestowed upon you the blessing of a new title: a beloved son or daughter of the Most High King.  You have a Father who will never leave nor forsake you and who offers you a new life in Him: one where you will never go hungry again.

Hearing this John 6:35 came to mind. 

"I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." -John 6:35 About to close His talk, Mike paused and the crowd sensed a change.  Looking us straight in the eyes he addressed the audience and said these words: "I know there are some of you in the audience who are having a hard time buying into this idea of God's love. It sounds too good to be true, you don't know why people are so excited about Jesus, you are still figuring this whole God thing out.  I want to ask if there are any of you out there right now who are struggling with this and would be bold. Come up to the front of the stage so that we may cover you in prayer and anyone who feels led can come up to pray over you." With that, a bold boy jumped out of his seat and literally ran to the front of the stage. Slowly as the minutes went on, more and more people gathered at the front of the stage til there were about 30 people surrounding the stage. Mike then called up the prayers and with that, me and about 60 others rushed to the stage and layed hands upon each and every one of them. The worship band came on stage and that is where the most moving and spiritual moment emerged. "Amazing Grace" rang out and the room was filled with a beautiful choir of voice crying and singing out to God. "My chains are gone I've been set free My God, my Savior has ransomed me And like a flood His mercy rains Unending love, Amazing grace." Amidst the doubting, amidst the trials and pain, amidst the diversity in the room, we were able to unite as a body of believers and lift up praise for the unbelievable riches of His love that redeems and the grace that brought us to stand there in that room. Lifting my eyes from the boy that I had prayed over, I was overwhelmed by emotion as I watched the prayer and support unfolding all around me. Acts 4:32 sprang to mind and the feeling of being "of one heart and one mind" brought joy to the inner depths of my soul.  I knew it was a moment I would not forget for some time. Outreach day. Tagging along with the U of I campus, we went to a church New Covenant Life Church Center in Indianapolis to be prepped for outreach.  Before this we had been given "Knowing God Personally" booklets and walked through the basic steps of sharing the gospel with someone. This was incredibly helpful and by the time prepping was done I was so excited for this opportunity to see God move!! Coming to the church we were greeted by the pastor who opened with a absolutely breathtaking story from last year.  A group from this same U of I campus had done outreach door to door, with survey and food in hand to come across a guy named William who lived in the area. William was down on his luck and at a place where he had come to recognize his own emptiness and need for something beyond himself.  Opening his door he was surprised to find students waiting with a smile.  Letting them in, the conversation began and the students later asked if he would be interested in knowing God personally.  Explaining the gospel, something sparked in William and after the students had left, he went that very day to New Life to become a member of the church. Now one year later after accepting Jesus, he is a new man.  At 54 years old, he is in preparation to be a deacon at the church and is engaged to be married to the pastor's daughter. 2 Corinthians 5:17 could not be more true of this man, a vivid picture of what it looks like to be a new creation in Christ. Hearing this I was blown away by the beauty of our God and how He would choose to use students like us in this man's life and the lives of many others in outreach.  Leading up to this conference evangelism and sharing my faith has been something huge God has laid on my heart and seeing how central this is to the mission of Cru was so incredible! Their view on evangelism is "taking the initiative in the power of the Spirit to share the gospel and leaving the results up to God." Such a freeing thing to realize that our job is to take the initiative and to be faithful to the gospel, not to "convert" or change someone.  Going out into the community and seeing God moving and changing people before our eyes brought the reality of Christ one step closer and the power we have in the Spirit.  To grow a fire for sharing your faith, I guarantee seeing someone come to know Christ for the first time will do just that!! And want to hear something crazy amazing!? In one day there were over 1000 gospel conversations and as a result, 72 people chose to put their trust in Christ!! Praise God!! Oh...and Phil Wickam performed? No big deal or anything... ;) His worship was the most inspiring and Spirit-empowered worship I have ever witnessed in my life!!!!!!! I felt as if God had given us a glimpse into Heaven and what worship will be there!!  Here is one of the songs He sang! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6lZLY-SjUc "Heaven Fall Down" International Night There was another night all about the nations and how God wants to reach the world through us. It was an awesome night to hear about the international programs through Cru that are reaching people all around the world. One ministry is reaching out to women through the Iruna Project to pull them out of human trafficking and bringing them to Christ while another is ministering to college students in Asia. It wa s a night of worship and asking God for big things. The goal for the funds of the night among the college students was $80,000...and guess how much was raised? Over $114,000!!!!!! Yeah Jesus!!!  Paul Tripp The last few days Paul Tripp spoke and with words bearing the truth of the gospel day after day came tremendous conviction for me and the rest of the students in the audience. His main point across his talks revolved around the fact that our biggest problem in is us.  This is the biggest reason we are in desperate need of a Redeemer because the sin within us is not something we can change by our own strength. The issue is not  merely our world or our circumstances but that which is inside of us. The greatest war is between the kingdom of self and the Kingdom of God. Sin makes us shrink our lives down to us which we were not created to do and this causes despair. The words and actions of our everyday are telling of exactly what is present within our hearts!  With sin controlling our heart and actions from the inside out, we will inevitably have empty lives for ourselves that will never satisfy. However the hope is that in Christ our vision enlarges to the greater story He is telling! His love now controls us and we are free to live an upward life towards His call. Jesus came to break your bondage to you! Only in the acceptance of the news that you are in desperate need of Him because of your condition can the good news finally click. The sad song of humanity is that we make life our party when it is meant to be His all along! Nerd Party (Geeking it out!!) Well whoever said Christians don't know how to have fun obviously have it wrong ;). There was an awesome party in the ballroom full of 3000 college students all dressed in the nerdiest attire rocking out and dancing like fools to "Call Me Maybe"...so I would say it was pretty awesome!!    (The four roomies for the trip! Abigail, Amelia, Me, and Megan!)(My friend Amelia watching a youtube video on how to tie a bowtie :)) From there, we headed to worship in the main conference area. We got to rang in the new year worshiping God for all He has done and is yet to do in the coming year of 2013 which I believe is a whole lot!! We spent time in prayer for our nation, its leaders, our campuses, and each other which was wonderful. Friends, if you made it this far into this very lengthy post, I thank you!! It was such a beautiful and God-given opportunity to attend Indycc and cannot wait to bring as many of you next year as possible to experience it!! Seeing college students from all over the Midwest from Northwestern, U of I, Michigan State, UIC, Purdue, Calvin, and many other schools come together to worship the King was absolutely stunning. and such a reminder that our generation is one I believe Jesus wants to use to change the world and carry the hope of His name! There was incredible speakers, convicting and inspiring messages, beautiful worship, opportunity for outreach, but beyond all of this was the focus on Christ amidst every single one of these aspects: the One person we can be immersed in and never have enough of. Drowning. This is where we find ourselves in a life apart from Him: trying to fulfill the expectations of others, please other people, living into the dreams of the world, chasing after things other than His love, and this leads to suffocation. With Christ we find that He is the air we breathe, the refreshment for our soul, and the only One who will ever satisfy the deepest cries and hunger of our hearts. Immerse 2012 was a beautiful experience and has only set the stage for this coming semester!! Get excited for seeing Cru launched!! I sure am and hope you come out to support what Jesus has in store!! :) "In the path of your judgments, O Lord, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul." -Isaiah 26:8 God bless my friends, Taylor

Random pictures from Indycc:

(Out in the hall before the very first session!)

(Beautiful stained glass at New Life! Power of prayer baby!)

(This is awesome!!! haha Check it out!)

(Stairs was an option when the elevators were super crowded! My friend Megan and I ran up 18 flights a few times! Good thing we survived the conference ;))

(Notes from the first speaker, Brian Loritz, The gospel- "I love you too much not to tell you." Gospel motivation.)

(Veinte coffee to kickstart the day! The line for coffee was a mile long every day...me included!)

(The Surrender sign we all put a signature on the last night!! )

(Dinner at church after outreach!! )

(Chick-fil-a was one of the many places in the food court we went to connected to the hotel! Chicken is gooooood!!!)

(Yes...there was  a dancing cow!!!) 

(Awesome worship leader for the retreat: Matt McCoy of Harvest Bible Chapel!)

Rest and Revival

"In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength..." -Isaiah 30:15

Quietness, trust, stillness, peace, rest.

How simple these concepts are but I can lose a grip on them all too easily (especially being Type-A ;)

This break has been one of revelations and restoration that He knew my soul needed. I felt the need to write a few of them down and God had other plans as I sit here typing three hours later...May they shed a light for you. 

Break revelations:  

Subconsciously on a deeper level I think I  believe that God's love can be earned.  How simple the resounding noise in heaven rings that it is "by grace that you have been saved" when we have the ears and heart to receive it.

Productivity and efficiency can overwhelm and swallow up the beauty of the present. It can make us believe even for a second that it is human energy plus God that yields fruit when it in reality it is Christ alone.

Living life to please people will suffocate you. It never satisfy or fulfill like we trick ourselves into believing it will. It is only through living for the affirmation of Jesus will we ever be at rest. God is my judge and yours.

"For am I seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ." -Galatians 1:10 

Sometimes you have to lose yourself to find the true self once lost.  Buried beneath the expectations of others, the condemning voice of the self, and the flurry of business lies the awakening heartbeat of God who longs for your revival of heart, soul, and being.  

"Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." -Matthew 10:39

Maybe the real reason people have a hard time seeing Him  in our world is not because He isn't there but because they were looking for a King they wouldn't recognize.  Are our lives, our words, how we spend our time telling of the King whom we love or are they telling of a driving force behind a striving life?  Are we living lives that are a window into the glory and heart of Christ?

"I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; behold, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O LORD. I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation." -Psalm 40:9-10

We maximize and minimize ourselves.

Inflating ourselves to more than we are pridefully, we also minimize ourselves to a worthless spec that could not be redeemed. Both of these lack the very core and truth of the gospel of grace and forgiveness. When we are not enough, He is. When our sin was large enough to swallow our lives, He gave us life and covered it. When we fall, Grace can pick us up.   Unbelievably weak by our own strength, we live by the power of God in Him. We fall, He rises.  

"For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we are also weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God." -2 Corinthians 13:4  

We serve a dynamic and wonderfully beautiful God but how often do we limit who we are as His light bearers? Do we box ourselves into one particular area of life that we label as our ministry and neglect to come to Him in prayer for other areas or strengths we have yet to have the eyes to see? How often we overlook the fact that merely being present in someone's life can proclaim the love of Christ to that one person. 

Ephesians 3:20 He is able to do abundantly more through us according to His glory. 

It is all too easy to project the image of who we want people to be onto someone when in reality this can suffocate the very growth the Lord is doing within someone to make them into who He is making them to be. 

2 Corinthians 5:17 In Christ you are a new creation. You are intricately crafted, fantastically unique, and designed to bring the love of Christ into this world but the soul sitting next to you may have a radically different call, way of being, and way to love this world than you do.  Choose to love and embrace that He will reach this world in ways beyond your comprehension through those around you, it's not up to you.

Love understands our pain. 
Understands betrayal, opposition, feeling alone, love, having to muster strength we don't feel we possess. He walked this life, took on flesh, and experienced the world as you and I do. I was struck to the core by this when I came upon a song called "Love Does". Brandon Heath sings, "Nobody knows why your heart is broken Nobody cries while your prayers are going up But Love does Nobody walks on the road you’re paving Nobody sees all the souls you’re saving Oh, but Love does." Nothing done for His name is ever in vain and to follow Him is to trust in the strength of His Spirit at work in you and in the souls of those around you. 

God can handle our burdens, our doubts, our hurt.
Pretending all is fine might fool even those closest to you but not Him. He is strong enough to handle your blatant honesty- whether you believe in Him and are doubting what He is doing or whether you are struggling to believe He is who He said He is.  He desires truth in the inward being (Psalm 51) even if that may mean coming clean before Him. Walking in the darkness of your own private bitterness or denial of old wounds withdraws yourself from true healing.
"If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all our sin." -1 John 1:6-7

Fear can steal our remembrance of what has already been done on the cross, what has been given to us in the Spirit, and the hope we have in Christ.  Fear can make us forget that ultimately the worst thing would be for someone to be outside of God's will not pursuing it. 

His sacrifice on the cross must be brought to the forefront of our minds daily in order for us to persevere and rest our lives in the hands of Love.  It is not God that changes but our "receptivity" to His love as Sara Young explains. We must pray for the eyes and heart to receive this unfading love coming down from the "Father of Lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." -James 1:17-18

His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22).

In His presence there is riches beyond compare (Psalm 16:11) and the healing hands of restoration. Every morning is the dawning of new insight and truth whether this comes through trials, joy, or a day of rest.  

Laying everything down at His feet is where you will find your revival.  

In surrender and yielding yourself to Him, He is faithful to answer.   The heavens will open with glory, healing, and fullness beyond compare.

"Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need." -Malachi 3:10

  

Following Him, there is so much to learn. 

We will never "arrive" or ever have enough of this God.  To grow is to open our lives to be touched by more of His Spirit, His grace, and His refining truths. 

"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now." -John 16:12

Humility is found when we have the open arms to receive His grace. Shooting down your worth is a slap in the face to God who sacrificed Himself to die for and raise you to life in Him. It is fake humility to preach your shortcomings more than you preach the grace that saved you.

"But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God." -Acts 20:24

Growing older, we can lose the wonder and awe. 

We can loosen our grip on knowing the Savior, rejoicing in what He has done, and remembering the life-changing power in the name of Jesus. Amidst the worldly struggles, trials, and pain and even in the details of ministry or our faith, a hardened and bitter heart can be the poison of the spiritual life. We must put our minds fully set on the hope of Christ and heavenly things (Colossians 3:2)  It is only by grace that we delve deeper and maintain a hold on the promise.  Trust in Him to guard what you have been given each and every day and to grow up every way into Him.  

"O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you...Grace be with you." 

-1 Timothy 6:20. 

And finally, love. The only thing that matters is love at the end of the day. 

Love working itself out through faith 

Love being the melody behind the words you sing.

Love being the flame within your heart and the courage for you to stand.

Choosing to love Him first, love others, and sometimes the most difficult, to love yourself because you were worth it for Him to die for.

In His arms you will be tightly held to journey through the waves of life but you must choose to remain close to His heartbeat each step.  Love is longing for each of us to fall back into His arms  to return whether it is for the fifth time this week or for the every first embrace.  We all need a second chance, following Him already or not, and it is up to us to choose to set our gaze to Him and draw near for He is waiting. 

You are the beloved and precious child of the King of Kings and He longs to bring you the rest and revival found within His promise to love and keep you all of your days.

"Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you." -Isaiah 30:18

"You are the hand that catches my fall
You are the friend that answers my call
You are my day, You are my night
You are my love and all of my life
You are the grace that covers my sin
You're everything the beginning and end
You have my soul, my heart and my mind
You have my love and all of my life."

-"Always Forever" by Phil Wickam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vXktjT98Q4 "Always forever" 

A Beautiful Rescue

Dimming the lights, it was time for a few moments of silence.

"If now is the time you are in need of a rescue, come to God with it."

And with that a few thousand people bowed their heads in prayer at a Christmas service in 2012 and I was swept backwards. Squeezing my eyes shut with tears forming in my eyes, I was swept back to my rescue moment.  July of 2011 on my last retreat, surrounded by a very similar darkened auditorium, my life was about to dramatically change.

It was time to release my clenched fists.

I knew in my heart that smiling through the deep pain within me would not heal me.  It might fool people or myself but I knew even deeper within my heart that I was crying out to be rescued although I had been too prideful to admit it.  Jesus was held at the most comfortable of distances, close enough that I could claim the label, but far enough away that my heart remained locked away and sealed for me to clumsily stitch up as I moved through my days seamlessly.  I claimed His saving yet I had continually tried to paddle with arms flailing in the opposite direction.  

I knew I needed a change but little did I know the Answer had been standing beside me all along.  The King of Kings, God of angel armies, Emmanuel, and my Savior had been there a long. Patiently waiting and watching over me from the moment that I entered this world--He longed to rescue me from the darkness and utter emptiness apart from His light.  He didn't want my money, my time on Sunday, for me to sell everything to the poor, or for me to have perfect attendance at youth group...He wanted my heart. And to give a heart would mean surrender of control...something most of us including myself are not fond of.  

But this was where I found myself on that retreat two months before I would step onto Hope College as a freshman. Resistant to change but the walls were closing in. The weight of it all was suffocating to any scrap of belief I might have had in myself. I couldn't believe myself worthy of having any type of significance or that I could belong somewhere. 

Yet isn't that the beauty of the gospel? Isn't this the magnified hope in the redemption we have received as children of the living God? Mere dust, unworthy, and ragged but despite all this our God, in His fierce and unfathomable love, chooses to reach down into the depths of humanity and blow His life into us.  Through His Son, Jesus Christ, we are now alive in Christ taking on His new life and adopted as sons and daughters to receive the eternal inheritance of His Kingdom (Ephesians 1:5).

Now on December 21st I slowly opened my eyes, the stage lights flooding my vision. Bill Hybel's words of the present echoed in my heart as he spoke. 

"I'll say this again, who in this room is in need of a Divine rescue? There is no depth He cannot reach down and pull you from."

I was in need of a Divine rescue on that night two years ago.

On that retreat, my heart cry echoed through the silence into the heavens and I believe it was then that my world began to change.  From the inside out, God began to transform, renew, and heal me through a personal relationship with the Savior. And I can tell you life has truly never been the same since.

My life at 19 years old is full and rich with wonderful people, a great family, and a good education, but above all of this stands the most important and highly cherished relationship with my Savior. Living and active, He is.  Constantly teaching, refining, revealing, and touching the depths of my heart with grace, mercy, and love--I will forever be changed. Seeking Him has revealed areas of who He is that continually blow my mind and press me to go deeper.  The joy of knowing Christ fills my heart and my eyes with the radiant hope of His name.  Talking about Him and spreading His glory has brought soul-filling joy inexpressible.  

After all, after this type of a rescue how could I stay silent about this?

"He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.  He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God." -Psalm 40:2 

He put a song of hope in my lungs too desperately beautiful and true to remain within the corridors of my own heart. 

It's not merely for me. My life is about making Him known to everyone around me. It's about letting out a song of praise and thankfulness for my Divine rescuer and hero who has changed my life in every way and is deserving of my praise.

It is about proclaiming the truth that there is a God whose love for you is as fierce as the grace. He died to free you from living this life for yourself or even for the sake of other people. Your life is meant to be His for it is placing your trust in Him where the world will be touched by the lasting impact so many of you long to make.

It is about preaching the truth that our God is alive. He died 2000 years ago but is now seated at the right hand of the Father and the reality of this truth changes everything for you, for me, and for this world. 

It is about revealing to this generation that they have something to live for!!! You have purpose beyond who you'll date next, your test grade, what party you can attend next, or your popularity and it is in your pursuit of Christ. 

I don't know who you are. You may be a random blogger, a Facebook friend I haven't spoken to in five years, or you may be someone I know quite well.  Whoever you are, I want you to know how dearly you are loved, how much you are cherished, how much you are worth in the sight of our God. I believe that you are reading these words for a reason and I pray you take them to heart. 

John Piper writes these words in "Don't Waste Your Life":

"Oh who will get in their face and give them something to live for..?" 

I am not going to get in your face but lovingly step into your path and interrupt your thoughts for a moment.

When the tally of your days is up and all is said and done---what did you live for? Did you find the meaning of your life or why you're here?  Did you invest your heart in the eternal and unshakable Kingdom of God and the relationship you were designed for? Did you spend your life giving people the life-changing eternal gift of Christ?  Did you allow doubts and pride to block you from surrendering to a beautiful rescue ?

You get one shot at life. 

Not two, not three, not four...but one. That means spending it on what will inevitably pass away and living in unbelief of our reigning God would be an incredible tragedy beyond compare.  Joan of Arc writes, "One life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it. But to sacrifice what you are and to live without belief, that is a fate more terrible than dying." 

Breathe and meditate upon these truths:

You were born to behold glory.

You were born for a fierce Kingdom purpose.

Your voice has the potential to carry the weight of the King.

You were born to be adopted in a family you belong in.

You were made to walk with Him, to be loved by the Creator.

You were born to be loved.

You were created with a Divine plan in mind--to be rescued and swept into the epic story God is already telling.  To be brought to the knowledge of the most breathtaking and astounding love found in Christ alone that transforms and makes you into the symbol of Love the world is waiting for.

True freedom lies in surrender. 

It lies in surrendering that you can do this life on your own, surrendering a need to please everyone around you, surrendering societal expectations, and above all, surrendering to Christ. 

I write these words to you today knowing full well that it is not easy. 

It is not easy to cast aside the opinion of the world, your friends, your classmates, and even that inner voice that tells you this is too good to be true.  I know also that I need to get the point across that we are ALL in need of a Divine Rescue but beyond that, we need Christ to continue saving us from slipping, we need Christ's continue renewal and healing, and we need His strength to continue this journey of life. 

The beautiful truth and reality is that a Divine rescue is a call away.  He stands ready and waiting, unchanging and eternal, with arms open to receive you, His beloved child that He longs to know.

If you feel He has deserted you or left you to fight this life alone, I assure you He is right by your side. Not for one moment has He forgotten or left you to fight this life on your own.  Sometimes those seasons are to shape you and to turn you on your heel straight into His arms.  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD0cvWImVjA "Not for a moment" by Meredith Andrews)

God's love is so incomprehensibly vast and deep.  If you doubt whether or not He cares for you look at the lengths He went to in order to send us our Savior.  

He chose to grant you the choice to be free in love. To choose a Divine rescue or the way of the world is yours to make, Love will come at your call.  

Romans 10:13: "For all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved."

I firmly believe God may be calling each of you into His arms whispering your name with a plan more breathtaking than you can dare to imagine. It's time to silence the world and your own doubts, He is speaking. 

"...you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, "You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off"; fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." -Isaiah 41:9-10

(Baptism day August 2010-).


"On the day I called You answered me and the hope in my soul increased.."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8-9uOwDObM "You are more" by Hillsong

"Love came down and rescued me. Love came down and set me free. I am Yours, I am forever Yours." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShxntTzMXtU "Love Came Down" by Kari Jobe.

"And I know that You have come down even if to ride upon my heart to remind me who You are.."http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbSMfL5LuSo "You are for me" by Kari Jobe