Restoration Reboot- Restoring the Passion

 

Conviction hit me this morning as I was reading through some of my past posts, especially the reboot of “The Air I Breathe”. Putting aside the words of the post, I asked how “have I slid back so far?” As I read the words that I wrote many years ago I see a passion, yet currently, I’m not living with that passion. I have yet again, become wrapped in a blanket of complacency. Jason and I switched churches this past year and our new pastor has been preaching a lot about blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52). As Jesus went through Jericho and was in the crowds Bartimaeus passionately cried out to Him, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” When Jesus stopped, stood still, and called back to him, Bartimaeus threw off his cloak. I realized this morning that I have been wearing a cloak of complacency and I feel Jesus calling me to throw off the cloak and answer His question of what I want Him to do for me.  

There are many things I could ask Jesus to do – restore our nation, restore our finances, restore health, etc., but more than anything I want Jesus to restore my passion. I want to hear His voice more. I want to be in His presence more. I want to see a wave of His presence sweep this nation. I want His body to throw off the blankets of politics, Covid, and division, and to run to Jesus, sit at His feet, and watch Him do what He desires on this earth. I want to hear my marching orders and for Him to direct my steps.

Each year I pray for a word to define the upcoming year, and a couple of weeks ago I thought that word would have something to do with the events of the last two years. Instead, my word for 2022 is "PASSION". There have been prophetic voices calling 2022 “the year for you” and they have said it will be the “year of spoils” and reward. Those spoils only come from a passionate pursuit of God and a passionate pursuit to see His will done on earth as it is in Heaven. I pray that God not only restores my passion but the passion of His people. A passion to return to their first love, remembering all He has done for us, to rest in His embrace and to be His hands and feet to this lost and hurting world.

The Air I Breathe- Reboot

It has been a long time since I have written. I have spent the last two years pursuing my Associates Degree and in January I will be continuing on for my bachelor’s with a major in Sociology. For the past 3 months I have been feeling like something was missing and this morning when I was looking over some past blogs to get inspired, I came across one I wrote in 2013- “Making Room for God to Become the Air You Breathe.”  After reading it, I realized not only how far my writing has come, but I realize how much I have been suffocating the past few months.  I am posting a reboot to remind myself that we need to make Him the air we breathe. (Sorry I had to edit the grammar. I couldn’t believe I had published it with that many errors.) 

I have learned, that regardless of how much we go to church and pray, we can still suffocate if we don’t breathe Him in daily. This means we need to be in the Word daily and worship daily. I was spending time listening to podcasts in the car, and I would do quick, one to two verse devotions, but I wasn’t taking those deep, full breaths of Him that I needed. I invite you to reboot by taking a slow, deep breath of His goodness and mercy for all of us. 

  “Making Room for God to Become the Air You Breathe.” 

"Making room for God to do as He pleases and then cooperating with Him is the greatest thing we can do to see an increase in signs and wonders" - Bill Johnson.

The song "I Need You More" by Jesus Culture has the lyrics "I need You more... more than the air I breathe, more than the song I sing, more than my next heartbeat, more than anything.:"

God desires for us to hunger after Him. He wants us to put Him, above all else, in our lives. I have learned on my journey with Him that He MUST come first. He IS the air I breathe and the water I thirst for. Without air and water, we die. When I begin to let other things take me away from my daily time with Him, I feel like I am dying. When I look to Him as the air I breathe and the water I drink, it makes it easy for me to put aside the things of the world and spend time with Him.

 But that's not enough. We don't stop what we are doing to breathe, we breathe as we are doing. I want to be so immersed in His presence that a minute doesn't go by without Him being acknowledged. I want my actions to permeate with His love and presence.

In Luke 5:1-11 Jesus had just finished a night of miraculous signs and when He told Simon Peter, James and John to cast out their nets after not catching anything all night they obeyed. Out of their obedience, when they were tired from working all night, they themselves were granted a miraculous catch that almost sunk two boats. Jesus then gave them the invitation to leave everything and follow Him.

What is it in our lives that keeps us from dropping everything to follow Him? I believe it's the same thing that the disciples struggled with - fear and unworthiness. Jesus wouldn't call us if HE believed us to be unworthy, so are we going to call Him a liar and agree with the enemy?

2 Corinthians 5:21 says, "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him, we might become the righteousness of God". If you have accepted Christ as your savior, you have become the righteousness of God, this makes you worthy of all that He has for you.

As for fear; 2 Timothy 1:7 says, "For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of sound mind.”

It is time for the Church, the Bride of Christ, to step into our true inheritance, to lay our lives down for Christ. Invite Him to be the air you breathe, and as you go about your day breathing Him in, He will permeate your life till those around you begin to see and feel the love of God. Invite Him to partner with you in all you do; at work, at home, at school, and at play. Wherever God has placed you on this earth let Him reign there.

Complacency

 Complacency is like a gray blanket that covers us, and though it seems warm and comfortable, it keeps the joy and passion out of our lives. We get so caught up in the day-to-day, that we don't even realize when we have wrapped ourselves in this blanket. It comes into our lives like a blanket of fog, covering the landscaping and hiding the beauty.

A few years ago, I recognized how I had allowed myself to be wrapped up, and I threw off the blanket. I told myself I would not allow myself to be wrapped up in it again. However, just like you can't walk in the mud without getting muddy, you can't constantly be around complacent people without becoming complacent. I recognize, yet again, I have allowed the complacency blanket into my life. It is a daily struggle to keep it off and at times, I grow weary. I know God has us where we are supposed to be for this season, but there is a strong longing for something more. More of God and His Glory to be manifested in and through our lives.

There are so many times I want to go up to people, grab them by the shoulders, shake them, and say, "Don't you realize there is more than this!" I have written before about tasting and hungering for more and I feel as if there is a famine happening. Not that God is withholding- quite the contrary, He desires more than anything for His people to step out of the way and say,"whatever You want to do, do it."

In reality, they are covered with the blanket of complacency that deceives them into believing that this is all there is. They don't even know what they are missing. To experience God's presence so thick in a room that you can't even stand. To feel joy so overwhelming that your stomach muscles hurt for days from laughing so hard. To witness His will being carried out when people are set free, restored to health and sound mind, and relationships are restored. To rest in a "peace which surpasses all understanding". I thank God that He has given me a taste of these things and I will continue to hold on to the promises He has given and throw off the blanket of complacency. I will long for the day when these things become an everyday occurrence, not just a scattered moment.

I am convicted that it is part my responsibility. Am I walking out my daily life for the Kingdom? These things can only happen when lives are lived fully surrendered to Him. How am I doing? How are you doing? Are we allowing ourselves to be wrapped in the blanket of complacency, or are we living every moment in full surrender to Him?

Doors

God has been leading me down a new path and often times as one door opens another closes. That was what 2016 was for me; it was a season of change and challenges. 

Sometimes, it is painful when a door is shut. Doors are a lot like the obstacles in our lives;sometimes they are there because God wants them there and sometimes they are there to hinder us on our journey. Whether God has shut the door or not, He can use the circumstance to help us see in a new light. When a door is open it illuminates certain things and when that door is shut, the light shifts to illuminate other things for us to focus on. So it is with the doors in our lives.The patterns of light shifts and change around us lighting the new areas that need exploring. Would we dare venture to explore those areas if they were not illuminated for us? When a door is closed to us we no longer see the path we were on; we must move on to the new adventure and a new path. 

There are times when one door is shut, but a new one opens. There may even be more than one open and sometimes there are none at all; we are left standing in an empty room - waiting. I have learned, over the years to not rush into the next door. There are times of growth in the hallway and in the waiting that prepares us for the journey through the next door. It is also in the waiting, when there is more than one door open, that we can seek Gods will in which door to walk through. Not every door is opened by God. We must wait on Him to illuminate the way for us. 

What ever the situation, it's never easy to do new things, but it is in the challenge that we discover our strengths. It is in our weaknesses that we lean on God's strength. As I walk through these new doors I may not see the path in front of me, but I hold to the promises that God has given me and I take the next step in obedience. As I do this I get closer to the promises and closer to God. 

Restoring Justice - Olivia Noble

In my last post I talked about obstacles and one of the biggest times you may run into an obstacle is when you are moving out in what the Lord wants you to do. I have to laugh at how the enemy thinks he can actually stop what God has set in motion. I have been privileged to watch God move in and through my daughter's life. God has set things in motion in her life and I just wanted to give others the chance to partner with her and see God move the financial obstacle by allowing her to share with you a portion of what He is doing.

Justice
Has the word justice ever made you sick to your stomach? If so, you are not alone. Justice has always come across as a harsh word to me, it’s always been something that partners with punishment and the loving side of me use to cower at the sound of the word.  Until I actually realized what Justice is. Justice is the restoration of every violation of love. When true justice comes, healing follows, love invades, and the broken become better than they’ve ever been. My name is Olivia Noble and this March I get the incredible opportunity of bringing justice to Ecuador. Now, before I tell you about this awesome opportunity let me tell you a little about me. I am the daughter of this wonderful blog owner and thanks to her I have had the incredible opportunity of growing up in the church. Right after high school I was incredibly blessed with the acceptance to Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry. Boy has it been a life changing experience, and I am not even done with my second year. It continues to blow my mind how much there is for us to discover. God is so vast that we get to spend all of eternity seeking out his goodness and discovering his incredible nature. There is always more of him to discover and the beauty in this truth is that as you discover Him, He develops more of you.

Ever since I was little I’ve had the biggest desire to love on the broken, the forgotten, and the outcast and as I’ve discovered more of God he has revealed to me how this part of my heart is set on bringing justice. So let’s get back to the trip. In March me and a team of students will be sent out from Bethel to bring justice to Ecuador. We will be hanging out in youth prisons, walking the streets of the red light district, visiting orphanages, assisting the mentally disabled and so much more. Every day will be filled with the restoration of every violation of love. The most beautiful part about it is we will be partnering with a branch of Expression 58 that is stationed in Ecuador. Even though the team and I will only be able to love on the people for a little over the week that we are there, we get to connect them to people who have the resources to make life change sustainable. Our love won’t leave with us.

So help partner with me to bring justice to Ecuador. Every prayer counts and every donation is appreciated. Whether you’re partnering with a simple  prayer or a donation, it matters. It’s more than just partnering with travel plans, it’s partnering with a move of God, and when you are in tune with God, life is just that much more blessed.

We get to bring Justice to Ecuador. It’s more than just for one week, it’s more than just for one trip, because justice is so much more than one word.

For donations click the link below

https://trips.ibethel.org/transactions/new/14989

Obstacles

Obstacles are a part of life. How we approach them and our feelings about them, determines how much the obstacle will impact us. Obstacles come in different sizes, making some easier to overcome, while others seem like impossible situations. 

Lately, it seems I am surrounded by obstacles. I recently started college, after spending the past 25 years raising my kids and taking care of my family and it hasn't been easy. I expected it to be hard, however, obstacles. I did not expect, popped up around me. I looked at each obstacle as a challenge and asked myself how bad do I want this dream? 

I feel like this season of obstacles is not just for me but for others who are contending for Kingdom things. Each obstacle placed in front of us is for a purpose. If the enemy put the obstacle there, he did so to stop us. Look at the story of Joseph; His brothers had sold him into slavery; years later they were reunited and after the death of their father, his brothers were still afraid that Joseph was holding a grudge against them. Joseph wasn't holding a grudge though and said to them in Genesis 50:20, "But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people." Joseph had to go through many obstacle to get to that place of authority but God took each obstacle, which was meant to harm him, and turned it into good. God can use the obstacles of the enemy to build our faith, for if we have "faith the size of a mustard seed, we will say, 'move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17:20) When we overcome the obstacle, it makes us stronger and the enemy weaker.

Sometimes, God is the one placing the obstacle in our way. In the book of Hosea the Lord tells him to "take yourself a wife of harlotry" (Hosea 1:2) In chapter 2, God speaks to the prophet about His unfaithful people, using Hosea's wife as an example, "Therefore, behold, I will hedge up your way with thorns, and wall her in, so she cannot find her paths. She will chase her lovers, but not overtake them; yes, she will seek them, but not find them. Then she will say, 'I will go and return to my first husband,' In this story God blocked the path of the unfaithful to get them to change course and lead them back to Him. 

God can also use obstacle to build our endurance and strength. Just like running a marathon takes endurance, an obstacle course, not only takes endurance, but strength and determination. Romans 5:3-4 states, "we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance character; and character, hope." When we are face with obstacle and trials God can take those and produce character within us that reflects Him. 

Another way God can use the obstacle in our lives is to teach that He doesn't intend for us to do things alone. Many obstacles take more than one person to overcome and it is at those time that we reach out to one another for help. Ecclesiastes 4:9-11 "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one be warm alone?Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. and a threefold cord is not easily broken"

Whatever the source of the obstacle it will still slow you down but it doesn't have to stop you.

As I look at each obstacle, I can choose to get discouraged and fall into the "woe is me" trap, or I can choose to press on. There is a little known verse in Jeremiah 12:5 : "If you run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with the horses? And if in the land of peace, in which you trusted, they wearied you, then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan."

 I choose to contend with greater things and therefore I must press on, through, over, or around the obstacles placed in front of me. 

Take Time To Pull The Weeds

This has been a busy summer. I chose not to plant a vegetable garden because I knew I wouldn't have time to take care of it. My last post was about what I choose to cultivate, well it has also been a very hot and wet summer and because of the weather and my inaction weeds have overtaken my flower bed in front of my house. I didn't choose to cultivate those weeds, I actually planted some bulbs this spring. But because of my neglect the weeds have cultivated themselves, leaving little room for the beauty that I wanted to grow.

These weeds with the one lone flower trying to survive among them are so symbolic of our lives. There are many weeds in our lives that try to choke out the beauty, in order to battle them we must be diligent and stay on top of it. I have tried to pull weeds off and on this summer but haven't put much effort into it and this is now the result. Like these weeds, there may be things in our lives that we know shouldn't be there and we may casually confront them but if we don't get in there and pull up the whole root it will return with a vengeance.

I noticed a few thing about the  circumstances in which these weeds have prospered. First I have been busy. I didn't stop and take the time to pull them when they were few and small because I thought other things were more important. Now the weeds are screaming at me every time I pull in the driveway. It is much easier to deal with issues and "weeds" in our lives before they take over the entire garden. Eventually they have to get pulled, better to stop and take the time early than putting it off.

Second, I didn't put more mulch down this year. I didn't, for various reasons, update my protective barrier against the weeds. How many times do we let the barriers in our lives go outdated. "I mulched a couple of years ago, it can wait one more year." or so I told myself. Now I have a mess to clean up because I didn't protect things in the first place.  Proverbs 13:6 says "Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless, but wickedness overthrows the sinner." We need to make sure we renew our "mulch" of righteousness so that the weeds cannot overthrow  us.

Third, the weeds are more relentless this year than I have ever seen. I can only assume that the rain and heat that we have had this year have contributed to the problem. Rains come in life, sometimes they are rains of blessing but often times they are the rains of troubles and trials. If we do not stay on top of our thoughts and our actions the weeds of worry and stress can overtake us. Add to the rains the heat and it may be unbearable to try to clear them out, but we must persevere or be overtaken.

Now as I attempt to tackle this undertaking of pulling up each weed up by the root I am reminded how I need to be on guard in my own life. Making sure my "mulch is at an adequate depth for protection. And when a weed does pop back up because I may not have gotten the root I need to be quick to pull it up so that beauty may once again be the focus of my garden and not the weeds.