kingdom life

like a weaned child

is my soul within me

stilled and quieted

free of need

free to love

being still

 “Be still and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth.”

(Psalm 46:10)

Why is “be still and know that I am God” so hard?

Is it because I'm afraid he can’t do his work without me,

Or is it because I’m afraid he can?

powerlessness

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6-8)

When will we ever get it through our heads that apart from Jesus we are utterly powerless?  We keep trying to do it on our own, but we just keep “missing the mark” (the definition of the Greek word for sin).  And we will continue to miss the mark until we surrender our attempts to do it ourselves and submit to the power of Jesus to claim the victory for us that we can never achieve for ourselves.  We can’t, but he can.  Lord Jesus, have mercy on us!

Lord Jesus, maybe I keep failing because I keep trying to do it on my own.  I am powerless to do anything but miss the mark apart from you.  Lord Jesus, have mercy on me!

empty

the best you

is going to be

the empty you

stop

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.  On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.  For in six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day.  Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (Exodus 20:8-11, ESV)

“Stop means stop.  Stop worrying, stop spinning, stop striving, stop being anxious. Stop your mind from constantly working.  Stop planning, stop strategizing, stop scheming, stop jockeying.  Stop and find your rest in Me.  Be still and know that I am God.”  

His name

For 

His

Name's 

Sake

Period 

demolition

if the house

i have been building

all these years

is mine and not yours

it will come to nothing

it must be demolished

it must be torn down

brick by brick

so that your house

might take its place

demolition is

a significant part

of union with you

for it changes the

substance and direction

of our lives

it stops the climbing

and starts the descent

it tears down strongholds

and rewires thinking

it changes old patterns

and kills old habits

in your wisdom

and by your grace

demolition is always

about transformation

which is your greatest

desire for us