Purposeful Faith

Waking to the Personal Power of the Cross

March 25, 2016
purposefulfaith
Contentment, faith, fear, Jesus
1 Comment
Power of the cross

Easter popped up on us this year. I am not prepared. I am not ready.

But, was anyone ready for what was to come? Where the disciples? Was Mary, mother of Christ, ready?

I am sure, none of Christ loved ones were ready to see the son of God, the lamb, the truth, the light, the way, all hope, bread of life and shepherd go.

What did they feel? Was it fear? They did not know what his road held. Sometimes we don’t know what our road holds…

Like them, we want to hold on to Jesus, his all things good- for he is our everything. We want to say, “Jesus stay near, – and let evil stay far. Let us be with you. Give us good, good things!”

We know that he is “called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) and we want the fullness of it.

May we know the joy of Jesus, but may we also know his pain. For it is the pain that proves he knows our pain. It is his pain that proves we will one day arrive at gain. And it is through his pain that the whole world, for those who believe are delivered from shame.

May we see, and rely on Christ through:

The mockery: When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. Mt. 27:35

The pain: The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe. John 19:2

The cost: But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

We will be mocked. We will have pain. There is a cost.

Have we considered this?

Because of the cross, we no longer have to fear what comes to injure us, because Jesus lives in us. If he is in us, his power to overcome is extended to everything we face. Imagine that.

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live,
but Christ lives in me;
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Gal. 2:20

So, today, no matter where our hearts have been this week, or this season, let’s bow down, lay low, praise Jesus and thank him for the sweat, the tears and the willpower to stick it through. Let’s look at his crown-laden, bloodied face – and see his victory just moments away. Let’s see our pain too, and our victory awaiting, because the truth is – through Jesus – we are now truly alive!

For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ,
and Him crucified.
1 Corinthians 2:2

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The Way to Handle Life

March 24, 2016
Angela Parlin
prayer, Regular Contributor
7 Comments
pray handle life

Years ago, I took one of those 20-question quizzes, which used to populate our email inboxes. Before Facebook took over, we replied to all and read our friends’ answers one by one as they replied to ours. Remember that?

This quiz included questions about your favorite fruit, your most embarrassing moment, and how many days a week you cry. Random.

Guess what I learned?

Most people don’t shed tears every day.

Or at least that group of my friends didn’t. After I sent out my answers, some of them wondered if I was depressed. But I didn’t have anything to hide—I’ve just always been an easy cry.

I’ve been studying the book of Hebrews, where we see Jesus as superior to angels and prophets and the law that came through Moses. He’s our High Priest who gives us continual access to God’s Presence.

But we also see Jesus living out of his humanity, displaying strong emotion.

We see Him crying and praying fervently about what was to come.

We see Him struggle and still obey God, even through suffering.

We see Him fully dependent on God His Father day after day.

During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission. Hebrews 5:7

It’s the emotion here that stops me—fervent cries and tears to the One who could save Him.

This points to His time in the Garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus asked His Abba, Father to take this cup from Him. He was asking God to not let Him die in such agony–with the sins of the world heaped upon Him.

He didn’t want His Father to turn away from Him.

And He was heard because of His reverent submission. This last part of the verse is important.

Jesus asked for a different way, but He submitted to the Father’s will.

Yet not what I will, but what you will. Mark 14:36b

Is this the attitude you carry into your prayers?

It’s often not where my heart is, when I come to God with a need. I’m thinking, MY will, Lord, just say yes! I’m assuming I can see far enough ahead to know my way will work out best. I’m sure I know what I need.

But often, God shows me that what I need more than anything is to walk with Him and depend on Him.

What I need most is to lay my requests at His feet and say, Not what I will, but what you will.

Jesus endured His life on earth with regular time away from everyone else, praying to His Father–even though there were endless people to help and things to do.

Our lives, also, are meant to be handled with prayer.

May we follow Christ’s example to actively trust in God and depend on our Father through prayer. May we pray as an offering, sometimes including tears. Every day if needed.

View More: http://kimdeloachphoto.pass.us/allume2015

Angela Parlin is Dan’s wife and Mom to 3 rowdy boys and 1 sweet girl. In addition to spending time with friends and family, she loves to read and write, spend days at the beach, watch romantic comedies, and organize closets. But most of all, she loves Jesus and writes to call attention to the beauty of life in Christ, even when that life collaborates with chaos. Join her each week at www.angelaparlin.com, So Much Beauty in All This Chaos.


Prayer with the Power to Work

March 23, 2016
purposefulfaith
Contentment, expectations, fear, Thoughts
1 Comment
Thank you God

My prayers kind of remind myself of a puppy pining from next to a table. I kind of look up all puppy-dog eyed and beg for scraps.

Do you?

It looks like this:

Day 1: “Please God. Help me God. Do this thing_________________!”

Day 2: “Please God. Help me God. Do this thing_________________!”

Day 3: “Please God. Help me God. Do this thing_________________!”

Day 4: “I really need this. I need it right now… “Hey God, maybe you don’t really want to do it, but please do it anyway.”

Day 5: “God, do you hear me? I need it….” I wonder, does God really hear me and love me?

Day 6: Silence. I say nothing. What is the use?!

Day 7: I give up hope in praying.

The more I beg and get fed, the more I keep up the begging, but if the master doesn’t hand me any good food, I start wondering why I am forgotten. I start wondering why I am next to his table when he can’t even see me.

I start asking, “What is the use?”

A wound sets in and I keep licking it…
No answers. And deeper it burns.
Roadblocks. The more it stings.
Discouraged faith. The infection sets in.

After walking around like this for a while, I am coming to think: Sometimes, God lets our wounds sit wounded, so that we can see how wounded we are without a right view of him.

Clarity sets in: I really feel abandoned.
A new prayer takes form: Let me see your love.
God’s prompting arises: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything with prayer an supplication to God, with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God which surpasses understanding will guard your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:6-7)

Answers appear: You may be praying, but you are hardly thanking.

In an instant, what feels broken suddenly gets mending, because what I remember is God is always working. He doesn’t have to speak, or appear or provide some emotional answer, but as I pray he is working.

Why else would he tell us to thank him when we pray.  For when we ask, he then takes it on.  We can at that point thank him for what he is working out.

Will it always look like we expect? No.

Will it tend to end up better than that? Quite often.

Will we end up looking more and more like Christ? Yes.

And that is worth giving thanks over.

Thanks that sounds like this:

Thank you that you hear me God.
Thank you God that this is now in your hands and you have it.
Thank you God that you are for me.
Thank you God that you know best.
Thank you God that you will never desert me to my destruction-ending plans.
Thank you God that you are always leading me to the better way.
Thank you God that you have a Christ-like vision for my heart.
Thank You God that everyday I can trust that you see me and want me.

How might your perspective change if you just said thanks?

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Sparkling Bright for Christ

March 22, 2016
purposefulfaith
blessings, Contentment, Freedom, grace, Holy Spirit
26 Comments
Sparkling Bright for Christ

Do you have the sparkle?

It’s the shine of more. It’s the clean of perfect. It’s togetherness and wholeness.

It looks nothing like me.

I look like tiredness personified.
I look like worry building upon worry.
I look like one who tries to trust – but still doubts.
I look like a battlefield where godliness goes up against selfishness.
I look like a girl trying to fit herself into mold “good mom.”

That’s me. Not so shiny. Not very sparkly. Hardly.

It feels hard to keep the glimmer of Christ existent amidst the grime of this life.

But, what if glimmer was not me – or you? What if the pressure was off? What if glimmer was just a matter of letting God’s light bust through our darkness? 

What would that look like?

God’s glory is always found within our tension points (Romans 5:3). It is a hard thing to consider, isn’t it? Usually, we run from these places, thinking they spots sent to inflict pain. Little do we know that sometimes, these exact spots, when pushed are what are going to deliver us to freedom – and to greater mobility to reach the world.

Where we feel pressed, God is working things out, so one day, we land at – blessed.

We shimmer. We shine. We find glory!

Do we believe it is possible?

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings,
because we know that suffering produces…
(Romans 5:3)

When great joy emerges out of great struggle, people notice. Glory!
When peace is found over hardship. Glory!
When God grants unspeakable calm in the midst of doggone electricity storm. Glory!
When insight speaks into an impossible situation. Glory!
Glimmer! Sparkle! Shine! Power! Light unquenchable.

When we endure and then endure and then say, “No matter what Heaven awaits!” Glory!

We can lean into pain, knowing that God, by his very nature,will always use it – for spiritual gain. In that we can trust.

Is it hard? Yes. Impossible. No.

It is not, because it is also a work of the Holy Spirit – he makes you go about all Tigger-style, abounding in hope (Romans 5:13).

Hope is:
Seeing Jesus constructing mission out of our pain.
Imagining people changed after relational turbulence.
Standing on God’s masterplan rather than our personal ones.
Believing that God really is at work to make us into Christ’s image.
Going beyond self, to reach the nations. 
Thanking God for the new thing he is building in us.
Understanding the cross and all the pain that came with it. 
Looking at the captives and depressives and wanting to love them.
Getting a feeling that we have to pass around. 
Knowing we found home and longing for the fullness of it to come.

Hope. It is all you need to sparkle, no matter how you feel. Nothing can steal it. No one can rob it of you. It is a knowledge you’ll be blessed, even if you straight up land at heaven’s gates.

Let it sing in you. Let it rise from you. Walk in its fullness and feel its freedom – then hand it out to all you meet.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,
so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Romans 5:13

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Just Deliver me Already God!

March 21, 2016
purposefulfaith
Contentment
Add comment
Deliver me

I felt tired. Why can’t it be easier, God?

I’d much rather sprint to the finish line – and just “get there”. This way I could finally relax and raise my arms  high saying, “I made it. I am delivered.”

It never seems to work that way.

Too bad, because the idea of panting, heaving and continuing when things get tough, well, that’s tough. Truth is – I’d choose party over preparations, blessings over learning’s and winnings over losings – any day.

Do you have finish line that seems to hold all your dreams,
expectations and success right on the other side?

What does it tend to look like?

Perhaps you think, “If I can just make it over, I will be delivered…”

I will be delivered from that person…
I will be delivered from finances…
I will be delivered from pain…
I will be delivered from problems…
I will be delivered from jealousy…
I will be delivered from myself…
I will be delivered to a better job.
I will be delivered to a high-paying salary.
I will be delivered to a different spouse.
I will be delivered to happy.

Being delivered comes in all different shapes and sizes. Mine happens to look like success. It looks like people seeing me and loving me as I am.

Yuck! It sounds horrible to admit this on paper (or computer). I fight this purported deliverer on the near-daily basis. One minute I hate him, the next I get listening to him again.

When we think anything but Jesus can deliver us,
we grab a lifesaver that’s really just bust.

We will run miles trying to reach it,
but little do we know it is actually right before us.

 

Deliverance is never a place headed, but always found right in the presence of God.
Deliverance is never about future acquisitions, but is always about present love.
Deliverance is never a luxury product, but a person. 


It is Jesus.

 

The one who always delivers in present moments.
A woman at the well received life in the midst of her normal day.
Many disciples were called in the center of workplace.
Martha was delivered to greater intimacy in the hustle of a home.
Jesus delivers when he wants, where he wants.

Have you considered, perhaps, it is not the future that will deliver you – but only a very present moment?  One where you choose to lay your heart wide-open?

There is no finish line, but a finisher, perfector and author of faith, who only works in the tension of the present moment.

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Be Like A Bird & Find Bounty

March 18, 2016
purposefulfaith
Adventures, awe, Contentment, expectations, fear
5 Comments
be like a bird

I watched them from my window – little things plucking around on the ground.

“How do they do it?” I thought.

Casually they grazed, moved and explored. Even though there were nearly a dozen, still, they didn’t bump each other. They didn’t fight for a grain of food. They didn’t seem to lose their joy. Storms, concerns and cold-fronts, from my observations, were worries not for this day.

They just relaxed. They just were.

Did they know a great, gracious and giving God was in charge?

I couldn’t help but think they did.

Two jumped up and began a light-hearted chase.
A coupled bounced up to the height of tall trees.
One sung by the waterside.

It seemed they choose to see life appeared as an fun adventure, where the present moment was full of blessed surprises. These birds inspired me to new thinking.

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Mt. 6:26

How do we live?

Do we look at the world through the eyes of God’s bounty
or eyes of inequity?

Where resources are limited and good things elude us?

To see bounty, is to have a perspective like this:
God sees.
He decides.
He provides.
He has so much.
He pours out.
There is a never-ending supply.
He delights in giving.
He loves our thanks.
He rejoices over our freedom.
He personally goes before us.
He gives so much it overflows to the poor.

We live not in a faltering economy, but in God’s economy.

It is an economy of faith. One where we may not know where our next grain or gain is coming from. One where we may feel like we are about to go under. One where circumstances get shaky. But, it is also an economy where daddy is the chief strategist – the man in charge. He loves nepotism and we are his and he is ours. He will take care of us.

Do you rely on the chief strategist in a way where
you believe he only hands out his best intentions?

Enter the forest of bounty. It is verdant and vibrant. It is all you need and all you could ever want. It is the place where you are taken care of and known.

Believe in the bounty that awaits, even for a small one like you; God will take care of you.

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3 Reasons Why You Don’t Need to Conform

March 17, 2016
Abby Mcdonald
purpose, Regular Contributor
22 Comments

Blog Post by Abby McDonald

“Why are you trying to mimic his sound? Your tone is so much better than his.”

My band director’s words surprised me. For one, I wasn’t aware I was copying my fellow band member’s sound. And second, I was also amazed our leader could hear me above the other trumpets in our section.

Even though I was blending with pitch around me, he knew my ability. He didn’t want me to imitate, but to shine in my strength.

Sometimes blending is so much easier, isn’t it? Whether it’s in music or everyday life, we often find ourselves in a culture of sameness. We’re bombarded with messages on social media, billboards and ads telling us success looks this way or that way.

Whether it’s mimicking a flat pitch or jumping on the latest fashion bandwagon, we can’t escape messages about the latest trend. So what do we do? Do we simply give in to the ebb and flow of the culture around us and hope for the best?

For a long time, this is exactly how I lived my life. I was never one to enjoy the spotlight, and having an audience left me searching for the next notes to play.

I thought by hiding behind the loudness of those around me, I was being humble. After all, scripture repeatedly says humility is a strength.

But friends, humility doesn’t mean hiding. Our Creator made us wildly more distinctive than the notes on a scale, and he did so on purpose.

God never intended for us to use humility as an excuse to conform.

He created us to be unique on purpose, for a purpose. We are to be salt and light, and our light is meant to shine from the hilltops, not be shoved under a shade because it doesn’t look the same as others.

So today, I’m giving you three reasons not to conform. I’m giving you permission to shine in your distinct calling and gifts, no matter what they are.

  1. Our uniqueness is a reflection of God. By being ourselves, we are glorifying our Creator. We are putting his work on display for others to see. (1 Pet. 2:9)
  1. Filling our place in his Kingdom brings unity. Somewhere along the way, we’ve bought into the notion that unity means conformity. But it doesn’t. It means using the strengths we’re given to form one complete body, the Church. (1 Cor. 12:4)
  1. The only one who can fulfill your purpose is you. We often fall into the trap of thinking someone else will say it or do it if we don’t. But God’s calling on our lives is not the same as anyone else’s. He created us for such a place and time as this, and his plans for us are part of a grander story. (Eph. 2:10)

Friends, breaking the mold isn’t easy. Often, we will feel awkward and misunderstood when we pursue the path God has laid out for us.

But can I tell you something? It is worth it. When we fall into the unique rhythm God created us to for, there is nothing like it.

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View More: http://kimdeloachphoto.pass.us/allume2015

Abby McDonald is a writer who can’t contain the lavish love of a God who relentlessly pursues her, even during her darkest times. When she’s not chasing her two little boys around, she loves hiking, photography, and consuming copious amounts of coffee with friends.

Abby would love to connect with you on her blog, Twitter, and Facebook.


Kicking the Voice of What Ifs In the Teeth

March 16, 2016
purposefulfaith
attack, Contentment, control, doubt, failure, faith, fear
1 Comment
the Voice of What Ifs

All was good and dandy, until my mind started it’s endless twirling. I know you all have experienced it. It’s when you come face-to-face with that mean, burly voice that deeply grunts out, “What if?”

What if things don’t work out?
What if you get taken advantage of?
What if God doesn’t take care of you?

When we listen to that voice of misreason,
He almost always convinces us we’re moving into a bad season.

But, when we shut down that voice at first grunt,
we start to believe God is in front of us.


Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you.
He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.
Deut. 31:8

I am beginning to realize it comes down to a split-second decision. If you can quickly identify the voice that beckons you into the darkness, you can choose to stay in the light. If you don’t realize who he is, you are bound to get lured in like a kid following sweet candy.

 

Will we listen for the voice of God or continually debate the antagonizer’s?

 

I know friends, it is not easy. Making the decision to hear and only hear the right voice is a battle. It is one where we have to grab the mindset and the determined will power to believe rightly about God’s righteousness.

But, it is possible. It looks like getting pro-active. It looks like getting smart about who God is. It looks like pledging allegiance to a King.

It goes like this:

I declare God is with me. He is Immanuel (Mt. 1:23).
I know he is Wonderful Counselor. He is consoling me (Is. 9:6).
I envision Mighty God – the one able to do the impossible (Is. 9:6).
I have the Prince of Peace by my side. He will calm me as I turn into him (Is. 9:6).
I know God saved me. I will rest there (Lu. 2:11).
I trust the bread of life will feed me when I need to be fed (Jo. 6:35).
I pledge my heart to the one and only light of the world (Jo. 8:12).
I profess the good shepherd stands next to me and tends to my heart (Jo. 10:14)
I reassert my heart to the great deliverer – the one who delivers again and again (Ro. 11:26)
I know the way, the truth and the life, for I know Jesus (Jo. 14:6)

An amazing thing that happens when one’s mind carries these names on little notecards; they stand on them during the horrid and horrific moments. They stand on them as if they were tall walls moving them above the fray. And in a way they do.

On paper, they are just words, but when they are stood upon in a heart, they become fortresses of unbeatable power.

The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
The righteous run to it and are safe.
Prov. 18:10

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10 Most Common Misthoughts About God

March 15, 2016
purposefulfaith
attack, Contentment, doubt, faith, fear
24 Comments
Misthoughts About God

Things didn’t work out. They went south. They broke down.

Isn’t it funny how when things break,
what also breaks in our mind
is how God views us –
and how we view God?

We tend to think like this:

1. God is punishing me.
2. God is showing me how wrong I handled this.
3. God is taking this away because I don’t deserve it.
4. God is angry at me.
5. God doesn’t really want me to be happy.
6. God doesn’t hear me.
7. God doesn’t care about my feelings.
8. God isn’t tapped into what I need right now.
9. God’s plans don’t work well for people.
10. God forgot about me. He has many more to worry about.

*Bonus: I stink – and God knows it.

What we think about God, tends to define how we feel through life.

What do you tend to think about God?

A heart becomes unsettled when,
 rather than seeing problems as windows, letting in the air of new faith,
we see them as things God uses to slam us.

I do it all the time. Somehow I figure God has gone moody again and is well-done-and-over with my shenanigans. With this mindset, the swirling winds of conflict, complications or conditions unfavorable are bound to erase feelings of peace and comfort.

Does this happen to you too?
Do you tend to lose the image of a good God?

God is good (Ps. 136:1). Whether I believe it or not, God still stays exactly the same.

6 Ways God is Good:

1. He works alongside those who wait for him.
No eye has seen a God besides you, who works for those who wait for him.”  Is. 64:4

2. Like a daddy caring for a sick child, he doesn’t sleep, but watches non-stop.
He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Ps. 121:3

3. He needs nothing, but can give everything.
God is not served by human hands as though he needed anything, but he himself gives life and breath and everything. Acts 17:25

4. He shows himself strong for those who persevere in trust.
The eyes of the LORD run through the earth, to show himself strong for those who trust him. 2 Chron. 16:9

5. He delivers us so we can glorify him.
If I were hungry, I wouldn’t tell you. Call on me, I will deliver you. You will glorify me.  Ps. 50:15 

6. He meets our needs according to his stockpiles of overflowing treasure.
And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:19

What I am coming to terms with is – the alarm of sinking feelings sounds in order to awaken us to the reality of faith-stampeding lies.  Finding the lie means finding truth. Finding truth means we can look at it and decide if we’ll continue to hold it or decide to stomp it down.

Will we believe that God is for us, not against us?

Not in words, but via our heart and in action?

The difference is tangible.
The results are palpable.

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Tomorrow, we will venture through the little notecards of truths that you can pull out of your pocket when your mind goes haywire. Hope you can join me!

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Take Off from “Blah” to Blazing New Heights

March 14, 2016
purposefulfaith
Adventures, blessings, dreams, faith, grace
2 Comments
Blazing New Heights

I know, I know, this is going to sound weird. I am infatuated with the whole idea of airplane take-offs. Always have been.

I feel the rumblings of something new, the speed towards adventure and the call towards something greater.

I love it.

New places.
New people.
New encounters.
New opportunities.
New feelings.

Usually, as the plane rises, I know I am about ready to head to somewhere better.  The stress is off; I have no control over the speed, the timing and the path – it is all in the captain’s hands. It is a trusting kind of thing; I know he will do his job.

I wonder though, why day-by-day I don’t rise with this same sort of
eager expectation towards life?

What really makes it any different?

I could wake excited.
Knowing God will send me.

I could look expectantly.
Believing God will lead me.

I could anticipate.
Seeing life from the heights new opportunities.

I could be willing.
Letting in feelings of purpose and passion, all the while – nodding yes.

All vision of my end destination belongs to him. All the controls are in his hands.

Why not let go?

We need no plans, except to be with him. He steers, we fly. He leads, we end up at the good works he has already designed for us.

If we have expectancy,
we won’t be prone to live complacency.

We see new journeys.
New heights.
New views.
New callings.
New pressures that he alone manages.

And right in the center of it all is our chosen seat. The one that allows us to enjoy the heights of his glory, the sprawling colors of his ownership and the gentle covering of his clouds.

So we go. We let go. We move. We explore. We adventure.

Tomorrow, let the morning alarm goes off. But, take a new look at your new day. Let expectations rise and – fly.

Will you join us?
Sure, there may be turbulence,
but rest assured there will be magnificence too.

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