There has been a song that has rung true during the current season in my life. It has served as a huge reminder to me as well as comforting my heart. The song is Running in Circles by United Pursuit. Thought I’d share the lyrics to the song, or you could listen to it here.

I’m so forgetful, but You always remind me
You’re the only one who brings me peace
You’re the only one who brings me peace

So I come, Lord I come

I come, Lord I come

To tell you I love you

To tell you I need you

To tell you there’s no better place for me than in your arms
To tell you I’m sorry
For running in circles
For placing my focus on the waves, not on your face

You’re the only one who brings me peace

You’re the only one who brings me peace

In the storm

In the storm

Yep, that pretty much sums it up for me.

I must say, church planting is hard work: leaving everything you know… giving up a nice paycheck… uprooting your little family… facing opposition from the enemy… being unemployed and trying to find a job… living completely by faith that there will be money to provide for the family… all things that have happened thus far in this amazing adventure.

When the church planting books said to ONLY plant a church if you are sure of the calling, they knew what they were talking about.

With getting back out into the “secular” job world (have been full-time in a salaried, church position for 6 years), my eyes have been opened to a lot of things. One in particular being a growing appreciation for those that work hard jobs. For many that may sound silly or obvious, but it is giving me some perspective. It’s not easy working a full-time job, having a family and setting aside time for church/ministry.

I love being a full-time ministry person. I miss it terribly. But while I was in that position, my consideration for people in the church that had regular jobs was not very gracious at times. From my experience, this attitude is common for many pastors. While their hearts and burden are to see their churches grow and thrive, often the schedules and lives of their people are not considered.

Don’t get me wrong… being a part of a local church SHOULD be priority in all of our schedules. We do not attend church just because we’re good Christians. We should have the attitude of WANTING to congregate with other believers throughout the week (not only because it is a scriptural mandate, but because we really do need each other). And the only way the Kingdom of God will be advanced on this earth is through followers of Christ dedicating time in their lives for fellowship, worship and outreach.

With that said… there still needs to be a respect and a bit of consideration given to life. This is my new appreciation and will be something that I will remember as we begin the process of planting Destiny Church.

I appreciate men and women who work their butts off to provide for their families and then faithfully attend and give to a church… and Jesus does too.

The LORD has been doing a lot in my heart this week concerning fearing Him.

The story of David and Goliath always comes to mind for me whenever fearing the LORD comes up. What an amazing story of how one young man, not caring what man thought, defeated the giant with a stone.

I love the boldness of David when he declares to Goliath:

“You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies–the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the LORD will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head… This is the LORD’s battle, and He will give you to us!” – 1 Samuel 17:45-47

Obviously, Goliath could have easily killed him, but David seemed to care less–because he knew to whom the battle belonged. The only opinion that mattered to David was the LORD’s, and David knew He had his back.

The amazing thing is… the fear of the LORD turned a stone into a giant killer.

Maybe you feel like all you have is a stone (compared to the giant’s sword and javelin). But when you truly fear the LORD, then whatever you have to offer becomes dangerous to the kingdom of darkness… and the enemy knows this. That is why so often we look at who we are or what we have to offer and feelings of inadequacy quickly invade our hearts and minds. Yet the only opinion that matters is the LORD’s, and when He looks at us He sees giant killers.

Go ahead pick up the stone… I just picked one up. Let’s kill some giants.

What could be better than salvation, right? I mean, being saved from hell is amazing. Yet the writer of Hebrews spells out that there is more to our relationship with God than simply fire insurance.

Check out some of these verses:

“So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God.” Hebrews 6:1

“We are confident that you are meant for better things that come with salvation.” Hebrews 6:9

How often do we get caught on the salvation/repentance merry-go-round?

Don’t get me wrong, we must repent. In fact, that was PART of Jesus’ first message (see Matthew 3:17), yet even Jesus didn’t stop there. He went on to proclaim “…because the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”

The “better things” I believe is the dynamic of living on this earth as a citizen of heaven. It is being in the world, but not of it. It is walking, living, breathing the love of God throughout our daily lives. It is reflecting the glory of our Father as Jesus did. It is moving beyond what we were and stepping out and being the new creation that we are. It is walking according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh. It is the intimacy we’ve been given the chance to engage in with our God.

Better things. It’s what we’ve been called to. Our salvation is more than just escaping the wrath of God… it’s living the life and more abundant life that Jesus has given to us!

Talking about the heroes of our faith gets me excited.

Over dinner this evening, one of my personal heroes, Smith Wigglesworth came  up in conversation. The things the LORD used him to do for people were amazing. There are stories of radical salvations, re-growth of missing limbs and multiple dead-raisings. Discussing the majesty of God’s work through one person just gets my blood pumping.

Then I happened to stumble across this verse from the book of Isaiah:

“Abraham was only one man when I called him. But when I blessed him, he became a great nation.” – Isaiah 51:2

Can you see the impossibilities disappearing? Can you see difficulties becoming victories?

You may be one person. You may have inadequacies. You may have challenges.

But when the LORD blesses you… everything changes. WOW.

Hezekiah is an interesting guy. He really had a great relationship with the LORD. And the LORD showed Himself faithful and strong in Hezekiah’s life. I really enjoy the story where God showed up on behalf of Hezekiah, proved He alone was God and sent the enemy running (see Isaiah 37).

Just after that victory, Hezekiah became deathly ill. The prophet Isaiah informed him that his life was about to be over. Hezekiah’s response… he cried out to the LORD, not in bitterness, but with a cry for help. He knew where his help came from.

I think it’s important to understand that our first response will determine the outcome of situations we find ourselves in.

For Hezekiah his response was turning to the LORD and not because that was just what everyone did religiously when they found themselves in trouble. It was because that is what he always did, ever. His life was that of one completely surrendered to the LORD.

The LORD responded in mercy and promised Hezekiah 15 more years.

For most of us, that declaration would have been enough. But to take it a step further the LORD did a “just because”… To confirm the word from the LORD he made the sundial move 10 steps backwards (see Isaiah 38:7-8). He made time go backwards.

BUT WHY? Just because.

The LORD is cool like that. Quite often He does things just because. He didn’t do it to demonstrate His power to a group of people. He didn’t necessarily do it so people would be converted then and there. He did it just to confirm the word for His servant. Just because.

How often do things happen in our lives that are “just becauses” from the Father and maybe we don’t even realize it? Maybe we should start to take notice! He does those things because He is a good, good Father.

I posted a few thoughts on this a while back in reference to Moses’ experience with the LORD. You can read it here.

It is in dark seasons that it is so easy to forget and to lose sight of the goodness of the LORD. It is in those times the enemy spews his lies and questions God’s love and His desires for us.

The solution? The Word. It never changes and it remains.

“Let all that I am praise the LORD; with my whole heart, I will praise His holy name. Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things He does for me. He forgives all my sins, and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!” – Psalm 103:1-5

That is truth. That does not change. That remains no matter what, because He remains no matter what. Emotions change. Circumstances change. Jesus and His Word never changes.

May I never forget.

Here we are, 7 days later. We’ve been in Louisville, KY for a week now and what a week it has been! Here’s a quick glimpse:

• When we arrived here last Saturday, the keys to our apartment did not work. Seeing that our landlord was out of town, I had to find a different solution to get in. There was an open window, but on the second floor, so up I went.
• While unloading all of our stuff, we discovered that our couch didn’t want to fit through the door. And no, it wouldn’t have fit through the open window that I crawled through.
• Chester, our dog, seems to be adjusting well to city life. However, he seems to think he has to walk about 5 blocks before he decides to go poo.
• On Tuesday, I dropped my beloved Hannah off at the airport so that she could visit her family for a few days as we probably won’t have vacation time for quite a while.
• I then immediately began the job hunt on Tuesday as Monday was the official observance day for July 4.
• On Thursday I was hired as a server at a fun restaurant, but have other interviews in the works for a more permanent, stable job.
• The rest of the time this week I’ve been finding some time to sleep and unpack (though there is quite a bit of unpacking left for Hannah ;] ).

The more I’m out and about in the neighborhood, the more I realize why the LORD put this area on our hearts. Believing the LORD to pour out His Spirit in the Highlands and to see hearts and lives awakened His abundant life!

More on our adventure here: http://launchdestiny.com

“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!” – Psalm 46:1-3

I read through this psalm this morning. What an encouraging passage. Seriously. The psalmist who wrote this was completely trusting in the LORD. They were so confident in the LORD and His ability that basically they were saying “bring it on.”

Though they weren’t necessarily asking for trouble, they were making it clear that whatever came their way, the LORD had their backs.

I’m learning this lesson on a daily basis. With our recent move to Louisville, it has been a step of faith the entire way. Should it be any surprise, though, really? Our entire walk with Jesus is through faith alone. Anything else is bogus. Anything else and we’re trusting in our own abilities. Anything else and we’re trusting in someone else to provide or make a way.

The psalmist gives us a solid reminder, the LORD is our refuge and He is our strength. That’s easy to forget in times of prosperity and success, but hard to believe in times of lack and drought.

Hold on to Jesus. Rest in Jesus. He truly is all we need.

The LORD is quite emphatic about worship. It all belongs to Him. All of it.

In 2 Kings, God reminds His people about the covenant that He made with them…

“Do not worship any other gods or bow before them or serve them or offer sacrifices to them. But worship only the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt with great strength and a powerful arm. Bow down to Him alone, and offer sacrifices only to Him… You must not worship other gods. Do not forget the covenant I made with you, and do not worship other gods. You must worship only the LORD your God…” 2 Kings 17:35-39

You would think that after that many “do not worship other gods” they’d get the picture. Apparently, they still weren’t getting.

And really, we’re not any better. Now most of us don’t bow down to a physical idol in our houses, but many of us bow down to things such as success. Or how about the opinion of people? Or how about habitual sin? Or how about ___________ (insert an idol here, yeah, that one).

An idol is anything that has our constant devotion and attention (whether intentional or unintentional) that steals our attention and devotion from the LORD. It is trusting in something (or someone) more than trusting the LORD.

The worship we have to offer is not just the songs we sing, but the devotion and affection we lay at His feet daily. It is the attention that is turned toward the One whose eyes are aflame like fire. It is the thoughts we think that pursue ways to honor His glorious name. It is living with every ounce of our being pointing towards Jesus.

That may seem extreme, but that is worship. And that is the worship we’ve been called to give.

Intense. Pure. Completely set on One.

God doesn’t play games with worship and neither should we.