Discovering True Intimacy with Our Savior

Music Monday #2: Show Me

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I’m a picky eater.  If you know me, I’m sure you are thinking that is the understatement of the year or perhaps the century, and you are already plotting in your mind the comment you are going to leave about what a nightmare I am at the dinner table.

Much like my super human hearing, I have super sensitive taste buds.  It’s weird.  I know.  But if you want to hang with me, it comes with the territory.  I’m a whole lot better than I used to be, but I’m by no means normal when it comes to food.   If a four year old will eat it – I might like it.  There’s a 50/50 chance.

It’s not that I’m high maintenance when it comes to food.  It just that I like everything plain – the way God intended it to be; but somehow, because everyone wants to put sauce on things, it becomes high maintenance.  Go figure.

As selective as I am about food, I’ll pretty much listen to any kind of music (with the exception of techno funk, hip hop, or opera).  I love me some jazz, blues, country, soul, pop, bluegrass, classical.  You name it.  However, when it comes to actually dropping some cash on an album, I’m pretty frugal.

So, when Robyn told me about Audrey Assad‘s album, “The House Your Building,” I was skeptical.  She insisted that I buy it.  Now, Robyn knows me pretty well.  I think she prides herself on figuring out things that I will like – whether it be a CD or K-Cups for my coffee machine.  She hasn’t failed me yet, so I trust her judgment.  That’s why two months after she told me to buy the CD, I actually got up the courage to do it.  And as expected, Robyn was correct – I love it!  One of my favorite songs on her album is called “Show Me” and it’s our feature for today.

Don’t forget to leave a comment and let me know what you think (preferably about the song and not my finicky eating).

Show Me

You could plant me like a tree beside a river
You could tangle me in soil and let my roots run wild
And I would blossom like a flower in the desert
But for now just let me cry

You could raise me like a banner in a battle
Put victory like a fire behind my shining eyes
And I would drift like falling snow over the embers
But for now just let me lie

Bind up these broken bones
Mercy bend and breathe me back to life
But not before You show me how to die

Set me like a star before the morning
Like a song that steals the darkness from a world asleep
And I’ll illuminate the path You’ve laid before me
But for now just let me be

Bind up these broken bones
Mercy bend and breathe me back to life
But not before You show me how to die
Oh, not before You show me how to die

So let me go like a leaf upon the water
Let me brave the wild currents flowing to the sea
And I will disappear into a deeper beauty
But for now just stay with me
God, for now just stay with me

Credits :
songwriters: assad, audrey; hart, sarah
© river oaks music company;spiritandsong.com


Sing Sing Sing

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“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose.” – Acts 16:25-26

Is there anything in your life that you feel is keeping you prisoner? Perhaps there is a sin that you feel powerless to overcome. It doesn’t have to be what we consider a “bad” sin. Maybe you overeat, or TV has become your idol. Maybe you spend more time at work than you do in the Word, or maybe you are struggling with simply being obedient to something God has called you to do (or not do).

As humans we have a tendency to make a hierarchy for sin. Murderers and child molesters at the top followed by people who rape and steal. Then maybe we’ll put in those who commit adultery next. You get my drift.

We want to believe that the sin in our lives isn’t as bad as the sin of others. It makes us feel better. But the harsh reality is…it’s all sin. As much as we hate to admit it, those little white lies we tell are the same in God’s eyes as someone who steals or kills. But praise God for His amazing grace!

I have this “little” sin that keeps popping up in my life. I found myself last night doing the very thing I prayed I wouldn’t do that morning. I’m completely in touch with Paul in Romans 7 when he says, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do” (v. 15). So. Very. Frustrating.

This morning, I bowed before the LORD ashamed that I had failed Him once again. That’s when God gave me an idea.

In Acts 16, Paul and Silas were imprisoned. There they sat shackled in the midst of robbers and murderers and child molesters. Did they complain? Oh, no. They prayed and sang praises to God.

I love what happens next. “Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose (Acts 16:26).”

Could it be that singing praises and praying are the keys to breaking the chains of sin in our lives? What would happen if, instead of visiting that website you shouldn’t be going to, you sang praises and prayed? What if the second you wanted something sweet to eat, you praised God and asked Him to send his sweet presence to you instead?

It’s just a theory. I don’t know if it will work, but I’m willing to give it a try. What about you?

Super Powers

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I have a super power. It’s true. I do. It’s a little known fact about me, because, well, I don’t like to brag. What’s my super power? I have super human hearing.

I can hear the faintest whisper from across the room. I can hear the slightest noise in the distance.

As with any super power it can be quite helpful, but more frequently, it’s just plain old annoying. Like when I go to a party or am in a crowd of people – I can hear every conversation around me. So, if you are talking to me in a crowd, and I look like I’m not listening, chances are, I’m not, because I can hear the 900 other conversations in the background.

I can also hear repetitive noises. For instance, that man who is turning his pen in the meeting a million times – I can hear it squeak and it drives me nuts. If I’m watching TV with you, and I ask you to turn up the volume, it’s not because I can’t hear it, it’s because I can’t drown out the other sounds around me.

A slightly more well-known fact, albeit not quite as interesting, is that I work in a small gray cubicle in the midst of a hundred more cubicles. For those of you other cube dwellers, you might see where my problem lies.

I can hear everything. I can hear the conversation two cubes back. I can hear the phone call that I’m trying desperately not to hear. I can hear someone laugh across the room. Oh, and don’t think that because you whisper that means I can’t hear you because that just makes it worse.

As Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben once said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” So, I try desperately to use my powers for good and not evil. I try everything in my power to drown out my surroundings because, well, I don’t want to eaves-drop or be distracted from my incredibly important work. So, most of the time, you will find me at my desk donning a set of ear buds (or in the case of missing ear buds – I’ll pull out the retro clam shell headphones as seen in the above photo) listening to music.

Ironically, most of the time, I’m not really listening to the music; it’s just background noise to distract me from the other background noise. But sometimes, out of nowhere, a song will catch my attention and I’ll start to listen to the words.

In these moments, I become truly impressed by the ability of songwriters. It amazes me how someone can not only come up with eloquent words, but that they can come up with eloquent words that rhyme and touch your soul. Amazing.

And their courage? Their courage astounds me! Truly great songwriters write about their vulnerabilities and their failures. They expose a bit of themselves in each song. I’m telling you, it’s nothing short of courageous, and I admire their transparency.

Most of the time, when I listen to music I don’t really hear what the singer is saying. The musical arrangement distracts me from the lyrics. I might give the impression that I’m listening to it. My feet might tap to the beat, or I might hum the tune because it’s familiar, but am I really listening?

What about you? Do you ever stop and LISTEN to the words?

With all that being said (and I know it was a lot), I am instituting Music Mondays. Each week (hopefully) I will strive to send you the lyrics to one song that touched my heart that week. I’ll give you the link to a recording of the song if I can find one, but before you listen to it put to music, I challenge you to read the words the artist wrote, because those are the words from their hearts.

Thursday morning, I downloaded an album by Jill Phillips. Up until then, I did not own a Jill Phillips CD, but had been meaning to purchase one. The song below caught my attention on Saturday as I was driving to meet Robyn for a morning trail run. I had prayed just a few minutes before that God would be so close that I could feel His breath on my neck. These are the words Jill Phillips sang to me that morning.  You can check out her website at www.jillphillips.com.

Moving On
Jill Phillips

What we want is a tidy picture
Neat and easy to read
What we get is a trust walk
Finding out what we really believe
Don’t you be surprised now when it doesn’t lead you
To a clearer place
To some great resolve
You don’t have to wonder if he’s still beside you
He’s as close as breath
You just have to walk

I have seen and I have heard that
This is just the way He works
And I’ll take this chance to remind me that
Its His grace that keeps me moving
Moving on

What I want is for Him to tell me
I won’t always feel this pain
What I get is a constant love
When nothing else stays the same
I won’t be surprised now when it doesn’t lead me
To a clearer place or to some great resolve
I don’t have to wonder if He’s still beside me
He’s as close as breath
And I just have to walk

I have seen and I have heard
That this is just the way He works
And I’ll take this chance to remind me that
Its His grace that keeps me moving

Moving on and on as far as he will take me
When I walk with Him I know

This is just the way he works
And I’ll take this chance to remind me that
Its His grace that keeps me moving
I have seen and I have heard that
This is just the way He works
And I’ll take this chance to remind me that
Its His grace that keeps me moving
Moving on

So, what do you think?  Are you excited about Music Mondays?

God’s Picture Frames

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As I write this, I’m sprawled out on the bed that belongs to my sixteen year old cousin, Lauren.

Looking around her room, I see photos of her and me in various stages of her life. There is one of us sticking our tongues out when she is around two years old. Another one at a wedding when she is about four or five.  There’s even a photo of her with my dad when she was a little bitty baby.  Mixed in with these photos are trinkets that I’ve given to her over the years – a hat, a scarf, and hand-painted ceramics.

These knick knacks and photographs not only bring back a rush of memories, but they bring with them a humbling reminder that she carries me in her heart even though we only get to see each other a few times a year.

It makes me wonder.  Does God have photos of us scattered around His Heavenly Home?   Is there a mantel in the New Jerusalem littered with moments in our life that He holds dear?   I wonder if He and Jesus take strolls down memory lane reflecting on where we’ve been and where we are going.

There’s a wedding snapshot in a silver frame.  Only this snapshot is not of your earthly wedding but is a photograph snapped at the very moment you kneeled before your Savior and became the bride of Christ.

There is another of your first baby steps of faith.  Can you see Him, the proud Father, smiling in the background?

There is another photograph in a shiny red frame.  It’s a snapshot of when you fell off your bicycle of belief.  That’s Jesus bending next to you with his nail-scarred hands firmly under your arms lifting you up and encouraging you to try again.

Photo after photo lines the mantel top documenting each struggle, victory and milestone.  In the center of all these precious moments, there is one bigger than the others.  One photo more prominently placed.

You barely recognize yourself standing on a cliff with one foot on solid ground and the other in mid-air.  Tears are streaming down your fright-filled face and briefly you remember the prayer of hope that was on your lips.  “I’m trusting you, Lord.  Don’t let me fall.”   This is the moment you stepped out in obedience to Him; the moment you took your first leap of faith.  And just like the others, Jesus is in the photo.  He’s standing right beside you.  You remember His reassuring words:  “Don’t worry, Child, I will catch you.”  Glancing into the lower right hand corner, you see a righteous right hand, strong and steady, waiting to catch you.

And don’t you know that when God glances at the photo, He smiles, nudges Jesus and says, “Remember that day?  I was so proud of her!”

Light Post

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 “I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth.”  (Isaiah 42:16)

Back when I was doing triathlons, I would often be up before the sun to go on a run.  Running in the dark was scary.  I always worried about falling because of cracks or debris in the road – especially when the gum ball trees bloomed.  So, I bought one of my most valuable (and glamorous) training tools – a head lamp.

Head lamps are great levelers.  There is no one that can make a head lamp look cool.  Actually, I take that back.  There is one person that can make it look cool, and that is the person using it to illuminate a gaping hole in the head of a fellow runner who tripped over something they couldn’t see in the dark.  Yep.  That person makes a head lamp look cool.

I remember the first time I ran with my illuminated training partner.  I felt secure, and I noticed something interesting:  The light was of the most benefit when focused not on the horizon, but on the ground two or three feet in front of me.   When the light was focused on the horizon, my vision was distorted.  I couldn’t see clearly the path in front of me nor could I make out what lay ahead.  Everything was fuzzy.  

Just like my head lamp, we are of the most benefit to Christ when we spend our time focused on what is directly in front of us.  When we try to see where He’s taking us or what’s around the corner, we can miss the things He wants us to see today, or have trouble discerning the short-term steps He’s calling us to take.  God wants us to trust Him moment-by-moment, step-by-step, day-by-day. 

The Israelites spent more years than I’m sure they care to remember learning that very lesson.  Just as God led them with the pillar of fire at night, He leads us today, not with just a light, but with THE Light: Jesus. 

God knows how dark our lives can seem at times.  But rest assured that if you have trusted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are never without the Light, for His Word says, “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). 

King David knew the secret to brightening up the dark places when he penned these words:  “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).

If your world seems bleak or your hope seems lost, grab His Word and trust that He will light your path.

Boundaries

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In Christian circles, there are some clichés that are like punches to my gut.

“Let go and let God!” is at the top of my Please Don’t Say That List.  I’d rather hear you quote the worry verses (Matthew 6:27) before “Let go and let God” crosses your lips.

Another tired expression that is borderline annoying, but probably more biblically grounded, is “God won’t give you more than you can handle.”  People who say that usually don’t know what else to say, and I’d bet their intentions are generally good.  So although not my favorite, I can stomach this one far better than “Let go…”  (I can’t even bring myself to put it in black and white again).

So does God operate within boundaries, keeping a pile of she-can’t-handle-that scenarios over in the corner?

The Bible is clear that our God has the right to govern our universe as He pleases (Psalm 115:3).  He stirs hearts and moves people to action (Ezra 1:1).  He institutes our earthly authorities (Romans 13:1-2).  He makes possible what humans consider impossible (Matthew 19:26).

That doesn’t seem like a God of boundaries.

But over in the book of Job, God is approached by Satan after he’s been roaming the earth (scary, isn’t he?), and gives him permission to test Job.  God is very clear, however, on what the adversary is allowed to do, and what he may not do, in his approach.  “Everything he has is in your hands,” God says, “but on the man himself don’t lay a finger” (Job 1:12).

Restrictions.  God is giving Satan his limitations on how he can deal with Job.  He sees the opportunity for Job to have his faith strengthened, but He will authorize the test only under the condition of protection.  His boundaries are protective of His children.

God expects us to operate within boundaries, too.  Unfortunately to a lot of people, those limitations are perceived as a never-ending list of “do nots” that make a believer’s life boring, and well, restricted.

I don’t know about you, but I’m willing to embrace God’s boundaries for me, knowing He’s simultaneously confining the devil for my protection.

Let’s be glad that the devil is operating within God’s boundaries, and not the other way around!

RLF