New Song

"Put a new song in my mouth of praise to you, and the world will see and fear Your name." ~ Most High (Hillsong United)

Psalm 33:3a ~ Sing a new song of praise to Him;

I went to bed with this verse on my mind last night. Sing a NEW song. Why a new song? What does that even mean? Here's what God spoke to me. The verse doesn't just say "sing a new song", it says, "sing a new song OF PRAISE". He doesn't want you to stay where you're at; to become stagnant. As you go deeper with Him, He'll reveal things to you, things you didn't even comprehend before. For instance, He protects us from all kinds of things without our knowledge. He is fighting for you in high places. You could put yourself in a situation, let's say a romantic relationship, and you get upset at God when it crumbles. At that point in time, you don't understand why He would do something like that - something that would hurt you. But as you grow in Him and He begins to reveal things to you, you realize He was PROTECTING you, because He has something far better in store. I speak this one from personal experience. This is why we need to sing a NEW song of praise to Him. You can't be singin' the same old song when He reveals something to you that you didn't see before. Don't stay where you're at, but live wanting more of Him, more understanding, and He'll give you a new song, one with which to truly praise Him.

Beloved of the King

It just hit me what an IMMENSE privilege it is to call Him, the God of the universe, ours. That He would reach out to become our true Lover, the one who knows the innermost parts of us, yet still loves us more than we could ever comprehend. We are His beloved - servants who are drawn into His courts by the King. His heart is to give us the best. The earth was created for OUR PLEASURE. He loves us so much He made an entire environment for us to enjoy. You are utterly ADORED by Him, and every moment you spend with Him is an opportunity for Him to tell you that. How favored are we to be able to say, "I am His and He is mine." Jesus gave everything for us, and we can live a life giving our praise back to Him. I consider that a remarkable blessing, not a burden. When the veil was torn, it signified that we could come before the King, unashamed, because we had been made clean. We can have constant communion with Him, and He will never, ever get annoyed with us, or decide He doesn't want to hang around us anymore. God will always see us for what we are - His beloved.

In the Stillness, There is Breakthrough

Not all spiritual battles are fought with shouting and jumping, or getting all riled up. Sometimes, God will break things in the quiet.... when you're willing to surrender every part of you, even those things you've had a death grip on for a very long time. When you have a moment of stillness with the Lord, sometimes it makes Him that much more able to speak to you and move on your behalf. Passion does not equal outspokenness, and God doesn't require you to be loud or excessively outgoing to use you. People who are PASSIONATE and USABLE are not always the ones who draw the most attention to themselves. Occasionally, someone who will listen will impact far more than someone who is quick to start telling them what they need to do. The world is full of people and the media TELLING them what they should do, but what if we become listeners? Wouldn't that stand out, rather than being just another voice bombarding them? We are called to be set apart; to be different than the world. Yes, absolutely, there is a time to speak out, and to stand up for righteousness, but sometimes breakthrough occurs and battles are fought when we're willing to listen and hear both what our Father says and the hurts of those that surround us. That way, we'll know His will and the hurts of our generation, and we can advance the Kingdom far more effectively.

Utterly Beautiful

Shakin' Things Up

I was on a walk today and I was considering Paul and Silas. They were in the worst of situations, and yet they WORSHIPPED, and God moved drastically. Their hearts of surrender enabled God to move on their behalf in mighty ways. The Bible says that they were released by a violent earthquake (Acts 16:26), and the very foundations were shaken. WE are that earthquake, and we're going to shake the very foundations of the things that Satan has set up and the walls he's put in place to keep us from advancing our territory. Pastor Gordon was talking about the Kingdom of God and how the VIOLENT take it by force (Matthew 11:12). He's preparing and teaching us to be violent warriors, ready to take on every aspect of darkness, and reflecting His light in a world full of brokenness.

What ARE You?

Our words are SO powerful. We say things like, "I'm fat," or "I'm too shy," and expect ourselves to be different. Who we SAY we are determines where we'll go in the Kingdom and in life. "I can't" is another really big thing people say all the time. "With God, ALL things are possible." (Matthew 19:26) Saying that we cannot do something in no way will help us to actually succeed in doing it. We are victorous children of God who walk in the authority of God. How DARE we say that something is too hard for us? Going back to what we say about OURSELVES, and who we are, we absolutely have to realize the affect our words have on who we are. Speak life over yourself. What does He say about you? For example, you're not too shy, you walk in the boldness and authority of Christ. Things like that. If you don't know what He has to say about you, get in your Bible and read all that He says you are. You are wonderfully created in His image, a loved son or daughter of the King. The Bible is PACKED with truth about YOU. Ask Him to lead you to verses that specifically pinpoint what you're struggling with. God speaks to us in so many different ways, we just need to listen and speak the same over ourselves.

The Passionate Pursuit

We hear about seeking God all the time, and we even have a desire to be in His presence. He created us that way, to thrive on moments of surrender to Him. It becomes so easy to allow other things to distract or preoccupy us so we don't have that time to devote to Him and He can minister to our spirit. He is our Romancer, the One who will truly fulfill us. We need to be pursuing Him with all we are. When we spend time focused on our King, He shows us aspects of Himself we would not have known otherwise. That is how we fall in love with Him. No amount of jumping or crying will lead you to that place. When you love someone, you spend TIME with them. With all that Jesus went through to allow us to come before the King, to have an intimate relationship with Him, we do not take advantage of that, not like we really should. That passion and courage we hear about all the time that we need if we're going to transform this generation, we cannot have that unless our foundation is in Him. To be true followers of Christ, we HAVE to be in love with Him. To be in love with Him we have to passionately pursue Him, and when we passionately pursue Him, He will give us that passion for the things of righteousness and the courage to carry it through.

Advancing Fearlessly and on Fire

What does it really look like to be on fire for God? What does that even mean? If you've ever seen a forest fire, their attack is fierce and can overcome the largest of areas. If we can come together as a people wholly devoted and sold out to being on fire for Him, we could take down so much more than we ever thought imaginable. A fire, if not taken in hand and stopped, can spread to the far reaches of an area. We need to be like that. We need new anointing and resolve and to decide that WE CANNOT BE STOPPED. Fire takes territory. Not with merely little bits of gusto here and there, but with immense power and authority. We need to stand up as the people of God and take back what the enemy has taken from us, and conquer what he has tried to establish. One really cool thing about fire is that in an instant, it can set other things afire as well. Walk in the power and authority He's given you and touch the lives around you. Before you know it, if we're truly dedicated and passionate about what He wants to do in and through us, we'll have set a fire ablaze, a group so committed to the things of God, nothing else matters. YOU can start a forest fire. Take the territory He has put in front of you. No complacency, no fear. Just wholehearted devotion and passion to change your world. That is how we can and will change our generation. We are not merely little lights to our world. A mere candle can be trampled or blown out. But a fire takes so much more to stop. The enemy will be using all he can to put out the fire within you. Stand firm in Him and allow it to grow.