My Soul Delights In You
Most days I come into the office 30 minutes early to worship and pray. This is a song that came out of those times of worship.”My Soul Delights In You” is a simple song I will eventually develop, but I wanted to share it in its roughest form to encourage you this morning. (Press play, below)
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Yesterday while in a staff meeting, I felt like the Lord was encouraging me:
“You were born for this time. You did not choose when you were born- why would you choose what you should become? Trust my ability to position you for what I’ve called you to accomplish.”
This song is my declaration (regardless of whether I am “feeling it” or not) that I delight in the Lord. As a result, I expect Him to plant desire in my heart- the kind of desire that I am supposed to pursue…the kind of desire He is willing and able to fulfill. (Psalm 37:4… Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He will give you the desires of your heart.)
What has He been sharing with you lately? (click here to leave your comments) ck
Lift Your Eyes
This season of life is super-busy right now, but I hope you find encouragement when I remind you that “God is never out-given”.
Genesis 22 tells a beautiful story of a man’s love and reverence for God. Abraham loved God even more than the things he was believing God for. In a life-defining moment, Abraham was willing to make an agonizing sacrifice to God. An in the final moments of this sacrifice, God stops Abraham, convinced of Abraham’s devotion. It says in verse 13 that “…Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram”.
God’s provision is always found when you “lift your eyes”. Lift your eyes off the problem. Lift your eyes off the pain and disappointment. Lift your eyes even off the sacrifice you are offering God. Lift your eyes and expect to see the provision God has long prepared for you, as He reminds you- once again- that He is never out-given.
The pressure you feel right now is quite possibly a life-defining moment in the making. “Lift Your Eyes!”
How can I pray for you?
INFLUENCE AND AFFLUENCE (pt2)
In part 1 I cited a great quote by Woody Woodson, “the influence and affluence of God in a culture are directly proportional.”
Well, I can’t impact a culture until I am first impacted. Change begins with me.
I’ve found that God has the greatest influence in my life when I commit to the following:
INFLUENCE AND AFFLUENCE (pt1)
Our church hosted longtime friend and special guest Woody Woodson to share in an October worship services this year. He stretched us with a great word about the importance of believers impacting and influencing culture. In this context, Woody mentioned this profound statement: “the influence and affluence of God in a culture are directly proportional.”
“the influence and affluence of God in a culture are directly proportional.” Woody Woodson
The book of Genesis gives this account of Abraham:
(Genesis 12:1-3, New King James Version)
Notice Abraham had to leave what was familiar, predictable and comfortable; Status Quo.
Once he did, God’s influence in Abraham’s life was amplified by Abraham’s willingness to honor and follow God.
At a recent Tippecanoe County Right To Life event I attended, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said, “What we have in our nation today is not a financial problem, but a moral problem.” (link to Journal and Courier story)
“What we have in our nation today is not a financial problem, but a moral problem.” Gov. Mike Huckabee
I would say the excerpt from the book of Genesis would concur. Where the affluence of God is waning, very likely the influence of God is likewise.
Now take your focus off our country for a minute, and let’s take it closer to home:
Do you see a correlation between God’s influence and affluence in the different facets of YOUR life?
Be blessed- Cory
WISDOM, LEGS AND YOUR PROMISED LAND
I need to work this issue out a bit more, but I thought I would start here…
We can mistakenly view God as a judge, with gavel in hand, waiting for us to appease Him. And if we appease Him, He just might ‘drop the gavel‘ in our favor. As uncertain and impersonal as this sounds, it may be preferable for those who would sooner shirk personal responsibility than ask for directions to the place where God’s provision is found.
Q: What if His promises are really “yes and amen!” (2 Corinthians 1:20)? And what if “yes and amen” comes with a condition?
“If you are willing and the obedient, you will eat the good of the land.” (Isaiah 1:19)Ouch.
I was talking with a friend today who had been believing for a miracle in a health-related situation. He had prayed for healing. Confessing the promises of God’s Word over his situation, he also followed the wisdom of his doctor as it concerned his diet. This friend was elated to tell me about the miracle that was confirmed moments before some scheduled surgery last week. The surgery was canceled. My friend’s doctor even affirmed him, saying “I can’t believe you actually followed my directions!” Hmmm… interesting parallel.
A thought began to crystallize in my head: the promises of God are confirmed in past tense (e.g. by His stripes we ARE healed). That means they already exist in the spirit realm. The issue hanging in the balance is whether we are going to use the wisdom of God to unveil His promises in this natural realm. Like my friend experienced, there is a prescribed order of willingness that precedes “eating the good of the land“.
So maybe we should stop praying for God’s provision, and start asking for His wisdom. (But it doesn’t end there)
Wisdom, then, needs a pair of legs called willingness that will bring us to our “promised land”.
And that’s where I want to be: at the intersection of my willingness and God’s ability. We really can get there!
What do you need wisdom for today? And what does that wisdom’s [pair of legs] look like for you? ck
On Self-Promotion
What could make a better first blog post than a few thoughts about ’self-promotion’?
Anywhere you read about [artists, media, production, social networking, etc], virtually all of the “curriculum” involves SELF-PROMOTION. “Sell More”, “Be Heard”, “Make Fans”. “Increase hits”… Whether it’s because the music industry has changed, or because anyone with an internet connection can spread whatever they want to spread (case in point), it seems that there are two groups of people:
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1.) those who are producing great world-changing art, and
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2.) those who are obsessed with self-promotion.
“Over the past few years, I have heard many stories from those I would consider ‘accomplished’ in their field of expression and influence. And I am encouraged to find- time after time- their stories resonate a timeless biblical truth:
God promotes the faithful who care more about Him than themselves.
Read about Geron Davis’ song “Holy Ground” (credit given to author Dan Keen- full article here)
“…There is the example of composer Geron Davis whose song “Holy Ground” is a well-known staple in church music. Geron’s motive for writing the song in 1984 was to serve his Dad, a pastor who needed a song to christen a new church building. Davis wrote the song for his Dad and it served his church well. Over time it resonated with many, many churches becoming one of the most performed songs in the CCLI survey of churches.
Davis’ publisher, Meadowgreen Music, was very active is seeking recordings of the song but for unknown reasons no major Christian label artist happened to record the song. It still continued to increase in usefulness to the church body. One such usage occurred ten years later in 1994 at the funeral of then President, Bill Clinton’s mother in Arkansas. A local church singer sang, “Holy Ground” and in the audience of sympathizers was none other than Barbra Streisand. Streisand had an epiphany that day and went on to record a spiritual project. As the cornerstone of the project, she recorded – you guessed it! – “Holy Ground”. So, Davis’ song went from the status of having no major recordings into the repertoire of an American musical icon!”
At an Integrity Music Seminars4 Worship Conference, I was encouraged to hear worship artist Michael Neale share his personal story about desiring to see his songs to “be heard”. He said the Lord encouraged him with the following:
“You keep writing songs for the King, and when the time is right, He will bring them to the Kingdom to be heard” (paraphrased)
I could go on and on, but the takeaway is this:
There is profound opportunity- right where you are today- to be diligent at what you do for no more motivation than to honor God and honor those He’s called you to solve problems for. With this heart, God can trust and promote you to the next level of resources, influence and creativity.