Worship Prep

I am seeking a heart of worship.

Tomorrow is Sunday.  Sunday means corporate worship.

Since I am married to the Pastor of Worship, I believe I have a special responsibility to prepare my heart for worship. I am a far cry from an A+ in this subject, but  it is a very strong conviction of mine. How can my hubby lead anyone if he is not leading his wife?  I Timothy requires that an elder manage his own household; therefore, my responsibility is to be manageable and lead-able! 

I can’t do anything about anyone else’s heart, but I can get on my knees before God, reflect on scripture and repent of my sin so that God will cleanse and prepare my heart for worship.

I pray you will do the same, prepare your heart to worship your maker corporately  with your body of believers. Tomorrow, I want to forget about everything and everyone else and devote everything I am to the praise of my Father.  

Meditate with me:

Psalm 84

¹How lovely is your dwelling place, 
       O LORD Almighty!

² My soul yearns, even faints, 
       for the courts of the LORD; 
       my heart and my flesh cry out 
       for the living God.

³ Even the sparrow has found a home, 
       and the swallow a nest for herself, 
       where she may have her young— 
       a place near your altar, 
       O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.

⁴ Blessed are those who dwell in your house; 
       they are ever praising you. 
       Selah

⁵ Blessed are those whose strength is in you, 
       who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.

⁶ As they pass through the Valley of Baca, 
       they make it a place of springs; 
       the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

⁷ They go from strength to strength, 
       till each appears before God in Zion.

⁸ Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty; 
       listen to me, O God of Jacob. 
       Selah

⁹ Look upon our shield,  O God; 
       look with favor on your anointed one.

¹⁰ Better is one day in your courts 
       than a thousand elsewhere; 
       I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God 
       than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

¹¹ For the LORD God is a sun and shield; 
       the LORD bestows favor and honor; 
       no good thing does he withhold 
       from those whose walk is blameless.

¹² O LORD Almighty, 
       blessed is the man who trusts in you.

Fourth of July Musings

 

“God BlessAmerica.”

“Pray for our Nation.”

 Prayers that God would turn our Nation back to him.

 Promises that God will revive our land.

 Prayers that God will bring greater peace and prosperity.



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These are the some of the things Christians see, hear, and say during today’s holiday. These are the things I have thought and said during previous 4th of July holidays.

None these things are necessarily bad to pray, but the burden on my heart this Fourth of July is starkly different from any previous. You see, Scripture does not reveal that God will “restore America to its Christian roots.”  When I read scripture, I see the opposite promised. I see the promise that great trail, tribulation, and persecution are coming to the whole world.

I know I write this with the danger of sounding like a frantic harbinger.  I know this probably isn’t the happy Fourth of July post you would expect or want to read. But friends, I cannot ignore scripture. I will not celebrate America’s Independence with my head in the proverbial sand believing that things will get better in the future. To do that, I would have to ignore the Word of God. Knowing the truth of what is to come makes me even more grateful for the freedom I enjoy today.

I began thinking in this way as I read John Piper’s book, Spectacular Sins:

                “Global cataclysms and personal catastrophes are coming. I say this not as one with my finger in the wind, but with my finger in the Bible. ‘Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22) ‘If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you’ (John 15:20). ‘You yourselves know that we are destined for [these afflictions]’ (I Thess. 3:3).  ‘All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted’ (2 Tim. 3:12). We are ‘fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him’ (Rom. 8:17). ‘Not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.’ (Rom. 8:23)”

Scripture doesn’t lead me to believe that there will soon be (this side of the New Earth) a time of peaceful cultural Christianity. In some parts of the world, serious persecution is already happening.



"...hundreds of Christians and their families were slaughtered in 'Nigeria religious violence' – brutally hacked with machetes if they could not or would not identify themselves in the language used mostly by Muslims" {source}



"Christians in Iraq now suffer persecution and even

death as a fall-out from war" {source}

I don’t want to be caught off guard when these things happen. I don't want to think I am in some way better than Christians in other parts of the world and will be spared from persecution. I don’t want to succumb to persecution, because I ignored the Bible’s warnings. I don’t want to be looking up at God with confusion should I be in a position where my life will be taken.

Of course, the scripture doesn't offer an exact time frame, but God has warned me; I believe Him.

Does this mean I am not thankful I live in America? No. Does this mean I am not grateful for the men and women who have fought for the safety and freedom I enjoy? Absolutely not!

But, this does mean that, today, I am praying a different prayer. As I eat burgers and hotdogs, watch fireworks, and spend time with family, I thank God for the freedom I have been blessed with in my lifetime. I ask forgiveness for not using this precious freedom to more urgently to share the Gospel.  I pray that God graces me and other believers with the faith to stand strong in the face of what is to come.



The Bible also tells us that the Beast will win, for a season. “[The Beast] was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them …and … cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain.” (Revelation 13:7, 15)

A Titus 2 Woman

If you have been around me for any length of time, you may have heard me say the phrase “A Titus 2 Woman.”  I have always held this passage near and dear to my heart as it describes what the relationships between both the men and the women in the church should look like.

Recently, I read the book Feminine Appeal: Seven Virtues of a Godly Wife and Mother. If you are a woman, you should read this book (even if you are not a wife or mother).  Carol Mahaney does a fantastic job explaining the seven virtues listed in Titus 2 and applying them to women today. Girls, this is a book that will l make you uncomfortable and cause you to question your Americanized way of thinking, but it will also challenge you to be a more Godly woman.

I encourage you to read for yourself these few versus in Titus. But, before you do, I beg you to put down your rose-tinted glasses. Set aside all you preconceived notions about what an “American” wife and mother looks like. As you read, pray for God’s grace in your life that you may exemplify and teach other women these attributes.

Titus 2:3-5

"Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled."

Girls, this is how we are to live out the gospel.  Notice, pursuing a great career is not on the list. Neither is attaining the perfect figure. Our lives are to be oriented around our husbands, children, and home.  This is God’s design. But, it makes us uncomfortable because we have allowed the views of our feminist culture to skew our thinking. Our skewed thinking causes us to pervert or ignore the Word of God. Our skewed thinking causes us to justify our lack of submissiveness and rationalize the other areas we don’t measure up.

For this, I must repent. I am guilty. I have listened to our culture's view of femininity over the Biblical view. I pray that the Holy Spirit would, through me, shine the Gospel as He conforms me to the Titus 2 virtues. I pray that we will spur one another on to be the women God has called us to be.  I pray that you would join me in standing up for Biblical womanhood.

Grace Overcomes

A few weeks ago, Stephen and I made the 10+ hour trip back to our “home-town” to spend some time with family. In addition to seeing family and friends, I got to meet my nephew, Calvin, who was only a week old at the time.

Several of you knew that this was going to be a sweet, but possibly difficult experience and offered up prayers for me.  I write this blog to tell you, “THANK YOU.”

Calvin was the first newborn I held since our miscarriage.  I was scared. I was scared that all my sinful emotions would come bubbling to the top, and I would enter into “pity-party mode.”  Jealousy, pity, anger, and resentment were just a few of the sinful emotions I knew lurked inside my heart.  Knowing this, I repented and prayed. Thankfully, I also had many people interceding on my behalf.

When I held that baby boy, by the sheer grace of God all I felt was love. That’s it - just an amazing, overwhelming and unexplainable love. It was absolutely nothing I can boast in; it was 100% a work of God.

Thank you, Lord, for your grace. I absolutely don’t deserve it.

Friend, know this, the grace of God can overcome anything.

The Answer is Grace

“Why do bad things happen to good people?”

I have heard this question asked in so many forms, by so many people. For two years, I consistently shared the gospel with someone, who during each discussion always reverted back to this question. This question was, for him, a stumbling block to faith. I have heard people who face death, divorce, infertility, job loss, and countless other situations ask similar questions.

It almost seems that no matter how hard we search, we rarely find a satisfying answer to this question. I submit to you the notion that we are asking the wrong question. Perhaps, in our sinfulness, we don’t have the right perspective.  So, what perspective should we have? There is no other place to look but God’s Holy Word.

Romans 3:9-10 & 18. "I have already charged that all men, both Jews and Greeks, are under the power of sin, as it is written: None is righteous, no not one; no one seeks for God....There is no fear of God before their eyes."

Romans 14:23  "Whatever is not from faith is sin."

Romans 7:18  "I know that no good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh."

Romans 8:7-8 "For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, indeed it cannot; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God."

What do these verses tell us? We are sinful. We cannot please God apart from the Spirit of God. All that we think and feel apart from God’s spirit is NOT good. Not one person is good. Humanity is in complete and total rebellion against God.

I understand this may make you uneasy. Yet, this is scripture. This type of thinking is not popular today; however, we can’t ignore or sugar-coat this because it makes us uncomfortable. It is dangerous to minimize our sinfulness. Minimizing our sinfulness minimizes the death of Christ.

The truth is that we are corrupt, wicked people. As such, there is only one thing we deserve: death and eternal separation from God.

So, the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” is a faulty question because it assumes (1) that there are “good” people and it (2) that we deserve good things from God for that “goodness.”

So, instead of, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” we should ask, “Why do good things happen to bad people?” The answer is grace.

Worth It

Ministry life is not always easy. Yet, there are special moments in ministry that I am both blessed and humbled to get to witness. These special moments make any difficult times worth it. Today, I would like to share with you ten things I love about being in ministry.

1)      Seeing people “take up” their "cross" and follow Jesus.

2)      Hearing testimonies of God’s power and provision in people’s lives.

3)      Being able to pray for individuals' hurts, struggles, and healing.

4)      Seeing people grow hungry for the Word of God.

5)      Having spiritual and theological conversations.

6)      Seeing people experience authentic worship.

7)      Talking with people about what they are reading in the Bible.

8)      Seeing people change the music they listen to and the books they read.

9)      Watching people realize and answer the calling God has placed in their lives.

10)   Developing precious friendships that will last for life.

Because of these things (and many others), I am beyond thankful to God for my life as a minister’s wife.

A Different Kind of Mother's Day

“Are you a mother?” the sweet waitress at our restaurant asked me this afternoon. She stood by our table, ready to give me a cupcake should I say yes. There is no way that young lady could have realized the emotions she stirred up inside of me with that simple, innocent question.  As I looked around the restaurant, I said a silent prayer for any of the women who were also experiencing sadness this Mother’s Day.

On November the 7^th, I thought I would be spending Mother’s Day 2011 eagerly anticipating the bundle of joy that was to arrive the first week of June. One day later, I found out that would not be the case. Instead of excitement, I feel pangs of unresolved grief as I think about that little one whom we never got to meet.

I never really understood why Mother’s Day was so hard for so many people. But now, in some small way, I do understand. This day can stir up all sorts of emotions for so many different reasons. Those emotions range from grief for a mother who has passed to sadness from a broken relationship.  Perhaps you have experienced miscarriage and, like me, you are fearful about what the future will hold. Maybe you are battling with infertility, and your heart yearns and breaks all at the same time on this day.  

For me, this holiday is different than ever before. It is difficult to have all these emotions stirred up.  I know I am not alone; many of you are experiencing pain on this day from past wounds. Many of you have wounds that are far more difficult than mine. My heart goes out to you.

Dear sweet sister and friend, whatever hurt this holiday may bring back to you, know this: you have a great High Priest who bears your grief and pain. You do not have to bear it alone. Others may not know what you are going through, but Jesus does.  I am praying for you today.

Surely our griefs He himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. (Isaiah 53:4).