The Unrepealed Commission

Speaking of Amy Carmichael's work in Japan:

"As in Belfast and Manchester, Amy sought out the factory girls...
Her great longing was to have a "single eye" for the glory of God . Whatever might blur the vision God had given her of His work, whatever could distract or deceive or tempt others to seek anything but The Lord Jesus Himself she tried to eliminate. Why waste precious time, painful effort, on lesser things? Someone suggested that more girls would be drawn to the meetings if she offered lessons in sewing or embroidery and administered only a mild dose of the Gospel. But these girls worked from five in the morning till half past six in the evening. They had one day off in ten. They hadn't time for foolishness. Furthermore, so far as Amy could see, there was no scriptural warrant for "consecrated fancywork and chatter," for "fleshly things rather than spiritual." "I would rather have two who came in earnest than a hundred who came to play," she said. "We have no time to toy with souls like this. It is not by ceremonial tea making and flower arranging, not by wool chrysanthemum-making and foreign sewing-learning, but 'by My Spirit, saith The Lord.' "

-"A Chance to Die, the Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael" by Elisabeth Elliot

All I Have Is Christ

lyrics

Verse 1
I once was lost in darkest night
Yet thought I knew the way
The sin that promised joy and life
Had led me to the grave
I had no hope that You would own
A rebel to Your will
And if You had not loved me first
I would refuse You still

Verse 2
But as I ran my hell-bound race
Indifferent to the cost
You looked upon my helpless state
And led me to the cross
And I beheld God’s love displayed
You suffered in my place
You bore the wrath reserved for me
Now all I know is grace

Chorus
Hallelujah! All I have is Christ
Hallelujah! Jesus is my life

Verse 3
Now, Lord, I would be Yours alone
And live so all might see
The strength to follow Your commands
Could never come from me
O Father, use my ransomed life
In any way You choose
And let my song forever be
My only boast is You


Credits:
Music and words by Jordan Kauflin
© 2008 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI)  see less

Changing

Something is happening in me.
There is a growing desire within me. A desire that I did not put there. A desire that is beyond me. A desire that I have tried to have, but couldn't. Not in my own strength.
I have wanted to want to read my Bible, but often found myself doing it just because it was the things to do.
I have wanted to want to be with Jesus, but often found myself spending time with Him out of duty.
Not that I haven't ever wanted to read my Bible or spend time with Jesus, but I cannot truthfully say that I have hungered and thirsted after more of Him...until now.
This past month, actually I think it started way before that, more like this past year, there has been an increasing desire growing within me.
I have often sang with Shane and Shane "Lord I want to yearn for You! I want to burn with passion over You and only You!" and I really did.
As I was going through Ellerslie I think I caught a more fuller glimpse of that yearning, but even there there was the pressure of doing studying and spending time with Jesus just because it was the thing to do, it was encouraged, everyone else was doing it. Not that that is a bad thing. Quite the opposite, it is wonderful to be pressed toward Christ! But then Ellerslie ended and with it the season of living in an environment where everything was so Christ focused to going out into the world once again, where at every corner there is something to try and lure, tempt and distract ones thoughts, focus, and life from being fully centered on Christ.
It is so easy to get caught up in this world like a leaf carried on the back of so many ants and hardly even pay any attention to what is happening.  Perhaps that is the reason for the warning in 1Pet 5:8.

But this is not the way that things have to be.
We do not have to be swept along by the waves of fashion, pop-culture, media, electronics. We do not have to get caught up in the drama of those around us.
We can be free from the things of this world. We can set our affections on things above, and not on things on this earth (Col 3:2). For we can do all things through Christ Who strengthens us (Phi 4:13). Not in our own strength mind you, but in Christ.
I have often felt my lack and tried to come up with ways to fill it "If I just got up earlier..." "If I just..." 
But I, and let me stress that I, cannot do it in my own strength. O how easy it is so say "surrender", and how hard to actually do it. It goes against the very grain of our controlling, self-protecting nature to give up our own rights and desires and to place ourselves, unreservedly, into the Almighty hands of God and say "not my will, but Thine Lord". 
So how are we to do it then? 
For we can do ALL things through CHRIST Who strengthens us! (Phi 4:13*)
"I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord'' (Rom 7:25a*)
And even thou Paul wrote this to the Church of Galatia I think it rings true for us today that Jesus is the One "who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen." Gal 1:4-5

* emphasis mine

Jesus

O what a name!
It causes the corners of my mouth to sort of perk up.
It resounds with a steadfast peace, calm and joy within my heart.
It is a name I love.
Why?
Am I some supper spiritual nut who has nothing better to do than go around with a silly grin on her face whenever she hears the name of her Savior?
Well, I guess the answer is yes:-)
However, my interpretation of "supper spiritual nut" may be different than yours:-)
By answering yes to the above question I do not mean that I am someone without a brain or who lives in some loony fantasy world. Not by a long shot!
I mean someone who has experienced Something better, and is so wrapped up in that Something that she can not help but go around with smile upon her face for Those who look to him are radiant (Psa 34:5a)!
Even if it means I look like a nut to this world, may I ever be willing to appear like a fool for Christ's sake (1Cor 4:10)!

Oh my dear readers, Jesus is worth our all!
He, being God, came to this earth and lived a sinless life. Mary, thought Him worthy enough to pour out her very best upon his feet! (Joh 12:3) He bore our sin and the wrath of God that was rightfully ours upon the cross over 2000 years ago and He died. But Glory to God in the highest! He did not stay dead! He rose again on the third day and He now sits enthroned at the right hand of God and They have sent the Holy Spirit to be our helper. We need no longer live in bondage to sin or our own desires! We can be free!
Have you ever heard the saying "The truth will set you free"?
Well it is true my friends!!
Jesus says in John 14:6 "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
He is the TRUTH!
The TRUTH will set you free if you will but turn to Him!

May we ever lean more fully upon Him. Ever desire Him more! Ever be willing, as Mary, to pour out our best, our ALL upon our Lord! May we ever live for HIS glory!!


*Picture credit goes to Christy Osborne

Christ is Risen

Christ is risen from the dead,
Trampling over death by death, come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave.
Christ is risen from the dead,
We are one with Him again, come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave.

O death, where is your sting?
O hell where is your victory?
O church, come stand in the light,
The glory of God has defeated the night
O death, where is your sting?
O hell, where is your victory?
O church, come stand in the light
Our God is not dead He's alive, He's ALIVE!

Only The Beginning...

I think it was a cool morning in the Fall 2010. If I recall correctly, it was one of those mornings in Colorado when the air was colder than the water, which caused a sort of foggy mist to hang over the lake at Ellerslie, by which I was walking.

On this particular morning, out by the lake, I was talking to Jesus.
You see, in my heart a longing was stirring, or rather was continuing to stir, as it had been there a while, a longing that I didn't see being filled any time to soon.

There had been times in the past when this longing would begin to bubble up, but I was usually pretty successful in pushing it down and putting it in Jesus hands. However there were times when that was easier than others.

This was one of those times when the longing was bubbling up more forcefully than usual and needed some attending to. Hence this time out by the lake.

Shortly before the end of my basic semester at Ellerslie I had applied for an internship with His Little Feet. It seemed like such a good fit for me. I could see so many ways that it seemed the Lord had been preparing me for this position. A longing began to form in my heart.

After waiting, putting it in the Lords hands, and crying out for His joy, whether I got the position or not, on August 10th 2010 I found out that I didn't get it.

The Lord was faithful (as He always is! Deu 7:9, Isa 49:7, 1Tim 5:24, 2Tim 3:3, Rev 19:11) and He filled me with joy, even though I didn't get the position.

So after a little brake I went back to Ellerslie and started my, "Advanced Leadership Training". Oh what a blessing that time was! I grew so much in those weeks and months and learned many things that would have been harder (I think) to learn on the road with HLF.

God grew and stretched me through that time at Ellerslie and I truly enjoyed it, but every once in a while that familiar longing would bubble up in my heart. It was usually easier to quell when the HLF team was out on the road and not around (I lived in the same building with them and when they were around I saw and heard allot of them:D It was great! And hard.) However, they would occasionally come back to the Ellerslie campus for short brakes in between their tour travels. As was the case during the time of the above mentioned Fall morning.

So there I was, out by the lake, talking to Jesus about it.

What I said went something like this "Jesus, You know how much I want this. But, if it's going to take me away from You, I don't want to touch it!"

And I meant it. I did long to be a part of this ministry that is impacting children from different parts of the world, as well as churches and families right here in the US, but if being a part of this ministry was going to take me anywhere, but closer to Jesus, I didn't want any part of it.

I think sometimes when I just talk things out- bring them into the light instead of just shoving them down- I see things more clearly, and that's what seemed to be the case on this day.

That is a memorable day to me. It was a day when I sat my desire before the Lord and found that even though it was intense, it fell short to my desire and longing for more of Him. I found that no matter what the enemy had to say about it, Jesus truly was first in my heart and my desire in wanting to work with HLF was a desire for Him and not just me. It was a desire that He was growing (even though I may not have fully grasped that at the time).

It was months later (I had already graduated from Ellerslie and had spent the Summer at home) on August 25th 2011 that I got a phone call from Mike Hahn, President and Co-founder of His Little Feet.
What he said changed my life for the next 9-10 months... and forever.

It was something like this, "Kourtney, we would like to invite you to be a part of the His Little Feet team"...

After months of waiting, praying, trusting, my God had proven faithful once again! He had tilled the ground, prepared the soil and planted a desire in my heart like a little seed. Then He had poured water on it and out of the rich dark soil I had seen a little shoot. I had longed to enjoy it right away, but my Daddy told me to wait, be patient. During that time of waiting He continued to till, water, weed and prune and when the time was just right He allowed me to see the first small bloom. I am now getting to enjoy sharing the fragrance of that small blossom with Him, and I am so thankful that He made me wait! But, even as beautiful as this small blossom is, I know that this is only one step in the amazing adventure that this life with Jesus is. He has more in store and I have a feeling this is only the beginning...

Christianity...

...is not simply the world seeing good in the people of God,
but rather the world seeing the good of the God of the people!

PRAISE JESUS!

With about 14 out of the last 18 days over 100 degrees and the other 4 days in the high 90's this mornings going out to mid 60's-ish was beautiful!


What's even better is I don't know that it has even sprinkled (maybe it has a tiny bit, I'm not sure) since the post I wrote on June 29th titled "He Opened the Floodgates". Well today He did it again!
I love Jesus!

God is a good God, YES HE IS!!

My brothers and sister and I thanked Jesus as the rain came pouring down. It is lovely to see puddles of water after so many days of dry hot weather!

Thank You Jesus!
We humbled ourselves and prayed and You are healing our land!

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." 2Chr 7:14

“It's so easy to know what to do,

but doing it, that's the challenge.”

Thank goodness we have the grace of Jesus!

Jesus, The Light!

Oh that I could be a light ablaze and shining bright in the darkness of this world. That I could be the one to show the way to the lost and ding souls. But I cannot. No. Not in and of myself. I have nothing to offer, and yet...I have EVERYTHING to offer! I am no longer just a dying soul wandering around in a dark and weary land. I am no longer stumbling around in the darkness trying to find my way. I am no longer alone, lonely, forsaken, destitute, starving, poor, naked, dying. No. I have found LIFE! Or rather, I was awakened to Life, Who dwells all around me. As I turned to Him He took me in. He showed me-and is showing me still- that I cannot save people. I cannot be the Light. I cannot be life to the dying souls. As I have yielded to Him, Jesus has taken over this being. He has shown me that no matter how well I treat people or make them feel in this life, if they don't have Him as their Savior what does that matter? What does it matter if someone is healthy, comfortable and well cared for for a lifetime here on earth and then they spend eternity in hell? I cannot save their souls, but He can. I cannot give them life, but I can point them to Life. I cannot be all they need, but I can point them to the All-in-all, Might, All-powerful, God of the universe. I cannot be their light, but as I die to self and yield this body fully to Christ Jesus and allow the Holy God of all to take over this being until it is "no longer I who live, but Christ liveth in me", as I decrees that He might increase and allow Him to poke holes in my selfish, self-seeking, self-centred, SELF, He begins to shine through. The only way that I can be a light to this world is by not being "I" at all, but by allowing the Light to shine through the emptied out shell of what used to be "me".

As I was writing this I got the mental picture of a car with an old broken down motor. It wasn't any good and in fact would most likely be quite an annoyance. But then that motor was removed and a bigger, better, shinier motor put in it's place. It was only after the first motor was removed and the new motor put in that the care was of any use. No longer is the car an inconvenience or annoyance. Now it is useful and enjoyable.
This is like us. We are like this car. It is not because of how good we are that we are used. It is because of how good the motor is that is propelling us forward.
Now the enemy will try to come in and say that we're not really anything special (and he's right, in and of ourselves we're not, but it is Christ in us that is WAY more than just special!). He says that we should just go back to our old spot on the lawn and stay there, quite being so prideful and showing off how we can get around. RUBBISH! Getting around is not showing off or being prideful, it's allowing God to showcase Himself in and through these bodies. We are no longer to be sitting around doing nothing! We are to be out there "getting around" to all the other cars parked on the side lawn with broken down motors and telling them that there is hope! All they have to do is repent, believe, yield, and receive.
Now to compare Jesus to a car motor is SUCH a degradation, but we in our human sized brains cannot fathom the vastness of Who He is.

So anyway this was not only for your benefits but I think I was also preaching to myself :D I don't know about you but I am encouraged by all that Christ has done and is doing in and through me. All glory to Jesus!

2Corinthians 12:9

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Ah, how sweet these words are to my soul!

Grit Your Teeth

NO! I will not go back to sleep! I will pray, I'm not
listening to what you have to say flesh.
I keep shuffling around the
room.
Hm...if I just sit down on this couch then I could...NO! Don't
fall for it! Keep going! If I sit down I won't be able to pray better because
I'll be asleep.

Sometimes getting up before or shortly after sunrise is tough. But in order to have a good amount of time with Jesus before the kiddos wake up it is necessary.
Though- as I was telling a friend recently- it sometimes feels like I just spend most of the time fighting to stay awake.
In spite of this I have found that this morning time is a vital part of my day.
Without it I may not necessarily have a bad attitude, but I just feel like I'm lacking something. That substance that props up my day.
Jesus is the Bread of Life, if I don't come to Him first thing I find myself getting hungry (John 6:35).

So my encouragement to all who read this is: spend time with Jesus. Even if you have to get up at an "insane hour" of the morning, spend time with Jesus. You'll be so glad you did. Even if you don't notice a difference right away keep pressing in, soon you will notice the difference. You will began to have more joy in your heart, more patience in those trying times and you will notice more of Jesus sweet presence within you throughout the day, at least this is how it is for me. So grit your teeth, tell the flesh to be quite and keep pressing into Jesus!

Thank You Jesus for making Yourself available to Your people at all times! I Love You!

He Opened the Floodgates!

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,...Unto him be glory

Eph 3:20a & 21a

God is SO good!!

So we have been having quite a dry spell lately. We have been praying for rain.
Today when I was on my way back to the house from having my morning time with Jesus, I saw the cracks in the dry, thirsty ground and asked Jesus to fill those cracks with water.
The song "Open the Floodgates of Heaven, Let it Rain" has not only been reverberating in my head and heart, but has also been sung and hummed by other members of the family quite allot lately.
It would be one thing if we did have over a hundred head of cattle on our land (my Daddy's doing lease grassing, leasing our land out to a man to graze his cattle on), then it might not been such a big deal, though the horses probably wouldn't like it so much if the grass dried up.
So Momma and I decided that we were going to start praying for rain. We thought it would be fun if we just prayed for fat cows. We thought it would be quite a testimony if we had no grass and still had fat cows. Then we saw the problems with that. The man who owns the cows would probably move them if we didn't have any grass. Even if they were fat. He might not have the faith to believe they would stay that way without any grass :D So I suggested we pray for 1) Green grass. 2) Fat cows. 3) a jolly owner (who would want to leave his cows with us).
Well, after the pond in the pasture where my Papa's cows are dried up I could see the wisdom of praying for rain. God knew what He was doing when He made rain. It's allot easier just to pray for rain than to pray for green grass, fat cows, a jolly owner, water in the pond, the cracks in the ground to be filled...yeah, it's just wiser:D

So yesterday it looked like it was going to rain. Anticipation was high.
I heard someone say there wasn't supposed to be rain for another ten days or maybe this weekend at the earliest.
Was God going to do it?
That night the rain went around us. It was as if God was saying "Do you trust me?"
I had faith that my God would come through, He's ALWAYS faithful, maybe not always the way we think He should be, but He always is nonetheless.

Tonight I looked out the window at the huge, lumbering, gray cloud coming our way loaded down with water. Was this the answer to our prayers?
A small succession of pale colorful stripes began to peak out of the bluish gray mass. It began to get brighter and longer.
I asked John if he saw the rainbow and he asked "did He answer my prayers? I prayed for a rainbow!"
What had started out as a short pale striped piece of an arch soon grew brighter and stretched into a full ark with a dim ark above it. Not only that, but soon we could see one end resting in our pasture (something I've never seen before)God is so good to us!

It had been raining for a while now and John and I were out on the trampoline jumping and singing praises to our wonderful God. Thanking Jesus for His goodness in sending us rain. We were getting quite wet.
I had read and explained (the best I could) Ephesians 3:20 to John the night before and after I reminded him he quoted it in his own words over and over saying "He is able to do EXCEEDINGLY, ABUNDANTLY, ABOVE ALL we could ask or EVEN thing!!"
After a while I got off the trampoline. I could still hear John singing praises.
The rain began to stop. I walked over to John who had stopped singing and asked "Did you stop praising Him John?" He said "I'm praising Him in my heart." To which I replied something like "It stopped raining". He began to loudly praise Jesus once again and the other kids joined in. The rain began to pour once again.
We praised our Jesus for the wonderful rain. It only rain for about 30 or 40 minutes, but as Daddy, Mom and I were talking afterward, we think this is just the beginning. Sort of like the appetizer before the meal.
So this post is my offering of praise unto the One Who is able to do EXCEEDINGLY, ABUNDANTLY, ABOVE ALL that we ask or think! To HIM be glory! I Love You Jesus!

I Will Go Lord!

Praise Jesus!

Sing all ye little ones
To the goodness of God!
Praise the Lamb of Righteousness
For shedding His blood!

In the words of Mr. NRJohnson "Oh what a Jesus!"

If your wondering what I am celebrating about, just wait until you hear. It will most likely make you want to celebrate too!

Yet another sheep has entered the fold. Yet another sinner has found forgiveness and cleansing by the wonderful sacrifice of Christ!

Oh the glorious thought that the sacrifice that was made 2,000 years ago on that cross, the blood that was shed is still efficacious for the sinners of this present day.

This glorious event which has all the angels rejoicing in heaven, brings to mind a verse from a song that says:
"My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin not in part, but the whole
is nailed to the cross and I bare it no more
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord O my soul"

Okay let me rein it in a bit.
So here's the story: we have a young man staying with us these days. He's in his early teens.
So this young gentlemen-in-the-making had stated that he wanted to learn about God. Well I guess he came to the right place!
Not many days have elapsed since our young friend came to stay with us and yet God has done a work. God does not always take days and weeks to do the work He has set out to do. As was evidenced tonight when this young G-I-T-M gave his heart to Jesus.
"He's grinning from ear to ear" Said Momma upon entering the room after seeing said gentlemen to bed.

Hmm... if this is the state of a mere human, what must be the rejoicing in heaven?

Of Mosquitoes a Cat and Persistence

This morning while I was having some quite time with the Lord, I got two lessons in persistence.

The first
I usually come outside in the early morning to be alone with Jesus and so far I haven't had much of a problem with distractions from the nature around me, usual it does the opposite, pointing my eyes to Christ.
But this morning as I was sitting out up against our gate an element of the nature around me began to invade my quite time.
This particular invasion was just that, it was a pesky nuisance and a distraction. It was persistent and annoying and itchy. If you haven't guessed it yet, it was mosquitoes. The little pests. For some reason they seemed to like my fingers this morning.
I would be sitting there, not bothering them, and they would come souring in and with that nasty little straw-like fixture on the front of there faces they would proceed to steal from the supply of blood with which I have been entrusted. Well, that wasn't about to happen without a fight! And I must say, most of them came out allot worse off than I did.

The Second
On my morning outings with Jesus we have obtained a tag-along. We usually have two, but one is a little more persistent than the other.
Each morning when I go out these two friends will usually fallow me around.
Well the smaller of the two has taken a fancy to getting a good scratching (which I made the mistake of giving her one morning, now she thinks she can have one every morning).
So this morning, I went out a little earlier than usual and nether of my friends were around.
I whistled for D.J. (our Border Collie) but I guess it was a little early for him.
Okay, I'll just be alone than this morning. I wasn't to perturbed by the idea. But then, as I came to my spot up by the gate, seemingly out of no-ware comes my other little friend. How she happened to be right by where I was going to by I don't know.
So in her usual fashion she began to rub “up and down and all the way around”.
In my usual fashion, I tried to ignore her.
I calmly took my seat and she began to persistently rub her nose and head under and around my hands, trying somehow to get them to scratch again. While, she wasn't that successful, so then she did something that wasn't acceptable! She unsheathed her claws and proceed to grab my hands and climb up my legs. She had already been pushed away, but she got a pretty good shove this time. (just encase you hadn't guessed- and I'm not quite sure what to say if you haven't- this friend is our little gray and white kitty, Lace or Lacy- I'm not sure which, she's Kay's cat)
So after that she went backed to nosing around my hands and amazingly they began to scratch. Hay, if it keeps her from clawing, I don't mind scratching her head a bit.

So these to episodes got me to thinking, why would a mosquito be willing to risk life and limb for just a few drops (if that) of blood?
And why would a little cat be willing to face rejection and “persecution” for a little scratch on the head?

The Conclusions I Came To:
For the mosquito: they had to have it. It was the very substance they had to have to sustain their life. Without it they would have died anyway.
For the cat: it was her joy and delight. She was willing to face a little hardship to gain what she held dear.

My Questions:
Are we so hungry for more of Christ that we are willing to risk our very life for more of Him? Is He the substance of our very life?
Is He so dear to us that we are willing to face rejection and persecution and still press forward toward more of Him? Is He our driving passion?

Are we going to let mosquitoes and little kitty-cats outdo us in our persistence toward the One Who gave His life that we might live? Toward Life Himself? Toward our Jesus?

Oh Lord, let me not be such a one!

Your Grace is Sufficient For Me

Your strength is made prefect when I am weak
And all that I cling to, I lay at your feet.
Your grace is sufficient for me!

Isn't His Blood Enough?

Isn't His blood enough
To cause your heart to break
Isn't His blood enough
He died for sinners to be saved
Isn't His blood enough
To get you out of your seat
Isn't His blood enough
To claim your hands and feet
Isn't His blood enough
He's calling you to more
Isn't His blood enough
To get you out that door
Isn't His blood enough
To call you to action
Isn't His blood enough
To quell every enemy faction
Isn't His blood enough
The power in which we stand
Isn't His blood enough
To save a sin soaked land
Isn't His blood enough
He shed it on the cross
Isn't His blood enough
To take us to the lost
Isn't His blood enough
To share it with the least
Isn't His blood enough
To see sinners released
Isn't His blood enough
Our loyalty to purchase
Isn't His blood enough
To deserve our deepest worship
Isn't His blood enough
To claim our deepest devotion
Isn't His blood enough
For us to give Him our will and emotion
Isn't His blood enough
Our very life to purchase
Isn't His blood enough
He died and shed it for us
Isn't His blood enough
To cover all our sin
Isn't His blood enough
To give us life IN HIM!