In and Through Everything, Jesus!

I've had plenty of time to sit down and blog lately, but the wisdom not to. Partly because I needed to put my family first and partly because of a lesson I've learned as of late.

At almost 31 years old, the truth of Proverbs 10:19 is finally sinking in...
"When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise."

In recent weeks and months, I've just known that the Lord is working something out in me, through the power of His Word. He is consistantly bringing me back to the same truths and it has caused me to just slow down a little bit so I can truly listen. Why? Because I don't want to miss what He has to say. Although the Lord is always present and He has given us His revealed will through His word, I think there are seasons when He is otherwise silent in our lives, when we have to put our faith in action and trust in what He has said and what He has demonstrated about Himself, before. However, the reverse of that is also true. In my own life, there have been seasons where He pours out truth to me so quickly, I feel like I need to just hit "pause" so I can grab my paper and pen and capture it before I forget it.  You know, those moments when He connects those dots that make you go, "wow!" 

So, while I've wanted to sit and blog a little, I've chosen to instead sit and read some more.  Journal my thoughts.  Dig a little deeper.  Soak up God's word.  And just so I don't leave you with a false impression or feed my own pride, I share this only to the great credit and glory of God.  He is doing something in me that is making me long for more of Him.  I am no scholar and many times I find myself striving alone, with no attempt to consult Him or invite Him into "my agenda."  I am ever a work in progress with good days and not so good days.  But what I'm learning, is that really, it's not about me.  My obedience is important yes, but He will act and rule and reign, with or without my participation.  He is on the throne and my good days don't make Him love me more and my bad days don't make Him love me less.  His Sovereignty is complete and for that, I am grateful. 

In my human nature, I am so performance driven and sometimes, I really just spend time with Him so that I can cross it off my list.  Which is so silly, because that negates the whole thing anyway when I treat Him like a chore on my work load.  And yet, if I'm honest, that's what I've made Him to be at more than one time over the course of my walk with Him.  So, please know that in humility I write this.  As one who is so far from "getting it right" all of the time.  One who has simply prayed for a greater appetite for Jesus and is receiving the blessing of that request. 

God has been speaking to me out of Isaiah 6, about his holiness and it's been nothing short of divine.  You know that chapter I'm referring to?  It's the scene that the prophet Isaiah so beautifully recounts about the vision of the Lord he encountered and the details of that encounter that left him forever changed.  It's one of the most quoted passages I think, due to the song that the Seraphs are singing to the Lord, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty..."  As I've sat through some incredible teaching on that passage and read it over and over myself, I just find my heart stirred at the Holy One.  The set apart God.  The Holy other.  The sacred God.  The God who is like no other. 

In countless ways, our world treats God and His word so casually.  So irreverently.  So conveniently.  We come to Him as if He is truly just another voice of wisdom, or the writer of a great story or someone we pray empty words to.  We've lost our fear of Him.  We have no respect for Him.  And we certainly don't want to give him the credit He is due.  And yet, He is GOD.  THE GOD.  The ONLY God.  There are no other Gods before Him and there will be no other Gods after Him.  As I was reminded this week, there is no one else coming for you at the end of time.  HE is IT!  The great I AM.  Faithful and True.  Our Prince of Peace.

I don't know about you, but all of this unrest that is happening in the middle east right now is truly cause for reflection.  While many are prone to worry about what this all means, and the ramifications that have yet to come, there is a clear message that we would be wise not to miss.  While the bloodshed and violence is horrific and nothing short of traumatic for many innocent people, it is a clear picture of the fagility of human power.  Of kings and kingdoms.  Of governments and rulers.  These protests that are happening day after day are throwing long-standing dictatorships and governments into total chaos and calamity.  And while one could argue all day long about the voice of the people and the long standing oppression, the point that I want to make is this:  Do you know that we have a Holy King, who is on His mighty throne?  While He is allowing the chaos of darkness to reign on Earth now, there is a day that is coming, when He will say "Enough!"  When He will come from His Heavenly throne, to regain His control over the Earth again and to establish His Kingdom, which cannot be overthrown or overturned.  When every knee will bow and every tongue will confess, HE is LORD! 

So while I'm standing in awe of the Holy One in Isaiah, I'm also reading about our King Jesus on Sunday mornings, while our Pastor walks us through the book of Matthew.  From Matthew's account, we are given insight into our King, who was promised from long ago and who has been faithful to fulfill prophecies of 2000+ years.  In His Sovereignty, He rules and is righteous.  In His Holiness, He is set-apart like no king we have ever known or will know.  The revealed truths of Matthew are proving the promised truths of Isaiah.  And all of it, right before my eyes.  Oh His word is amazing!  I love that!  Furthermore, in my Tuesday morning Bible study, we are walking through the book of John this year.  And verse by verse, chapter by chapter, the divinity of King Jesus is being proven by John's account of his years with Him.  He is not just another King, not just a "good man" who did some miraculous things, He is the Son of God.  He is the Holy seed God promised in Isaiah, the King that came for His people in Matthew and the Son of God that laid down his life in John. 

Isn't He incredible??  His Word is so amazing because it is so complete.  I've been a Christ follower for 23 years.  From the time I was very young, I've known about Jesus.  My parents passed down their love for Him and faithfully raised me (us) to know Him and guided each of us as we placed our faith in Him.  He has been my Savior for a long time and yet, as I've grown in my relationship with Him for all these years, it amazes me that still, He can amaze me!  There is so much I don't know, so much yet to discover about who He is, so much to put into practice and He is so faithful to reveal it when we go looking for it.  He is the Holy One.  He is the King.  He is the Son of God. I could have told you all of those things, because I knew all of those things.  I believed all of those things.  But with fresh eyes and a tender heart for that truth NOW, TODAY, in THIS SEASON...I am seeing Him again in a new way.  He is in and through everything.  The Old Testament, the New Testament, and today, points to Him.  The most complex of mysteries, the simplest of truths.  He is Jesus.  And as I read His word, and pray to Him, I'm learning to come again with the humility and reverence of who He is, ever before me.  And do you know what's incredible??  He's speaking to me in the sweetest of ways...

I've saved the best part of this post for the end.  I'm writing this and Ava is just stirring from her afternoon nap.  The monitor is on beside me and this is exactly what I'm hearing from her precious little mouth...I promise.  I couldn't make this stuff up if I wanted to!!  Only God, only Him...Enjoy this little video that we captured a few weeks ago.  It's exactly what she's singing right now and it's straight out of Isaiah 6.  Unbelieveable.   We didn't teach her this, she picked it up from Praise Baby, but this sweet song is ever on her heart and I know that was put there by our God, for her Mother to hear.  And please ignore my singing :)

Amazing. In and through everything, Jesus!

Psalm 8:2

"From the lips of children and infants, you have ordained praise..."

Isaiah 6: 1, 3

"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple...Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."

Isaiah 6:10

"Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes.  Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."

Lyrics to : Open the eyes of my heart, Lord

Open the eyes of my heart

I want to see You

I want to see You

To see You high and lifted up

Shinin' in the light of Your glory

Pour out Your power and love

As we sing holy, holy, holy

 

Thank You Jesus.

You are Holy and I am in awe of you today...