UNRESTRAINED

Loosen Up!

Do you know when you’re most irresistible to God? When you surrender to Him. Unrestrained.

“… offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is true worship.” Romans 12:1 (TNIV)

Paul means your life, yourself, your being. Try it during your prayer time with Him.

When you’re pursuing God, dampen the distractions racing through your mind. He knows they are there. You know they are there but quiet them into captivity so you can worship your Father in spirit and in truth. Be unrestrained – like King David. Remember when he busted a move?

“Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.” 2 Samuel 6:14,15 (TNIV)

Picture this - a King - jumping, leaping, singing and twirling before his King perhaps even stumbling a time or two among some 30,000 others as they carried the Ark into Jerusalem. David’s jubilation roiled inside him like fire shut up in his bones! It came out. Unrestrained.

God beckons you to come to Him like that, with a confidence that liberates.

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”  Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV)

David clearly didn’t have a distracting thought in his head. He didn’t give a fat rat’s fanny about others’ opinion of how he worshipped.

His moves may have been worse than Elaine’s in the now classic, hilarious Seinfeld episode http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DY_DF2Af3LM or more awkward than Jon Stewart doing the “Harlem Shake” which, by the way, the Chinese are calling the “Loser Dance.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdUtPhsDUso&feature=youtu.be

But David didn’t care. Neither did God. The King of Kings loved it. And not because of David’s physical expressions. God loved David’s heart. It was a good one. Even when David was but a young shepherd about to be chosen King, God explained why to Samuel:

“God doesn’t look at things like humans do. Humans see only what is visible to the eyes, but the Lord sees into the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 (CEB)

Now as King, David followed God’s presence. Unrestrained. His wife held him in contempt for it.

“When Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked out the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Eternal without thought for how he looked, she hated him.”  2 Samuel 6:16 (VOICE)

Wow. Then, she told David, her husband and King, what she thought of him.  

“The king of Israel made a big name for himself today!” she said. “He exposed himself like a fool in the sight of the servant women of his officials!” 2 Samuel 6:20 (GNT)

David just didn’t care. He let nothing sidetrack his full surrender during that sacred moment.

“Then David danced before the Lord with all his might…” 2 Samuel 6:14 (KJV) 

Remember the last time you danced with all your might?  It wasn’t choreographed. Those feelings stirring up your insides were too much to restrain. You didn’t care that the music was too loud; that you were a sweaty mess; that you had run out of breath and had even bounced off a few others. Wasn't pretty but you got your dance on!  Your heart was in the right place. Unrestrained. God loves that.

He is not looking for your physical prowess or exertion. He’s not looking at how coordinated you are or even if your body moves. He simply is looking at the place from where your worship emanates. Your heart. He loves when you give it to Him. Unrestrained. Just know, that kind of unfettered joy could shake out in a limb or two!

- Still Processing

IRRESISTIBLE Part II

You Are Irresistible to God

Part II

Mary - Lazarus’ and Martha’s sister – pursued Jesus. She got it right. She quietly sat at Jesus’ feet. Now, that’s close because in Eastern cultures, women didn’t so easily mix with the men. Can you imagine her following His every gesture, drinking in each word He spoke, understanding every little joke He made and relaxing in His kind eyes? Mary sat close enough to study this man, to feel His kindness, to remember Him. God loves that. Irresistible.

Mary’s action was unaffected and absent any preoccupation with her own busy thoughts. She just “hung out” with Jesus in simple, content admiration. Try it. Irresistible.

“Let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean” Hebrews 10:22 (NLT)

Mary’s sincere heart kept her turned towards Jesus. To her sister Martha’s vexation, Mary’s thoughts weren’t on what others in the room thought of her, what the guests needed, what she needed, what she wanted, what she should have been doing, what He should have been doing for her, how unhappy she was, how slowly He was acting on her behalf… Need I go on?

Mary wasn’t multi-tasking during her “Quiet Time.”  She quieted herself. She was just doing, “Mary.” You can do the same. That’s irresistible to God.

“He has no use for conceited people, but shows favor to those who are humble.”  Proverbs 3:34 (GNT)

Jesus loves that. When Martha (for the sake of this piece, I’m imagining Martha as Big Sis - Type A: driven, in control, bossy, super organized) complained that Little Sis was a Slacker, Jesus assured Martha that Little Sis’ choice was better.

“Meanwhile Martha was anxious about all the hospitality arrangements.

Martha (interrupting Jesus): Lord, why don’t You care that my sister is leaving me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to get over here and help me.

Jesus: Oh Martha, Martha, you are so anxious and concerned about a million details, but really, only one thing matters. Mary has chosen that one thing, and I won’t take it away from her.”  Luke 10:40-42 (The Voice)

You can do the same. Quiet yourself. At His feet. Still your thoughts. Just sit. He loves that. Irresistible.

-Still Processing

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IRRESISTIBLE Part I

You Are Irresistible to God

Part I

This morning, did you hear God whisper into your vulnerable, tender soul that you are irresistible to Him? Did you know that last night He sang His goodness and mercy over you? Did you smile as He chuckled about how much He enjoys the moments you snuggle up to Him singing loudly, off key and crying up a runny nosed mess?

"Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you." James 4:8 (ESV)

Our Father loves any and every moment with you. All of them. But you may be asking, “How can that be when I know during much of my “Quiet Time,” my mind is shouting out what I want, what I’m certain I need, what I’m missing and what deadlines He’s missing?”

You’re not alone. We all live in that occasional disconnect you’re now experiencing when you carve out special time to connect with Him, to declare your awe of Him while simultaneously fending off the onslaught of your own cacophonies. 

Sure, your internal voice is loud but His favor is that through all your bluster, earthquakes and fire, He speaks. It’s a still, small voice firmly whispering, “My Child, you are irresistible to me.”   So don’t stop chasing Him down. He will connect with you.

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters…Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good and you will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you.”  Isaiah 55: 1-3 (TNIV)

God doesn’t require you to steady your thoughts into laser beam focus or approach Him with a still, small voice. That’s His to do. He knows you are like grass that will soon wither, whose spirit is willing but whose flesh is weak. Who does what you don't want to do and don't do what you want to do. He knows your "Quiet Time" with Him can't be perfectly quiet, perfectly focused, perfectly timed. It just has To Be. 

"I will give you hidden treasures and wealth tucked away in secret places; I will reveal them to you. Then you will know that I am the Eternal, the God of Israel, who calls you by name.” Isaiah 45:3 (The Voice)

Jesus is wooing you. You are irresistible to Him. Look what He promises you if you just stay!

 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:27-30 (MSG)

- Still Processing

ONE LOVE

ONE LOVE: Can You Feel It?

I’m willing to bet that if you’re like any one of my girlfriends or me, the first thing that happens when you see or hear the word LOVE, you feel something - something strong. You feel emotions so powerful they can evoke a memory of the time you experienced those feelings.  Or didn’t. Either way, we quickly associate LOVE with emotions. They change.

Now, what happens inside when you see or hear the words ONE LOVE? This time, I’ll bet a feeling doesn’t sweep over you as much as a person comes to mind. Or doesn’t. And that reaction is to God’s advantage. Why? Because He wants to be the ONE LOVE you immediately recollect; the ONE LOVE you intimately know as the constant in your life that never changes - unlike a feeling.

You’re sighing about now saying you know God isn’t a feeling. Yet how often have you stood through praise and worship quietly whispering to your soul, “I just don’t feel anything?” Or listened to your Pastor’s voice coming from the pulpit drowned out by your own inner one despairing with, “I just don’t feel this.” And how about the times you’ve wept aloud in the Throne Room telling Him you just don’t feel like He loves you as one disappointment after another stacks up on the shelf of your life?

God, your Creator, wants to be known by you. He wants to be your ONE LOVE. And if you let Him, He will woo you to places where you experience Him as the ONE LOVE who’s always patient, always kind. Instead of being a warm, fuzzy feeling, He will demonstrate Himself as the ONE LOVE who isn’t failing you even while everything you hoped for is crashing in on you. He is the ONE LOVE always persevering on your behalf. He is the ONE LOVE who can promise that when you call on Him, He will be found by you with plans to give you hope and a future.  That’s a promise to you, not a feeling.

During these last few days leading up to Valentine’s Day, we were bombarded with everything to suggest love is a feeling - from the idealized and romantic to the passionate and sexy. Some of us heard a song that made us tear up, opened a card that made us smile, held a bouquet that took our breath away or even tasted chocolate that made us swoon. Yet, those feelings, evoked by the familiar gestures of Valentine’s Day may have already changed, adjusted and even faded until next year. But there is a Blessed Assurance in our ONE LOVE Jesus who won’t change. He loves with an everlasting love that was, is and always will be constant. He is ONE LOVE and offers ONE LOVE that doesn’t shift or vacillate. He promises that He is the same today, yesterday and forever. So is His love. Now, that is something you can feel good about!

-Still Processing

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