I apologize for not updating this as often as I had hoped, but here is a little bit about what has been going on during our time as CTI 14:22:
We returned back from Japan on October 19th and immediately started learning the last few songs in our song rep for our Fall tour. We got to spend one week in Willmar during this time of training and then it was back out on the road again!
Japan was an incredible experience. I say this not because we witnessed any "super cool miracles" or came back with any "big" stories, but because I got to experience what it meant to have your heart completely broken for a certain group of people. This trip was one in which I grew in humility, surrender, and trust.
It was my prayer at the beginning of our tour that God would give me a heart for the people of Japan and allow me to grow in a love for them because they are His people. It was only about half way into our time over there that I started to see the fruits of this prayer.
One evening I was able to go out on a front balcony of a church we were staying at and just observe the people walking by in the street below. There was a festival up the road, so there was a pretty steady flow of people, and I just remember my heart hurting for them. I couldn't help but pray that God would send someone to intercede for them. With the statistic of less than 1% of Japan being Christian, the words "they just don't know" kept running through in my mind. I allowed this to fuel my prayers for their salvation, and God used this time to motivate me in sharing the Gospel.
Our time in Japan consisted of a lot of street concerts, church worship services, and even a few cafe concerts. God used us differently in every type of venue, but the cool thing was realizing that the Gospel is the same everywhere. Even half way across the world, Christ's redeeming love is spread just the same.
We are now in Toronto, Canada, and have had a busy start to our Fall tour. We've played in prisons, schools, churches, and at recovery meetings, and God is revealing himself more and more to us everyday. I thank you for all of your prayers and support and I look forward to see what else God has in store for us as a team!
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Friday, September 14, 2012
How Great Thou Art
These past few days God has truly revealed His goodness to me. Sometimes we get so busy and run down that we forget to stop and meditate on what God has done in our lives. We get selfish with our time and put off the things that will actually keep us going, such as retreating to spend time with Jesus.
This is something I have been convicted of lately. It's amazing how sometimes God answers our prayers before we even technically pray them. He truly knows the desires of our hearts. As I started to realize how much I had been putting off spending some good, quality time alone with Jesus without distractions, God in all His sovereignty, was already setting up rest and solitude for us as a team.
The next host home we stayed at was a farm house nestled up in the hills of Wisconsin. If you know me at all, you know that I need my space and open air to stay sane. Some enjoy the quickness and business of the city, but for me, retreating to the middle of no where for a few days is a real treat.
Anways, while staying at this host home I was able to spend Saturday morning sitting outside with my bible, journal, and a farm cat, looking out over the fields and mountains surrounding this host home. This may not sound that exciting to you, but for me, it was an answer to an unprayed prayer. God is so good.
During this time, God revealed Psalm 145:13-19 to me in a new way. I have always loved this passage, but with a lot of different things going on in life right now, it really spoke loudly to me this time. It's amazing how many times God does that, the little things in our lives, and we just over look them or take them for granted.
We see all over scripture, specially in Psalms, how God has created all and is worthy of praise. After all, that is what we're created for-to worship Him. More often than not though, we create "small g" gods for ourselves and put other things in that place where God should be. I'm extremely guilty of this. Whether it be other relationships and friendships, financial security, tv, social networking, etc., we try to fill that void all too often.
In vs. 16, this particular Psalm shows us that God fills all our needs and satisfies our hunger. "You give them their food as they need it." I get so frustrated when I try to make things happen in my own timing instead of God's. His ways are best, even when it doesn't seem like it. In one of our rep songs called "You Lead," by Gamie Grace, there is a line in the chorus that says "You lead, I'll follow, just light the way and I'll go, cause I know what you've got for me is more than I can see."
We are able to trust God with our lives because He is an awesome God, and it's usually in the hard times that we see Him for who He is. So I encourage you to seek out some time of solitude and get away with God to reflect on all He has done and who He is, becaue He is a great, worthy, almighty God who is deserving of all our praise! No holding back.
This is something I have been convicted of lately. It's amazing how sometimes God answers our prayers before we even technically pray them. He truly knows the desires of our hearts. As I started to realize how much I had been putting off spending some good, quality time alone with Jesus without distractions, God in all His sovereignty, was already setting up rest and solitude for us as a team.
The next host home we stayed at was a farm house nestled up in the hills of Wisconsin. If you know me at all, you know that I need my space and open air to stay sane. Some enjoy the quickness and business of the city, but for me, retreating to the middle of no where for a few days is a real treat.
Anways, while staying at this host home I was able to spend Saturday morning sitting outside with my bible, journal, and a farm cat, looking out over the fields and mountains surrounding this host home. This may not sound that exciting to you, but for me, it was an answer to an unprayed prayer. God is so good.
During this time, God revealed Psalm 145:13-19 to me in a new way. I have always loved this passage, but with a lot of different things going on in life right now, it really spoke loudly to me this time. It's amazing how many times God does that, the little things in our lives, and we just over look them or take them for granted.
We see all over scripture, specially in Psalms, how God has created all and is worthy of praise. After all, that is what we're created for-to worship Him. More often than not though, we create "small g" gods for ourselves and put other things in that place where God should be. I'm extremely guilty of this. Whether it be other relationships and friendships, financial security, tv, social networking, etc., we try to fill that void all too often.
In vs. 16, this particular Psalm shows us that God fills all our needs and satisfies our hunger. "You give them their food as they need it." I get so frustrated when I try to make things happen in my own timing instead of God's. His ways are best, even when it doesn't seem like it. In one of our rep songs called "You Lead," by Gamie Grace, there is a line in the chorus that says "You lead, I'll follow, just light the way and I'll go, cause I know what you've got for me is more than I can see."
We are able to trust God with our lives because He is an awesome God, and it's usually in the hard times that we see Him for who He is. So I encourage you to seek out some time of solitude and get away with God to reflect on all He has done and who He is, becaue He is a great, worthy, almighty God who is deserving of all our praise! No holding back.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
When The Odds Are Stacked Against You
This past week one of our morning devotions was based out of Daniel 6-the passage where Daniel is thrown into the lion's den. Upon reading through this passage, I was so convicted of how easily I allow fear to creep in when I feel as if the odds are being stacked against me. These are the times in which we should be rejoicing because God is setting up to do His thing. He is setting the stage for His glory to be revealed in mighty ways. Throughout this passage, it is very clear that the odds were stacked against Daniel. Kind Darius issued a law that stated that if anyone prayed to any other god but himself, that person would be thrown into the lion's den. Daniel, of course, being the the faithful servant of God that he was,still did as he had always done and continued to pray to God three times a day. I have to stop and think at this point if I would even do that. Even without persecution we sometimes don't have that devotion and endurance. If you're familiar with the story, you know that Daniel was caught in this act and thrown into the lion's den. This is the part of the passage that really came to life to me this past week. In vs. 17 it says that "A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den. The king sealed the
stone with his own royal seal and the seals of his nobles, so that no one could
rescue Daniel." God's word, being as intentional as it is, shows that every effort was made so that Daniel could not be rescued by human strength. The odds were stacked against him. God was setting the stage for His glory to be revealed. How often do we, in our human nature, get frustrated with God because we feel like He's "setting things against us" just to get to us, or to "punish" us? What we really need to focus on is the miracle, or rescue, that is most likely coming after. It's less about finding "happiness" for ourselves and more about realizing that God's ways are not our ways and that His timing is perfect. For some reason it can be so easy to trust Him with eternity, but so difficult to trust Him with our tomorrow. Isaiah 40:31 ("But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like
eagles. They will run and not grow
weary. They will walk and
not faint.") has been brought to mind a lot this week as I seek God's peace in this area. At the end of the passage when Daniel is thrown into the den, vs. 22 states that not only did God protect Daniel from death, but He completely shut the lions' mouths and didn't even allow a scratch on Daniel. What an awesome, powerful, faithful God! It can be so terrifying to trust that what the Lord is doing is good and take the step of faith, but He is so faithful and we can't put Him in a box. The greater the odds, the more His glory can shine through. It's up to us to walk in obedience and allow that glory to be revealed. So whether it be in a financial situation, a life decision, or a certain need, I pray that you'll be able to trust in God and His character. My personal prayer this week has been Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the Lord
with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you
do, and he will show you which path to take." The God who rescued Daniel from the mouths of those lions is still the same God today and He's always working in and around us. We just need to step out in faith when He calls so that His glory can shine through our lives.
Monday, August 20, 2012
What I Sing Needs to be Seen....
In completion of our first week of training with CTI, here are a few thoughts.
This past week has been a crazy, whirl-wind of events and emotions. In the last week, life has drastically changed for all 15 of us full-timers. We've had to say hard good-byes to loved friends and family, meet a bunch of random, crazy, Jesus-loving people who we will be spending the next year traveling with, try to put together 24 rep songs as a full-band, adapt to living in host homes, learn how to share a relevant testimony with those we come in contact with, and most importantly, we've been entrusted to keep up with our one-on-one time with the Lord in the midst of the chaos. Needless to say, it has been a crazy week! Praise God that He sustains and give us strength. He is so very gracious. Amongst all of this change and "newness" to life right now, I know I can definitely praise God for one thing in particular over all, and that is for how He is drawing me closer to Himself by putting me in this position. There's something so amazing and comforting about having that raw dependency on God. A common theme that has come up this week for us full-timers has been 2 Corinthians 12:9: "Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me." God's power is made perfect in our weaknesses. What a mind-blowing thought. I have also found, as we've been practicing our rep music, that a lot of the songs we will be doing this year have applied to me personally right now. In one of our songs, "Love Come to Life," Big Daddy Weave writes "Has my life been an empty voice? What I sing needs to be seen." This line in this song has been so convicting for me, because even though as full-timers we have committed to being set apart for ministry for a year, we still battle the same struggles and temptations as everyone else. The other day at training we talked about how easy it is to let physical and spiritual laziness creep in throughout the year. After a long day of training it's easy to say "Oh, I've spent the whole day doing something for the Lord so I can skip my personal devo time tonight," or "All day I've been around people; I just want to hibernate in my room and not worry about investing in the people around me." While rest is never a bad thing, it has been easy to be selfish with any "time off." In all reality, our lives are our ministry. It's not just the time spent as a team, or the time spent playing concerts that constitutes as our "ministry." It's how we live our lives. What we sing needs to be seen. The hope and love that we, as a team, present from the stage needs to be lived out personally in our own lives. Actions speak so much louder than words,Christ needs to be evident through how we live. The fact that we get to use words is just a bonus. In Romans 15, vs. 1b-3a, Paula writes: "We must not just please ourselves. We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. For even Christ didn't live to please himself." This year we will be focusing on sharing the hope of Christ as well as encouraging the church, so if our lives are not an encouragement to others, and we're not building others up in the Lord, then what are we doing? If Christ, the Son of God, didn't live to please himself, then we certainly shouldn't either. All that we do, and all that we are, should reflect the love of Christ. What we sing needs to be seen!
This past week has been a crazy, whirl-wind of events and emotions. In the last week, life has drastically changed for all 15 of us full-timers. We've had to say hard good-byes to loved friends and family, meet a bunch of random, crazy, Jesus-loving people who we will be spending the next year traveling with, try to put together 24 rep songs as a full-band, adapt to living in host homes, learn how to share a relevant testimony with those we come in contact with, and most importantly, we've been entrusted to keep up with our one-on-one time with the Lord in the midst of the chaos. Needless to say, it has been a crazy week! Praise God that He sustains and give us strength. He is so very gracious. Amongst all of this change and "newness" to life right now, I know I can definitely praise God for one thing in particular over all, and that is for how He is drawing me closer to Himself by putting me in this position. There's something so amazing and comforting about having that raw dependency on God. A common theme that has come up this week for us full-timers has been 2 Corinthians 12:9: "Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me." God's power is made perfect in our weaknesses. What a mind-blowing thought. I have also found, as we've been practicing our rep music, that a lot of the songs we will be doing this year have applied to me personally right now. In one of our songs, "Love Come to Life," Big Daddy Weave writes "Has my life been an empty voice? What I sing needs to be seen." This line in this song has been so convicting for me, because even though as full-timers we have committed to being set apart for ministry for a year, we still battle the same struggles and temptations as everyone else. The other day at training we talked about how easy it is to let physical and spiritual laziness creep in throughout the year. After a long day of training it's easy to say "Oh, I've spent the whole day doing something for the Lord so I can skip my personal devo time tonight," or "All day I've been around people; I just want to hibernate in my room and not worry about investing in the people around me." While rest is never a bad thing, it has been easy to be selfish with any "time off." In all reality, our lives are our ministry. It's not just the time spent as a team, or the time spent playing concerts that constitutes as our "ministry." It's how we live our lives. What we sing needs to be seen. The hope and love that we, as a team, present from the stage needs to be lived out personally in our own lives. Actions speak so much louder than words,Christ needs to be evident through how we live. The fact that we get to use words is just a bonus. In Romans 15, vs. 1b-3a, Paula writes: "We must not just please ourselves. We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. For even Christ didn't live to please himself." This year we will be focusing on sharing the hope of Christ as well as encouraging the church, so if our lives are not an encouragement to others, and we're not building others up in the Lord, then what are we doing? If Christ, the Son of God, didn't live to please himself, then we certainly shouldn't either. All that we do, and all that we are, should reflect the love of Christ. What we sing needs to be seen!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)