LIFE HURTS -G.O.D. H.E.A.L.S

Tonight at LHGH the session was just awesome! Vanda was such a natural at speaking to the students. She presented the Lesson so well & got the students attention right from the start. Then, Tonya gave her testimony for the first time since her near fatal car accident 4 years ago. This is just the beginning of her sharing her testimony! It is incredible that tonight because of her testimony, it will change the lives of those students and go with those students the rest of their lives. What an impact she made! The Lord gave her the words and they spilled out effortlessly with such passion & mercy. I was so reminded how I take for granted the hands I have that move, that I have feet that can walk, & a host of other things I take for granted; which I have quite a bit lately. Then to top it all off, Rebecca sang a song that quickened each of our hearts and brought glory and honor to our God! Lots of thanking and praise after this. Then, all the leaders went to small group with their students as I assisted Tonya and her sister Tasha to the door they had come in. Meanwhile, we once again combined 2 girl groups and I found out what the Lord's roll has been for me all along. The whole experience was truly humbling.
We were all so blessed tonight in different ways & the Lord gave to each according to what they needed. I can't even begin to say in words how wonderful it is to see, to share, & to be apart of what God is doing in the students lives. There is no greater joy than to help another, encourage another, lift another up, and to sit back and see what God does in a person's heart. God is so good! I am truly grateful for all the leaders, Tonya, Rebecca, & Dan.
Thank you for the blessings. It was truly awesome!

Pondering visible and invisible: The Inner Life

I started meditating on Psalm 1 yesterday and the inner life with God is like a constant flow of himself poured into us. His Word brings understanding of His nature, His goodness, and love for us. Without God's love streamed into our hearts and minds, we would dry up like a withered leaf. This inner life is our delight day and night and in time it produces His peace, His patience, His love for others, & all the other fruits of His spirit in us. And from this constant flow, more fruit multiplies as He perfects us. All this takes place living in a visible world living the inner invisible life.
We live in a visible world. Every where you go and everything you see brings us great challenge to "live in this world, but not be of it." This world can be overwhelming with everything we see & read of the so-called real world. For surely, it will all pass away. I was reflecting on what it would be like if Jesus walked down the street. Would people even if they saw Him with their own eyes, believe that it was Him? Then I thought about the two guys going down the road to Emmaus and it struck me! These two men didn't recognize Jesus because He didn't want them to. He wanted them to know Him and who He was not by seeing Him, but by hearing His words in their hearts and minds.
That's it! That's the inner Life! That was the whole point. WE are to fix our eyes on what is not seen! What was unseen visibly was the burning in their hearts! Jesus was talking to them, sharing His word with them.
BELIEVE WITHOUT SEEING!
The inner life is a life of deep humility in learning spiritual truth with utter dependence of God's ministry in our hearts.
"Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe" John 20:29
Then it came...God's word came to me...one of my favorite scriptures "Though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our momentary troubles are achieving for us a glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes on not was is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary and what is unseen is eternal." 2 Cor 4:16-18
Today at church Pastor Kyung was talking about eternity in heaven. What came to my mind is the invisible world becoming a visible reality. Even though it is a reality, in heaven we will really SEE IT! WE WILL SEE JESUS! The invisible world will collide with the visible world in heaven. Now we only do see in part.
In the Psalm, David was secure. He lived in the visible world, but was protected & cared for by the invisible unseen God. He lived closely IN this inner life.

A Life more than Guidance

Something I wanted to remember...that is important...I read from a book I'm reading:

Just as character is revealed only when we are permitted or required to do as we want, so also the degree and maturity of our faith are manifested only in cases where no specific command is given. It is not a great and mature faith that merely does what it is told. Rather- in the words of William Carey as he went out to India as a pioneer missionary-such a faith is one that "attempts great things for God and expects great things from God." It actively gets on with the work to be done, the life to be lived, confident in the good hearted companionship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Human initiative is not canceled by redemption, it is heightened by immersion in the flow of God's life. People with a mature vision of God and extensive experience in his ways have no need to be obsessively anxious about doing the right thing. For the most part they will simply KNOW what is right. But their confidence is finally not in a word from the Lord but in the Lord who is with us.

Comfort Zone

I went on a trip a week ago and spent 5 days wanting to experience where I was and yet at the same time, I was wanting to come home to my comfortable life. It was a good trip none the less and I got to spend good quality time with some remarkable people. But, I have to tell you...it was a challenge for me to be out of my comfort zone. Try putting yourself in a neighborhood where people have a hard life, buildings, homes, streets, & people are all broken & old, falling apart, & condemned, . Where every couple of hours you hear either a siren from a police car or the sound of an ambulance. Where every available space is used up and people are crowded on street corners. I felt I was transported to another world. I got to feel what it was like to live in someone else's world. It was far from mine. I had some fear. I had to get over it. It was okay. Jesus let me see how he loves us all for who we are; made in His image..not by where we live or even how we live our lives. He love us anyway. Not by what we have or don't have. None of that matters....each person's heart matters to God...the outward appearance of anything is nothing....God will lead us in it and light the way...no matter how dark. This world would sure be a better place if we would turn the light on in the darkness. He gave me that perspective. He gave me peace, compassion & love to replace my fear. His perfect love casts out fear. He's helping me to look for what's in a person's heart & give them His no matter how uncomfortable the ZONE.

Building the team

Sunday after church the team met over my house and we all shared out testimonies to one another. This was a great ice breaker. Listening to each person, with tears and laughter, I am just thrilled how God has intertwined our lives and will use us to help a hurting heart to heal. Our first meeting really shook a few of us as we watched a video of some pretty troubled youth dealing with drugs, cutting, alcohol, and divorce. We could see this wasn't going to be just a learning bible study, but one that would take alot of prayer, passion, & persistance. We may not be counselors and have our lives altogether, but we are being obedient to what God has called us to do. Each one of us is being called to a higher level of obedience and dependence on Him. We are all in new territory. We've all been either that kid that needed someone to reach out to us or have given a left arm to have had our own children apart of this bible study.
If you know of a troubled youth who needs help, consider mentioning Life Hurts God Heals to them. It could very well save their life, give them life tools, & be a safe place to share and to be themselves...and mostly give their lives to Christ.