Light

Open up, let the Light in...
--steffany gretzinger


1 John 1:5 And this is the message, the message of promise which we have heard from Him and now are reporting to you: God is Light, and there is no darkness in Him at all -no, not in any way.

Psalm 18:28 For You cause my lamp to be lighted and to shine; the Lord my God illumines my darkness.

Isaiah 49:9 Saying to those who are bound, Come forth, and to those who are in spiritual darkness, Show yourselves, come into the light of the Sun of righteousness. They shall feed in all the ways in which they go, and their pastures shall be not in deserts, but on all the bare grass-covered hills.

2 Corinthians 4:4-7 For the god of this world has blinded the unbelievers’ minds that they should not discern the truth, preventing them from seeing the illuminating light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ the Messiah, Who is the Image and Likeness of God. For what we preach is not ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves merely as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God Who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts so as to beam forth the Light for the illumination of the knowledge of the majesty and glory of God as it is manifest in the Person and is revealed in the face of Jesus Christ the Messiah. However, we possess this precious treasure -the divine Light of the Gospel -in frail, human vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves.

Jesus once again addressed them: “I am the world’s Light. No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness. I provide plenty of light to live in.” John 8:12

“Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light." Matthew 6:22


Lord, let the Light of Your Presence penetrate any darkness in our lives. Let it infiltrate every space there is. Let all voids, all closed-off places, all secret places of our hearts be brought into Your Light. The light that brings life. The light that brings revelation. The light that brings joy...the kind that lifts our countenance and spirits upward. Let Your light shine inside of us, that we would reveal Your light to those still in darkness… that they'd be saved from dark places by Your light. Your light is truth. Your light is just. Your light is warm. Your light is powerful - much more so than darkness. Your light is a guide, leading us on a good path…to mercy and to goodness. Your light shows us how and where to walk. Your light gives us hope. Your light is beauty. Your light is majesty. Your light is pure. Your light is joy. Your light is love. Let our eyes look upon You. Be ever before us. As we look upon You, our eyes beholding You, we shall be filled with Your light. Brilliant light. Thank You Jesus!

Write Your Word on My Heart

For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 (AMP)

And Jesus replied to him, It is written, Man shall not live and be sustained by (on) bread alone but by every word and expression of God. Luke 4:4

But He answered them, My mother and My brothers are those who listen to the Word of God and do it! Luke 8:21 

Holy Spirit, I ask You to be my guide continually as I read the Word of God. Bring revelation to my mind and heart that leads me into a place of encountering You. I want to feed upon the words You speak and experience them firsthand so that I am not quick to forget them. I ask for understanding as I read these precious scriptures so that I might learn to walk in Your ways. Doing what You do and saying what You say. Holy Spirit, cause me to remember the ways of the Kingdom and cause me to recall all that Jesus did here on the earth. Bring to my remembrance the promises You made to Your children. Show me Who You are and who I am in Your great story… Heal me through Your Word… Deliver me by the truth of Your Word…equip me for everything in this life and in the next… Give me wisdom to live with integrity and compassion and love beyond reason… Write Your Word on my heart and on my mind…engrave it so that it is part of my very being. You are my greatest delight - my treasure. I love You, Jesus. You bring me peace and fill me with joy, knowing I'm Yours. Thank You God…thank You.

We Are His

The matter of knowing our identity is of upmost importance, yet so many of us do not have it settled yet.  I believe God wants to eradicate this identity crisis that so many of us deal with once and for all.  I hear it in different posts, sermons, worship songs...He is speaking through all avenues to tell us something.  Something of great importance and significance!  He wants us to know, with all our heart and mind, that we are His sons and daughters.  We have an identity, and our identity is that we are His.  We belong to a Family - a family that should be growing by the day.  A heavenly family that will one day be established for all of eternity...peaceful, joyful and overflowing with love.  Our Father is adopting sons and daughters and preparing them for Kingdom living.  

The family unit is clearly under attack, and it is losing values and morals by the minute, let alone forfeiting its intended purpose.  It’s no wonder we struggle with understanding and accepting our true identity.  The enemy is wreaking havoc in homes across the world, creating a perversion of what family was intended to be.  Generational patterns of destruction - abuse, abandonment, and neglect - cloud our conscience and vision.  Just turn on the news and you’ll see it.  Fathers abandon.  Mothers check out.  Brothers and sisters fight and struggle to learn how to make it in a world that lies and cheats and hurts.  It is producing bitterness, resentment, a great deal of fear, disrespect, and a generation that disregards authority because of a lack of trust.  It shows up in schools, in the workplace, in entertainment...this brokenness of heart which often finds it’s outlet through violence or addiction.  People attempt to either numb the pain with their drug of choice or just unleash their internal rage upon whomever is nearby.  Walls are erected around the heart leading to isolation, which strangles the life right out of its captive.

If I’m honest, sometimes our culture seems so broken, that it almost feels too far gone.  And I begin to feel helpless...perhaps even a tad scared.  Watching the news is a challenge for me because of the negative tone - the continual bad news that is presented.  Sorting truth from lies.  I hear all sorts of stories and see things unfolding in schools and homes and workplaces that makes me nauseous.  But if I allow these bad reports to make me cringe in fear, what hope do I have?  That would be none!   But that’s not the case...

THERE IS A SAVIOR!  And His name is Jesus!  He fought the battle and won.  Now it’s our turn to put on our salvation helmets and step into a place of agreement with this identity we have in Him.  He lives in us.  Do we live like we believe that?  Do we live like we are sons and daughters?  Or do we live like slaves to fear and sin?  Where is our faith?  Our hope?  Our dreams?  One by one the enemy is stealing, killing and destroying these treasures in us.  So what are we going to do about it?  

My spirit screams inside to do something!  I listen to the Bethel crew sing the anointed songs on the “We Will Not Be Shaken” CD and I am encouraged to stand!  To believe...that despite the way things look, He can change it all in an instant...a word...a breath.  He can save and deliver us like He did with Gideon and crush the enemy that seems so overwhelming!  God called Gideon a ‘mighty man of courage’ and Gideon said ‘Huh?  Oh sorry - You’ve got the wrong guy’.  But God saw the treasures in Gideon and called them out.  He brought life to dead places.  Gideon’s family must have bought into the lie long before that they were nobodys, weak and poor.  God knew better.  He knew what He created.  And He knew what His Spirit could do through a willing, obedient vessel.  

In Song of Solomon we find God calling forth the bride’s beauty even before she knew it was there.  She saw herself as dark.  He called her lovely.  She became what He called forth in love.  We are becoming what He’s calling forth in us.  Much like the bride, or Gideon, we are believing we are weak and poor.  But God says differently.  He says we are way more!  I found a picture that made me think of this.  It’s a picture of a new planting, but the beauty of what it’s to become is staked in the ground next to it.

We are ever-maturing into what He designed and created us to become.  We are seedlings, planted in the rich soil of His love, part of His Family.  We may feel fragile and small, but He gives us a picture of what we will become when fully grown.  He prophetically speaks over us what we will look like and what we will produce.  Be encouraged and satisfied knowing that if you’ve made the decision to call Him Lord, if you are pursuing Him, He will grow you into His very image.  You’re already starting to look like Him...there’s a family resemblance for certain. Put a stake in the garden of your heart to remember what He says you are growing into.  Something beautiful!  Something fruitful!  That way when the enemy comes with lies they don’t stand a chance in taking root in us.  God’s truth is already established there.  

Let’s resolve this identity crisis.  Let’s become the sons and daughters He’s called us to be.  Are there things we need to learn that fall under this category?  Yes.  But let’s settle the basics.  In all honesty, I believe that we HAVE to be secure in our identity in order to stand and face what is going to come against us.  We have to know who we are and Who’s we are (which should make us feel very humble and very thankful and very motivated to share!).  If we don’t and if we doubt, we will not be able to stand strong on solid ground.  The new plantings will be choked out by weedy lies.  We have to get it.  We have to understand who we are so that we will not be shaken.  We have to stand strong in our identity so that we can win the hearts of those still lost.  Many want to be found.  Many are looking for a light in their darkness.  Many are longing to belong to a family that loves them.  Knowing who we are and what we have makes it much easier to tell someone what they’re missing.  The confidence of knowing we are sons and daughters of a good God that loves us deeply - that is key to sharing the gospel.  

I pray God will release revelation to us all about who we are.  I pray His word, His truth,  will reach the heart and not just the mind.  I pray our hearts will grasp how deeply He loves.  How confident and sure He is in calling us His.  How sincere His promise of forgiveness is.  I pray He will open our eyes, ears, minds and hearts to know the hope we have in Him.  The power that resides within us as we welcome Christ into our heart.  I pray that we would become aware and awake to the possibilities around us to share the Good News and the goodness and love of God.  And that our God of LIGHT will pierce through the dark places and release hearts to worship Him.  You alone are worthy, Lord God!

Kerri Barfield

LOVE

L-O-V-E…the subject in my mind and heart as of late.  I've been trying to write this post for months now and have had a terrible time putting my thoughts on paper.  It's deeper than I can express here.  God is taking me deeper into His love, teaching me more about how He loves and how that draws us into loving Him, ourselves, and others. Every teaching, every song, every sermon I hear draws me more and more into focusing on His love.

I think I've learned this lesson of 'God loves me' more than once.  But it's an ever-increasing revelation, you know?  It is multi-faceted.  It relates to everything in my life.  My salvation, my marriage, my children, my home, my church, my dreams…  It is weaved throughout the fabric of my existence.  There's really no escaping it.  It surrounds me.  "The earth is filled with Your love, Lord" Psalm 119:64

I recently read an article written by Mike Bickle about loving God, receiving His love, and then being able to love ourselves and others out of the fullness of His love.  One thing Bickle said was, "God's love cannot diminish or grow…because it's already perfect, full and constant.  He is love."  We must come to trust in the perfect, wholehearted love of God.  He is faithful.  He's not like the spouse that walked out on the marriage or the mother who walked away from her children for drugs.  I've heard way too many of these stories.   However, "the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." (Psalm 100:5)  Our own personal experiences may make it hard to believe, and the worldly beliefs we encounter daily certainly tempt us to doubt, BUT... God is good and His love endures forever.  We have to believe.

I heard a quote while at a retreat that said, "How glorious the splendor of a heart that trusts that it is loved." (Brennan Manning)  There is beauty in that statement.  It makes me think of my babies when they were tiny tots - so trusting of Mom and Dad.  They had no fear of anything really because they trusted we'd take care of their needs.  They had never experienced otherwise.  They were adventurous and brave and fun!  A heart that trusts it is loved can be free.  Knowing you're loved allows for a sense of safety.  To be yourself.   My kids will dance like you wouldn't believe in front of me…perhaps not so much in front of strangers.  (That goes for me too!)  They feel free to be themselves with me.  They feel safe.  They trust my love.  1 John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love…"

Mike Bickle says that the same love each part of the Godhead has for the other parts is the same love He has for us.   He loves His Son, and the Son loves the Spirit equally as much.  The Father loves us as much as He loves the Son and Spirit.  Wow!  I mean, I know we hear about God's love for us all the time, but suddenly there is something new in it for me.  There's some freshness to it that makes my heart sing.   How much easier it is to love others when we are secure and rooted in His love.  How much easier it is to love our brothers and sisters, our parents, our spouse, our friends - when we know that we know that we know we are LOVED.  Fully.  Wholeheartedly.  It's freedom!

In Psalm 136, every verse ends with "His love endures forever".  I mean - He's clearly trying to help us understand!!  There's nothing we can do to make Him stop loving us.  He's always with us, loving us.  His love goes on forever.  It's just Who He is.  You can't separate love from God - He is love.  You can't separate yourself from His love.  It radiates from Him…everywhere, always, forever.  

1 John 4:17-21The Message (MSG)
To Love, to Be Loved
17-18 God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.

19 We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.
20-21 If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both.

We know Father God loves His son Jesus. We know Jesus loves His Father. We know they both love the Holy Spirit.  It's the 'fellowship of the burning heart', as Bickle describes it. A heart that beats passionately and loves WHOLEHEARTEDLY. The great Three in One loves us with that same love. There is no flaw in it. No deception. No disloyalty. No disregard. No forsaking. It's pure, faithful, consuming love. We will never be able to love ourselves or others well unless we know this burning love of God. It is the answer. It is what will heal our hearts and bring us into wholeness. It is what will empower us to love ourselves and others.  It will empower us to live as children of light (Eph 5:8).   Trusting in His love creates a safe environment for us to love Him lavishly and to love His people…those that He 'longs to gather, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings' (Luke 13:34).  "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law." (Romans 13:8)

People are starving all over the world for this Love.  People are hungry to know this Love.  People are asking, 'why didn't anyone tell me?' and writhing in pain because they lack this sweet, nourishing, safe Love.   Now more than ever, I hear Him beckoning us to share His love.  Share His heart.  I was once one of the lost ones.  I was once starving for that kind of love.  I once asked the question, "Why didn't anyone tell me?"  I'm glad someone finally cared enough - loved enough - to tell me of His great love.  How deeply grateful I am…how deeply I long to do the same for others now.  

It's funny.  Today the boys were watching the Falcons game on tv and their motto is "rise up".  I am thinking that is what we should say to encourage one another in our faith…in our calling.  Rise up!  Rise up, Church!  Rise up men, women and children!  Rise up and sing of the goodness and love of the Lord!  Rise up and fulfill His call to proclaim the Good News.  Rise up and declare the goodness of God!  Rise up and love your God with all your heart, soul and strength!  Rise up and love your neighbor as yourself!  Rise up!  The earth groans as it waits for us to take our rightful place as sons and daughters, so rise…and shine!  LOVE! 

Wonder

On the You Make Me Brave CD by Bethel Music, you can listen to Amanda Cook sing these lyrics:  "May we never lose our wonder.  Wide-eyed and mystified, may we be just like a child staring at the beauty of our King. Cause You are beautiful in ALL Your ways."   Ever since I was a young girl, I can remember being in awe of creation.  Growing up on a farm, this was easy to witness.  I got to grow up seeing baby calves and kittens being born.  Fields of crops grow from seed to fully mature plants.  Trees multiplying and blooming.  All around was fruitfulness.  Growth.  Rebirth.  Renewal.  Nature was amazing to me.  Creation witnessed to my heart that there was a Creator of it all. 
"For ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made (His handiworks)." (Romans 1:20)
As I've grown and come to know this Creator, I've discovered that He is much, much more than a Creator.  He is love.  He is Father.  He is Savior.  Every so often, this beautiful God introduces Himself to me in a new way.  Healer…Comforter…King…Light...  And every time He does, I am refreshed and brought to humble amazement.  Each time it's like opening a present carefully wrapped in colorful, polkadot paper (I love polka dots!), complete with ribbon and bow.  There is a joyful anticipation.  I receive so much from these "reveals" - the gifts of peace, joy, humility, love, wonder, mercy, grace, depth…
"Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare." Psalm 40:5
I am thankful that God is willing to reveal Himself to us.  I think He actually takes pleasure in revealing Himself.  As I think about it, we are made in His image, so I think it's in us as well to want to share our hearts and the glory God has put inside of us.  I spent some time with a small group of women over the past year, and each one of us had an opportunity to share our story.  There was a transparency, an unveiling of our hearts.  It isn't always easy to share our hearts - especially when we've been wounded in the past in doing so.  But this unveiling was so raw and real and needed.  It felt good to tell our stories.  To be heard.   To share our hearts.  To be known.  I think God delights in sharing His heart with us and is equally as delighted in us sharing ours with Him.   
Jesus prayed, “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me.  I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” John 17:25-26

Jesus was the reflection of God's heart walking around on earth for us to behold and witness.  He revealed to us His loving, kind, merciful heart in order to displace the lies we've been taught about Him through the world and its deceiver.  He came to unveil His great love for us, who were created by Him and for Him.  He came so we'd know the goodness of the Father's heart…the truth of Who God is.
Today I ask God to release an unveiling of His nature and character, His heart, to all of us.  I ask Him to release a sense of wonder - to marvel at how incredible His story is.  To be humbled by His selfless, gentle Spirit.  To be astounded at how full of Creative Power and Life He is.  How full of Love.  God DESERVES our gratitude and our worship.  He is WORTHY of our wonder and awe.  Let's begin to allow Him to tell us about Himself through His Holy Spirit and His Word.  And let's start sharing our hearts with Him.  He knows us, yes - every hair on our heads - but there's a  freedom we can experience in  unveiling our hearts to Him.  It allows the God of Light to shine on us and bring healing and restoration.  

"Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it."  Revelation 2:17

A Thankful Heart

Some friends that are missionaries in Ghana posted one time that they got to take their first hot shower in over two months!  Immediately, I was convicted and drawn into a state of thanksgiving.  I mean, hot showers are a luxury we don't even recognize living here in the US.  It's just an expectation, really.  When I was little, my parents purchased a small farm in Ohio.  It was 160 acres with a century old barn sitting on the property and a dilapidated old house.  They spent their weekends at the farm fixing up the barn and tearing down the house to build a new one.  I was probably 6 or so and remember driving the 2 hours each weekend to "camp out" so they could work.  We would take baths in an old stone water trough.  (Thankfully there were no animals or anything there, so it was relatively clean spring water bubbling up.  I think.  Hmmm.   It was COLD water - that's all I remember.  :)  So I can certainly understand the significance of a hot shower, Ghana friends!  Anyway, right now my mind is filled with thoughts of how good I have it compared to many, many people across this world.  

I believe that being thankful is something that draws us closer to the Father.  Ephesians 5:20 says we should be giving thanks at all times for everything.  1 Thess 5:18 is similar, saying "Thank God in everything (no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks), for this is the will of God for you (who are) in Christ Jesus (the Revealer and Mediator of that will)."  No matter what's going on... this isn't always the natural inclination of my heart.  Our family faced a few health issues over the past 6 months, which to be perfectly honest, took the wind out of my sails a bit. It's been nothing compared to what some face, but I saw how easily the experience tossed me around. I almost felt ashamed that it could cloud my view so easily. What I knew to be true was not what I was experiencing, and instead of being thankful, I felt disappointed and disenchanted.  

Through the trial, I kept hearing Him calling me to be thankful.  No matter what. Thankful for life…for doctors…for hope…for healing that's on its way.  I am believing for His healing and His provision. I am thankful for 'eyes to see'.  I am thankful for His love and mercy. I am thankful for precious family and friends to walk through life with.  I believe it gives us a huge 'leg up' on the enemy to be thankful in the midst of affliction.  That turkey may be throwing things at us, trying to steal our joy, kill our dreams and destroy our lives, but we can turn and face the Lord and receive His grace and provision to get through.  I came upon this verse and it struck such a chord in my heart. "And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace Who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will Himself complete and make you what you ought to be, establish and ground you securely, and strengthen, and settle you." (1 Peter 5:10)  I already feel Him grounding me and strengthening me and settling me.  And it feels good!

God never leaves us or forsakes us. Never. Being thankful helps our minds focus on the good. And reminds us to be humble. We have because God gave.   Kris Vallotton says, "True humility is born out of an awareness of God's greatness, grows in a heart full of gratitude, and matures in the awe of His passionate love for us."  Isn't that good?  It refreshes me to read that.  

So I guess I just wanted to encourage a state of thanksgiving.  Jesus sure did a lot for us so that we'd live a life connected to Him.  So that we'd have eternity with Him.  So that we'd be healed and restored.    So that we'd inherit with Him the Kingdom of God that cannot be shaken.  Though we suffer temporarily, it will not always be so.  We will one day walk on streets of gold, gazing upon the beauty and the splendor of His very face.  Spend time today just thanking Him for the very breath in your lungs.  Think upon the generous heart of our God.  I believe it will usher you into His beautiful presence and fill you to overflowing with peace and joy.  

I remember a long time ago hearing a song called "Come Fall On Us" by Enter the Worship Circle.  Some of the lyrics are… 

"The Mighty One, The Lord, calls to all the earth. From the rising of the sun to the place it makes its bed. He calls His people, and we will listen. He will not keep silent 'til we feel the Fire again. The mighty One the Lord, calls to all the earth. For a heart that would bow down, for a head that He could lift. With eyes of mercy, a burning passion. He will not keep silent 'til we feel the Fire again. A thankful heart prepares the way for You my God! Come fall on us, we fall on You. A thankful heart will be our rhythm. A thankful heart will be our song."

So let's all allow a thankful heart to be our song to the Lord today!   Sing a new song to Him…a song of thanks.  

We Believe

I love the song 'We Believe' by The Newsboys. It gets me every time when I hear, "We believe in God the Father, we believe in Jesus Christ, we believe in the Holy Spirit and He's given us new life..."  Proclaiming God is our source!  Our God!  "We believe in the crucifixion, we believe that He conquered death, we believe in the resurrection and He's coming back again!"  Declaring Him as our Savior and that He is coming on the clouds one day...  It just makes my spirit leap within!  

1 Peter 1:18-19 "You must know - recognize - that you were redeemed/ransomed from the useless/fruitless way of living inherited by tradition from your forefathers, not with corruptible things such as silver and gold, but you were purchased with the precious blood of Christ the Messiah, like that of a sacrificial lamb without blemish or spot."  Verse 21 says, "Through Him you believe in (adhere to, rely on) God, Who raised Him up from the dead and gave Him honor and glory, so that your faith and hope are centered and rest in God."

There is something so healing and powerful and exciting about professing our faith. It reminds us of our salvation story. It reminds us these are temporary troubles. It reminds us He is coming back for us. It reminds us He is our help, our comfort, our strength.  It keeps the focus where it should be - on Him!

Revelation 22:14 says, "Blessed, happy and to be envied are those who cleanse their garments, that they may have the authority and right to approach the tree of life and to enter through the gates into the city."  We stand on the truth that the blood of Jesus has been poured out for us, and believe it was more than ENOUGH to cleanse us of all iniquity and restore us to relationship with Our Father. We get to rest in the promise of entering God's paradise forever, eating of the tree of life.  That is good news y'all!!!  Good, good news!  

I encourage you to take a moment today and profess your faith in the Father, Son & Holy Spirit. Maybe sing along with the Newsboys!  It does a believer good! ;) 

http://youtu.be/WjZ01FcK0yk