today

we live in a culture and time that encourages business and filling up every minute of every day with work or activities.

we're constantly being told to focus on where we are going. tomorrow. a month from now. a year from now. five years from now. "what are your long term goals?" and if you don't have goals or a visions for your life, then what the heck are you doing?

do we forget that part of vision is seeing what is directly in front of you, not just ten years down the road?

if fact, i'd go as far to say that one of the biggest parts of vision is seeing what is around you and before you...right now. the present.

i might have dreams of writing books and speaking internationally at women's conferences and churches one day, but if i forget about today, those dreams are never going to happen.

i need to love Jesus with all i am. today.

i need to develop godly character. today.

i need to strive to live a life of increased and consistent integrity. today.

i need to love the people around me. today.

i need to develop my gifts and talents. today.

i need to be content with where i am and what my life looks like. today.

i'm not saying that its bad to have a life vision or to dream. quite contrary. i have massive vision for my life. i am by nature a dreamer. i dream big, bold, audacious dreams. dreams others wouldn't dare to dream.

but if i don't focus on loving Jesus, loving people, being 100% who God created me to be today, the destiny He has planned out for me will never happen in my tomorrows. 

my heart's desire is to be a tangible expression of Christ to the world. today. and tomorrow. but the present is all i have right now, and it must be attacked vigorously.

Matthew 11:12- "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it."

so in the midst of business and full time slots, i wonder if the King of Love is beckoning us to hit the pause button on life. to settle down. to be still. to focus on the moment. right now.

time is fleeting and is passing by like the wind. moments we will never get back.

will you hit the pause button on life with me?

in this moment. settle down. be still. listen to the heartbeat of God. listen for His whispers.

i wonder if the reason the Lord speaks in a whisper is that you have to be in close proximity in order to hear a whisper.

you can't hear a whisper from a mile away.

you have to put your ear right next to the whisperer's face.

so push aside the business and distractions. turn of the noise and voices that are clouding your focus. and draw near to the heart of God. today. close enough to hear His whisper and dance along with His heartbeat. 

and when we draw near to Him, today, we will become more like Him. today. 

and isn't that really what we live for as Christ followers?

to love Jesus and to look more like Him.

today.

Psalm 46:10 - "Be still and know that I am God."

*this post was part of a community of writers that take 5 minutes every Friday to write, just for the love of writing. you can join in at www.lisajobaker.com*

redemption's kiss

if you've been a Christ follower for any amount of time, you've probably heard the reference to the verse that says, "He will bestow on them a crown of beauty, instead of ashes." (Isaiah 61:3)

i've always loved this verse and held tight to the promise that it offers. but i have seen the most beautiful portrayal of the promise of this verse coming to reality in the life of a young, teenage girl i had the honor of leading to the Lord last year.

see, i've spent the past two years in full time ministry and leadership school at Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, Alabama. my life was completely transformed there and i had the privilege of being part of some big, life altering ministry for some pretty extraordinary people.

once a year, a bunch of us in the youth ministry concentration track got to put on a "spiritual emphasis week" at a local, at risk, Christian junior high/ high school. most of these kids come from broken families. a lot of them are on drugs. some of them are pregnant. many of them have suffered severe abuse. most of them come from poor families. and we wanted to go in and show them the love of Christ and help empower them to walk in a close relationship with Him, to find their purpose and go after God's dreams for them.

this particular week we were there, the theme we were pressing on them was "stand". i had the honor of leading a small group of about 7 high school girls. one of the discussion questions on this particular day was "is there anything in your life that you feel like you can't stand back up from?" i asked. no response. awkward silence. so i told them- "i'll tell you my story and what i've been able to stand up from. if i'm real with you, all i ask is that in return, you be real with me. okay?" i told them my testimony. dad abandoning my family. growing up hating him. drug addiction. poor life choices. eating disorder. cutting addiction. depression. suicidal attempts. dad dying. best friend dying in an accident. finding Jesus among the rubble. Him plucking my out and giving me life, joy and purpose.

a few of the girls opened up. one of the girls said she had something, but she didn't want to say. i pleaded with her to share with me. told her i was a safe place to share her heart with. she told me. "this summer i had an abortion. i know God forgives me. but i think about him everyday." my heart shattered for this precious little girl. i said something to the like of, "you know you're forgiven right? - you know He has washed away your stains and made you pure and whole, right" she said yes. i told her we would talk tomorrow. i wanted to pray about what to say and talk to some older women in ministry who might know better how to handle that kind of situation.

i had some mentors pray with me. shared my plan that i felt like the Lord laid on my heart. and decided i was going to step back, and let the Holy Spirit work through me. the next day, my dear friend Brittany and i led a break out service for all the girls. she shared her heart with them. i shared my heart and my story. i led them through communion and into a time of prayer and fellowship with Jesus. we left cups of grape juice and chunks of bread at the front of the room and told them that whenever they were ready, Jesus was ready to meet with them, and we made ourselves available for prayer. we saw God work miracles in the lives of dozens of girls. salvation. healing. confessing secrets and finding freedom. it was truly amazing.

we asked this sweet, young girl to stay behind so that we could talk with her and pray with her.

she opened up to the both of us and shared exactly what happened. how she got pregnant from a boy who was abusing her. how she had always been against abortion. how she talked it out with her mom and decided she didn't have any other option. how she already knew it was a boy. how she hated herself because of it and just couldn't forgive herself.

i wanted to walk her through a healing journey God placed on my heart. i told her that if she was open, real and honest with us and herself, like she had been, i felt as though God would do something incredible and it would bring a lot of healing to her heart.

i had her close her eyes and asked her what she wanted to say to her baby.

i watched as she fell apart, and had to fight to keep my own composure together.

"im sorry. im so sorry. i never wanted to kill you. i wish i could hold you. im so sorry. please forgive me. i wish i could hold you and know you and be your mommy. please forgive me."

im sorry.

im so sorry.

over and over again.

i asked her what she thought her baby wanted to say to her.

"i forgive you. i know you didn't want to do it. i wish you could hold me. you will hold me one day. im safe with Jesus. i forgive you. please forgive yourself. i love you, mommy. i love you."

i asked her to respond to her baby.

"i love you. i miss you. thank you for forgiving me. im so sorry. i just want to hold you."

her, myself and Brittney are all sobbing at this point.

i cant tell you how strongly the presence of God was in the school room.

i asked her what she wanted to say to Jesus.

"im sorry, Jesus. im so sorry. i love you. please forgive me. i want you in my life. i want to ask you to come into my life and to be my friend. to change me. to forgive me. i love you. im sorry."

i asked her what she thought Jesus wanted to say to her.

"He wants me to know that He forgives me. that He loves me. that He is holding my baby. that He doesn't blame me and He's not mad at me. that He wants to be my friend too. that He wants me to forgive myself." 

i asked her to respond to Jesus. 

"thank you for forgiving me. i love you. i love you so much. im so sorry. thank you for coming into my heart. thank you for forgiving me. thank you for taking care of my baby since i couldn't. i love you."

me and Brittany were holding her as she was talking to Jesus. we cried with her. prayed over her. told her that this was her turning point. that she was new. clean. pure. whole. free. beautiful. and that because of this, because of her story- she was going to be able to reach countless other young girls who have been through it and didn't know what to do, or how to move past it.

she looked up at us and she was shining. her face was radiant. fifteen minutes prior, her eyes told a story of shame and heartbreak. her eyes were full of hope and the love of Christ in this moment. her entire spirit and composure was different.

i told her to close her eyes and wait. i jumped up and grabbed a cup of grape juice and a chunk of bread. i kneeled in front of her and told her to open her eyes. i said to her, "this is the body and the blood of Jesus. broken and poured out for you. it heals your heart. it makes you whole. it makes you clean. it was given for you." she ripped it out of my hands and devoured it. i could see her desire for Jesus so clearly.

i pulled a white rose out from behind my back and told her that we got her a rose. its white because that is the color of purity, and Jesus had made her clean, and washed her sins as white as snow. that Jesus makes her a virgin again. that she is restored.

she fell apart again. and so did we.

i saw redemption's kiss on her life in a way i had never witnessed before. it was truly the most beautiful encounter with heaven i had ever witnessed and been a part of.

this was the personification of the promise that He gives to give us beauty for our ashes.

*this post was part of a community of writers that take 5 minutes every Friday to write, just for the love of writing. you can join in at www.lisajobaker.com*

my slice of paradise

allow me to share with you my little slice of heaven. probably my most favorite place on earth. this beauty is found in Dana Point, California. (in the lovely Orange County.) this place has completely captured my heart and in beckons me to return. i cannot wait to live here. what a great reminder of how BIG and BEAUTIFUL our God is. He truly is limitless. Jesus speaks through mountains and oceans more than anything. i can't believe He is calling me to live in a place of such beauty and splendor.

there your heart will be also...

what is treasure? 

do we have a clear picture of what a treasure is? 

do we know what it means to truly hold a treasure? 

or do we see things as merely possessions?

Jesus talked to the crowds about what it means to have treasure, and more importantly, what we need to hold as a treasure, and what we need to hold onto as merely a temporary possession.  

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."[Matthew 6:19-21]

this verse is typically discussed in a context of money and possessions and getting more when we enter the gates of eternity.

but what if it is more than that?

what if storing treasure in heaven is more than trying to get a better job, bigger house, or another jewel on  your crown? 

what if the treasure is Jesus himself. 

what if this treasure is investing in our relationship with Jesus, so that when we step into eternity, we can behold the One we have loved our whole lives - and really KNOW Him. not just know of Him. 

the definition of treasure is as follows:  

{wealth or riches, stored or accumulated. valuable things. any thing or person, greatly valued or highly prized. to regard or treat as precious- (high cost, worthy, esteemed)...}

the verb definition of treasure is "KEPT CAREFULLY".

so if Jesus and our relationship with Him is the treasure- we must ask ourselves...

have we regarded Him as valuable? 

have we treated His presence as something precious? worthy? of high cost?  not something to be thrown around and taken for granted? 

and the one that steals my heart the most. have we kept carefully our relationship with our beautiful Lord? 

do we fully grasp and understand the honor and weight of being able to talk to, love, relate with, hear from, and spend our lives with the King of the universe? 

its nothing to be taken lightly. it truly is something we must treasure. 

how do you treat something that is a treasure? 

look at stories those who hear of a hidden treasure and the measures they go to find it. 

they seek out the treasure. 

with a detailed plan. 

with intentionality. 

with passion. 

relentlessly until they find it. 

going against all odds and opposing forces. 

fighting off anything or anyone that would come between them and their treasure. 

and when they find the treasure they had been seeking...

they are in awe that they actually found it and have something so precious in their grasp. 

they protect it. making sure nothing and nobody steals their treasure. 

they value it. its not just something to leave laying on the ground, to come back to when you decide you want to use it. no. you value it, use it. 

and they keep it close. being careful not to lose or devalue it. 

what would it look like if we sought out Jesus is such a way, and protected our relationships with Him to the point of it being our literal treasure? 

your treasure is your attitude toward your possessions. It is whatever you most eagerly strive to attain. It is that which you most dread to lose.

the most important reasons that Jesus gives us for storing up treasures in heaven is found in verse 21 - "where your treasure us, there your heart will be also." 

the word "heart" is used to indicate the core of our being, the wellsprings of all we do. (which is why Proverbs 4:23 instructs us with - "above all else, guard your heart. for it is the wellspring of all life.") 

so when Jesus says "where your treasure is...", He means that the entirety of our being is wrapped up in our treasures. our hearts are set on what we most highly treasure. and where we place our treasure is where we will set our affections. our hearts follow our treasure, not our treasure following our heart. your treasure determines the position of your heart. 

where is your treasure? 

you can recognize your treasure by the things you think are the most important to you, what you believe you cannot live without, what brings you the greatest joy and satisfaction, and what consumes your thoughts. you might be willing to part with other things, but you hold your treasure close to your heart and will not give it up for anything or anyone.

you are committed to that which you treasure, and you will invest in what you are committed to. the things we treasure give our lives direction. what we treasure occupies our minds and holds our emotions. its is the common theme of our conversations. it governs our time with planning, goals, and dreams about our treasure...and drives us to fulfill the dreams associated with our treasure.

for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

and where your heart and treasure is will determine what your life is a reflection of. 

1 Timothy 6:17-19 {Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.} 

when your treasure is Jesus, you begin to look more and more like Him. 

Paul understood this reality, probably more than anyone else. 

Philippians 3:7-12 

{But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ — yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.} 

he lost everything. 

why? 

because he understood the worth of knowing Christ. 

he gave up everything because his heartbeat was for one thing, and one thing alone. 

I WANT TO KNOW CHRIST. 

nothing else could compare to the worth of knowing Christ. 

Jesus is the treasure. 

and where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.