“Healer” by Mike Guglielmucci

Sometimes you just can't beat a good worship song. Echo the words of this song back to your Maker.

     You hold me every moment,

     You calm my raging seas.

     You walk with me through fire

     And heal all my disease.

     I trust in You.

     I believe You're me healer.

     I believe You are all I need.

     I believe You're my portion.

     I believe You're more than enough for me.

     Jesus, You're all I need.

     Nothing is impossible for You,

     Nothing is impossible.

     Nothing is impossible for You.

     You hold the world in your hands.

“I Give You My Heart” by Reuben Morgan

Sometimes you just can't beat a good worship song. Let the words of this song by Reuben Morgan sink into your spirit. And let your spirit sing it back to your Lord.

     This is my desire, to honor You.

     Lord, with all my heart, I worship You.

     All I have within me, I give you praise.

     All that I adore is in you.

     Lord I give you my heart.

     I give you my soul.

     I live for you alone.

     Every breath that I take,

     Every moment I'm awake,

     Lord, have your way in me.

Amen, Lord Jesus, have your way in me.

Choosing My Race

Who am I? Is this life a journey of discovering who I what to be? Or is it a journey of discovering who God made me to be?

To put it another way, Is it all about me? Or is it all about him? Hint: It's all about him.

Our culture is in the middle of an identity crisis. Rachel Dolezal says we can choose our race. She switched from white to black.

Western culture, by and large, didn't agree, and pressured her to resign her position at the NAACP. But the culture largely supported Bruce Jenner's transformation into Caitlyn. That's schizophrenic – any argument supporting “Caitlyn” Jenner also supports Rachel Dolezal.

Sorry, we can pretend we're someone else, but we can't change who God made us to be.

While we can find happiness in our self-made delusion, for a season at least, lasting fulfillment is only found in who God made us to be. That's where our identity is found. Only in intimacy with him, pursuing the calling he put on our lives.

Choosing My Gender

Who am I? Is this life a journey of discovering who I what to be? Or is it a journey of discovering who God made me to be?

To put it another way, Is it all about me? Or is it all about him? Hint: It's all about him.

Our culture is in the middle of an identity crisis. Bruce Jenner, now “Caitlyn,” says we can choose our gender. Looking at the media and the wide spread support for gay marriage, it appears the majority of Western culture agrees with him.

Sorry, but I'm still going to call him Bruce, and I'll use male pronouns. Because the truth is, no matter what he's done to himself, he's still a man. That's who God made him to be. Sorry, we can pretend we're someone else, but we can't change who God made us to be.

While we can find happiness in our self-made delusion, for a season at least, lasting fulfillment is only found in who God made us to be. That's where our identity is found. Only in intimacy with him, pursuing the calling he put on our lives.

The Prodigal Son (2/2)

So who's the main character in the parable of The Prodigal Son (see Luke 15:11-32)? Which son is this story really about? The younger son, who we so readily identify with? Or the older son, too stuck in religion, too busy doing his father's work to have his father's heart?

Neither son! Trick question! It's about the Father and his heart for both of his sons.

The older son didn't know who he was. He was trying to earn through hard work what he already had by inheritance. And he wasn't longing to celebrate with his father, but with his buddies. To the older son, the Father says, “Son, everything I have is yours and always has been. You could celebrate with me anytime you want. But you've been too preoccupied doing my work to have my heart. I would rather have 10 acres fewer crops and more time with you.”

So often we minister out of our wounding, rather than out of intimacy with the Father. Ministering out of wounding, we can pursue the wrong calling and miss what he really had for us. It's only out of intimacy with Jesus and the Father that we really know who we are and what we're for.

Have you, or do you think you might be, ministering out of wounding? Talk about it in the comments. You'll find you're not the only one.

The Prodigal Son (1/2)

Who's the main character in the parable of The Prodigal Son (see Luke 15:11-32)? Which son is this story really about? The younger son, who we so readily identify with? Or the older son, too stuck in religion, too busy doing his father's work to have his father's heart?

Neither son! Trick question! It's about the Father and his heart for both of his sons.

The younger didn't know who he was. It took a hard crash in the pig slop for him to come to his senses. To the younger son, the Father says, “Son, your sin has separated you from me and it's breaking my heart. But I'm waiting. And when you turn, I will carry you back.”

Now that's where the analogy breaks down – God does more than wait. He meddles. Constantly.

Has God meddled in your life? Share in the comments. I can't wait to hear.

Psalm 121

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from?

2 My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip – he who watches over you will not slumber.

4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord watches over you – the Lord is your shade at your right hand.

6 The sun will not harm you by day, not the moon by night.

7 The Lord will keep you from harm – he will watch over your life.

8 The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

Sometimes the Word of the Lord just needs no help.

Free to Succeed

It sounds funny, but I used to be paralyzed by my potential. I intrinsically knew I would be successful at whatever I put my effort into. But not everyone is successful. So why is it fair for me to succeed if everyone doesn't? So this deception kept me from putting my effort into anything truly creative, anything that could be wildly successful.

But then God taught me Psalm 91:7. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.

Other people's failures are just that – other people's failures. They have nothing to do with me. Compassion over what God is doing with them should not distract me from what God is doing with me. How about you? Can you relate?