God Wants Your Heart

God Wants Your Heart

When was the last time you sat at the feet of Jesus in worship? I’m not talking about a Sunday morning church service. I’m talking about you and Him, no distractions, pressing into His presence with a heart that is overwhelmed and overflowing with thanksgiving and worship and adoration. I’m talking about praying in the spirit or singing in the spirit or sitting in silence or crying or dancing or shouting – all springing from a heart that is experiencing the presence of God. This is what we were created for. We were made to live and move and have our being in Him.

Have you ever felt like you were going through the motions in life? Perhaps, like me, there have been times that you were so busy working for God that you began to neglect ever spending any time with God, you know, just because you love Him, not solely to get some quick answers to some pressing issues. Am I the only one?

While serving God is a beautiful fruit that comes from being connected to The Root, it is not what we were created for. It is wonderful to be a faithful servant of God. It is wonderful that we are entrusted as stewards over His things, but above all else, we are His very own children. He has lavished His love upon us! Hear this Word:

Look with wonder at the depth of the Father’s marvelous love that he has lavished on us! He has called us and made us his very own beloved children.

(TPT, 1 John 3:1)

Have you ever sat and pondered what this means? I know I can always make the connection when I consider my relationship with my own children. It’s hard to express to anyone what parental love is like. The first time you hold that baby in your arms, the explosion of joy and love that commences is nothing short of miraculous. It’s a deep bond and connection that stirs up every instinct in you to love, nourish, protect, guard and guide them; yet, even in having some grasp of this depth of love, God’s love is deeper still.

God doesn’t want your service, God wants your heart. He wants a Father-son/Father-daughter relationship with you. What about advancing the kingdom and being a soldier in God’s army and fighting the good fight? All very important, but what is the ultimate goal of it all? To reconcile the world back to Himself. Why? He wants a relationship! He wants to live eternally in a deep, authentic love relationship with His children. Why do we preach the Gospel? So people can turn back to God and live in relationship with Him. It’s not to recruit more servants. Again, I’m not saying service is not important, but let’s keep the main thing THE MAIN THING.

We can all fall into this trap – a rat race mentality where we run, and run, and run – we run so far we end up away from God’s heart! We volunteer our time, we execute programs, we counsel people, we are willing to lay down our lives – ALL GOOD! All noble endeavors! Just make sure you don’t leave Jesus behind because you might wake up one day only to end up burnt out, bitter or bored, wondering what happened to the fire that used to stir inside you when you heard the name, Jesus. Don’t let that be you! The Bible exhorts us to examine our own heart, to look at what motivates us to do what we are doing. I repeat, that HEART is what God wants my friends! Hear what the Word says:

I know all that you’ve done for me—you have worked hard and persevered. I know that you don’t tolerate evil. You have tested those who claimed to be apostles and proved they are not, for they were imposters. I also know how you have bravely endured trials and persecutions because of my name, yet you have not become discouraged. But I have this against you: you have abandoned the passionate love you had for me at the beginning. Think about how far you have fallen! Repent and do the works of love you did at first. (TPT, Revelation 2:2-5) (Emphasis mine.)

Is it important to stoke the fire of that passionate love we have for God? According to this scripture it is. Look at the stellar accomplishments of these believers! Hard work, perseverance, no toleration of evil or false teachers – even enduring of persecution without discouragement; but, something was missing, and according to God it was equal to falling very far from Him.

Do you see yourself here? Faithful in service, moral in practice, enduring hardness as a good soldier – yet far from God, burnt out, dry inside? I have good news. You are here for a reason and the solution is very easy. Return to His feet. Soak in His presence. Like a vessel broken open before Him, pour out your heart to Him and begin practicing His presence again.

I believe this is a year of growth. It is a year to bear fruit. Sometimes that means some pruning takes place. Ask God what to cut out and what to keep. Spend time abiding in the vine and drawing strength from Him. As the year progresses, please come back and let me know how things have changed as a result!

The Ugly Truth About Judgment and Criticism

The Ugly Truth About Judgment and Criticism

What if That Was You?

Last night I was watching the Dodgers play the Brewers in Game 4 of the NLCS. In the late innings of the game, the “closer” is brought out to shut down the opposing team’s attempts to score any final runs. I watched the scene carefully – the look in the eyes of this closer, the sweat dripping from his brow, the way he spun the ball in his hand, the buzzing adrenaline of the crowd, the lights glaring down and the intensity of each pitch as it was released. Then, I laughed inside thinking of how fickle people are. If this man performs to their standard they’ll sing his praises, but if he “chokes” the onslaught of their opinions will commence! It amuses me to think of those same people standing on the mound, crowd swelling around them, heart pounding – how loud would their criticism be if the ball was in their hand?

Yes, I have found a way to spiritualize baseball – my husband would be proud! On a serious note though – the Bible has a lot to say about judgment and criticism. I’m not talking about the light sideline sports commentaries, but the appointing of ourselves as judges over the lives of other people. Back to the baseball game – how many of us imagine what it would be like to walk in the shoes of the people we judge and criticize? What if the decisions fell to me? What if the weight of that responsibility were on me? What if that was my precious daughter strung out on drugs? What if that was my husband that cheated and I was suffering the pain of betrayal? What if I grew up in and out of foster care, rejected by my parents? How would I act as an adult if I never had an example to follow? I’m not justifying the foolish decisions people may make, and I’m not absolving accountability, but how many of us say, “I would never…” – “If that were MY child I would…” – “If it were up to ME, I would…” – see, it’s the same spirit of the sideline critic that has all of the opinions and NONE of the experience!

Judge Nothing Before the Appointed Time

1 Corinthians 4:5 says, Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God. (NIV)

Paul was writing to the church at Corinth and letting them know that he served the Lord and answered to Him. It didn’t matter whether they judged him. In fact, he didn’t even trust his own judgments about himself! He made it a point to communicate that God was the only one qualified to be the judge. Why? He is the only one that knows the real deal! What do I mean by that? Outward appearance IS NOT, I repeat – IS NOT – our basis for judging anything! God sees right through all of the outer facade and into the secret motives of the heart! At the appointed time all of those hidden motives will be brought to light. You know what? A lot of us will be surprised by how different God’s judgments are from ours. We might even be shocked to see some people in heaven (BRO!? YOU made it!) – yeah – he did. What!?!?!

But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. (NKJV, Romans 14:10)

It’s Not Your Seat!

Notice that the judgment seat belongs to Christ! (I’m preaching to myself too!) What are we doing when we judge? We are saying, “Jesus, step down from that seat. I’m qualified to judge this matter.” Ouch, (I can visualize the cringing faces) – bad move to make right? Here is what makes it even worse: Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. (NKJV, Matthew 7:1-2)

When you look this up – the idea of measuring – it is the idea of a ruler that one uses as a standard. In other words, when you hold someone to a certain standard, you better be meeting that standard yourself because that is the EXACT standard that YOU will be judged by. Suddenly I’m feeling a little more merciful! Think about this! Really think about it! When I blurt out my opinions about how to run the church or the company, or how to parent, or how someone should get their act together, God will pull out a sheet with MY WORDS on it and hold it up as He judges the way I ran my life, and how much I had my act together!

“Kelli, on this date you said this person should have been more decisive. Here is a list of all of the times you were indecisive. Oh, and on this date, you judged this person for not having greater faith. Here are all of the areas in your life where you lacked faith. On this date, you criticized this person for not being more sensitive and caring. Here are all of the times you were insensitive and offensive.”

Wow! What a renovation our lives would experience if we stopped judging others and started judging ourselves! How merciful we would be! How compassionate! How great our love walk would grow! As soon as we began opening our mouths to criticize we would instead look into our own heart and judge where we may be coming short. Again, I am not implying that we never hold a person accountable for their actions, or there is never a case for confronting sin, but I AM saying that there are a whole lot of things that are just none of our business, and the world will keep spinning without all of our poignant observations. Oh, that we would learn this!

Growing in Love

So what is a Christian to do!? Pray, honey! Ask God to help you set a watch over your mouth and guard the door of your lips. Every now and then sneak up behind yourself and listen to yourself talk. Then ask yourself, “Why am I saying this? Why am I bringing this up?” Is it pride? Is it comparison? Is it rebellion? Is it frustration that should be laid before God instead of presented to a man or woman? And finally, listen to this age-old advice, “If you don’t have anything nice to say…” – you know.

I’m on the journey with you. Let’s get this ugly judgment and criticism out of our lives so love and joy can reign supreme in our hearts. One day when we stand before God we will be thankful that we grew in mercy, love, and compassion. So be it!

Approval Addiction

Approval Addiction

Before we dive into the idea of approval addiction, let’s just talk for a moment about why you are here. There are four major questions to answer as you progress through life if you are going to do and be all that God called you to do and be.

First, “Who am I?” – and let me answer that for you if you are born again of God’s Spirit. You are His child. Your identity, your value, your self-worth has to come from the unchanging fact that you are a child of God born of the Spirit of God. You are not what you DO. If you place your identity in anything other than Christ you will at some point suffer an identity crisis. Think of it. If your identity is resting on your athletic ability, your position, your looks, your fame, your money, your intelligence, your job, your parenting skills – any of these temporal things – then what happens when the athlete is injured, when the beauty fades, when the company goes belly up or the kids leave home? Identity crisis! We MUST have the foundation of our identity, our value, and our self-worth in who we are in Christ.

Second, “Why am I alive?” – and I can answer that one with scripture:

For we are His workmanship [His own masterwork, a work of art], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works, which God prepared [for us] beforehand [taking paths which He set], so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us]. (AMP, Ephesians 2:10)

Why are you alive? Because God prearranged and made ready a life for you to live! He created you the way a painter would create a masterpiece, the way a poet would write a poem, the way a sculptor would carefully chisel away at a piece of stone until it became what he or she envisioned! You are alive to be an expression of God’s heart in the earth; to live as He lived and love as He loved.

This leads to the next question, “Where am I going?” – and this has to do with your destiny. When you know who you are and you know that you were created with a purpose, then you know you are to live into a destiny. What is that destiny? What has God put inside of you? What graces? What gifts? What natural and supernatural abilities? These are equippings that come with the call, and the very moment God gives you the word concerning your destiny, the equipping to do what He has called you to do comes with it! So where has He called you? What has He destined for you to become?

Lastly, “What impact will I make when I get there?” Identity. Purpose. Destiny. Impact. What will your legacy be? What will you be remembered for and how will the world be different because of the life you have lived? What impact will there be when you dream God’s dreams, think His thoughts, and align your values with His values? What will be the outcome of you living into your destiny?

OK – now why did I start out with these very introspective questions? The Bible says in Proverbs 29:25, The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe. (NKJV) Did you know that there is a snare, a trap out there that can keep you from your destiny? It is the fear of man and it is connected to what I mentioned above. If you don’t know who you are you will look to man to find your self-worth instead of looking to Christ. So many of your life’s decisions will be based on what others think instead of what God thinks.

If you don’t know you were created with purpose you will look to this world for your sense of purpose. Your supreme appetite will be for the approval, accolades, acknowledgment, and recognition of man rather than your supreme appetite being the will of God. If you don’t have in your heart the God-breathed destiny – the path you are to travel to come into the fullness of what God has called you to be – and if the vision of the impact is not present in your mind’s eye, you will easily be derailed by the opinions of the masses.

Just imagine me right now grabbing you by the shoulders, looking you in the eye and shaking you! Do not live for the approval of man! It will entrap you! It’s a snare! Stop feeding the addiction! Don’t live for the “Likes” – don’t feed on the number of “Followers” – don’t sell your soul for more “Subscribers” – do you hear me!? STOP looking to man for approval! Live for GOD! Can I get a witness up in here!?

Trust in the Lord with all your heart. There is safety there. Look to God for your identity, your purpose, and your destiny. It is only in living for God that you will have the impact and leave the legacy that He intended for you to have and to leave. 

“You are Goats” – A Journey Into the Heart

“You are Goats” – A Journey Into the Heart

OK, so funny title to this blog. I don’t think it’s SEO friendly, but here it goes anyway. Yesterday I was driving the kids to school and we were listening to a favorite worship song of mine, “King of My Heart,” with Steffany Gretzinger and the Bethel crew (view it HERE). My adorable 6-year-old son was singing with all his heart the part in the song that repeats, “You are good, good, ooooh-oh,” but instead of “You are good,” he was singing, “You are goats, goats, ooooh-oh.” Funny, I know. I had to keep myself from laughing the way you probably are right now, but I had to ponder the pure heart of a worshiper and friend of God.

Have you ever put pressure on yourself to pray the right way with the right words, make the right confession, you know, “Get the words right.” I remember a time when I lived in the Philippines and we would go to tribal areas to minister. There was one group of people that learned an older song that goes, “Majesty, worship His majesty. Unto Jesus, be all glory honor and praise.” With their limited English, they would sing from their hearts, “Magic tree, worship His magic tree…” Again, I know it seems funny, but they would be on their knees in tears as they were moved by the Holy Spirit!

Another story comes to mind of a time the founder of the ministry I served overseas was doing an open-air crusade and was working with a translator. He was preaching on healing, building the faith of the people to receive the healing that Jesus died for them to have, and desired for them to walk in. At one point in his message, the formerly attentive group suddenly dispersed and began walking to the little “sari-sari” storefronts to get ballpoint pens. He asked his translator what happened and it turns out the translator had mistakenly communicated that they needed to place a ballpoint pen on their nose as an act of faith to receive their healing. (Some things are really lost in translation, ya know?)

The amazing aspect of this story that was always communicated as he shared it was that God actually honored their faith response to the inaccurate instructions given! Many of these people (with ballpoint pens touched to their nose) received their healing!

My point today friends is that we cannot put God in a box. We also have to understand that only man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart! Whether it’s a 6-year-old singing out, “You are goats,” or a group of people racing for the mighty Bic pen – God is not looking at perfection in their words or actions, He is looking at the purity of their hearts and the faith found there!

This is so encouraging to me! I believe sometimes we are taught so many principles (of faith, healing, prosperity, discipleship, hearing from God, etc.) and this is GOOD; however, you probably have felt at times (like me) that in order to “do it right” and get the “right result” you have to follow the formula. I’m here to tell you that formula outside of relationship will never produce the “right result.”

God is our Father! We have to remember the love that flows from Him to us is beyond any earthly parental love that we have for our kids (and that is some pretty indescribable love in itself!) When I heard my son singing it so blessed me! Did he get the words right? No way! But correcting his words was the farthest thing from my mind. I enjoyed hearing him sing from the pure place of worship in his heart. It’s the same with God. He wants your heart, not your ability to follow a formula. You know as well as I do that we can honor God with our lips, yet our hearts be far from Him. What does that mean? It means some people say “all the right things,” but they have no relationship with God. I don’t want to be like that. How about you?

Decide today that you will stop pressuring yourself to “do it perfectly.” Give yourself permission to be relationship driven rather than results driven. We can learn principles, but we must keep relationship first! Keep a transparent and pure heart as you walk in relationship with God, and you will live in the assurance that His grace is filling in the gaps of your growth. Just keep growing!

 

The Lure of a Mediocre Life

The Lure of a Mediocre Life

Have you ever had those moments in life when you just step back and look at where you’ve been, where you are and where you want to be in five or ten years? Have you looked deep inside to search out the Creator’s purpose and design for your life, knowing you’ve walked in step with Him, that you have sought Him, but somehow get the feeling that there is still MORE? Have you considered that maybe you’re not waiting on Him, but He’s waiting on YOU?

What is it about change, impact, influence, growth – GREATNESS…that is so intimidating? Why is mediocrity so alluring? It’s comfortable. It doesn’t require a lot of stretching. It’s well known and familiar. It’s easy to hide in mediocrity. Growth requires risk. Influence requires accountability. Change requires WORK. So let’s all “just keep swimming, just keep swimming…”  – NO!!!

Could you hear that? That was my spirit’s cry – NO! You know what traps us? Yes, yes, fear of failure, but what about fear of success? What about fear of MAN – fear of man’s rejection, criticism, and judgment? Did you know that what other people think about you is none of your business!? My gosh! How bogged down we become in our own insecurities because WE. ARE. SO. WORRIED. about what others will think. Have I hit a nerve yet? I hope so.

We need to be shaken. We need to wake upHow many years can go by before time has run its course and our race is over? It’s time to break out of the bondage of the lies we’ve been telling ourselves. Now is the time to be bold, to be free. It’s time that we step into the calling that God has on our lives without apology! Have you ever tried to make yourself small because you don’t want to intimidate the people around you? You don’t want them saying, “Who do they think they are with those BIG GOD DREAMS!??” Yes, be humble. Yes, allow God to promote you, but when He does, baby, don’t apologize for it! We are not talking about building your kingdom, your glory, your following – NO. We are talking about building His Kingdom, revealing His glory, and discipling His followers. If that is your heart then think BIG, dream BIG, love BIG, grow BIG! Our God is the exceedingly, abundantly ABOVE God! Let’s not be minimal, just enough, BELOW thinkers!

Who are you? What drives you? Where are you going? Do you believe your life’s purpose is to work for God, or that your life’s purpose is to live the adventure with God! Trust me, these are two mindsets with two very different outcomes. One breeds burden and one breeds passion. One cultivates a sense of religious duty, the other cultivates a root of love that bears fruit that remains. Listen, life is passing by and you can remain in cruise control and have a great life – or, OR – you can kick into high gear and have your BEST life. What do I mean by that? The life, the purpose, the destiny, the dream, the legacy that God breathed into you, child, when He created you and saw ALL of your days before you lived a single one!

Don’t settle. Champions live differently. People of faith think differently. They talk differently! Live every today to be a better YOU tomorrow. Invest in people. Invest in relationships. Invest in your future and the legacy you will leave to your children’s children. Don’t leave a legacy of regret, shame, fear, or timidity. C’mon! NO regrets. Leave a legacy of boldness, courage, and FAITH! Don’t allow mediocrity to lull you to sleep – WAKE UP and rise up to that great high calling in Christ! You can do all things in and through Him. Now go and take your mountain!

 

 

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