Asian Invasion (and thoughts)

I am currently writing this blog on my friend Roy's computer. She's from South Korea, and so all her websites are in Korean. Makes it interesting when I'm using gmail and blogger and I have no idea what any of the butttons mean. Thank the Lord for color coordination :)

There's a lot of stuff on my mind right now, mainly reflection/revelation ideas. I think the theme of today is the body of Christ, really coming to an understanding of what it is and what it means. For instance, in Philly I witnessed first hand what the apostle Paul meant by the eye needing the ear and the hand needing the foot. We have all been given gifts for the edification of the church, but that also means that we don't have all the gifts ourselves. We need others. Others need us. Okay, I need others. Others need me. It's a fact. Otherwise everyone else and myself wouldn't exist, and that would be very lonely.

I have Korean sisters who are so in love with Jesus, and their lacking in the English language made me appreciate their careful and amazing choice of words. And they saw their handicap as a weakness. I saw it as a source of strength.

My sister Sara just walked in and held gave me a high five, and we kept that palm to palm connection for about 3 secs. That means a lot. My friend Caitlin just walked in the door from Indy. Her spunk and youth just exhilerate me. I really love the body of Christ.

So why am I so thoughtful today? Because in the knowledge that we don't have every gift comes the knowledge that we don't have every purpose. God has not purposed us to do everything. THe Lord has not purposed us to do the same thing. In less general terms, the Lord has not purposed in our lives to marry the same person that someone else is seeing, because they have a specific goal that God has in store that ONLY those two people could conquer in His Spirit. The Lord has not destined us to have the same groups of friends because perhaps those ones over there cannot edify me and I cannot edify them the way that their friends can.

It sounds selfish (and surprise surprise I am at times), but I think there is truth. Every one in our lives are there for a reason. They come and go as they are purposed. But in the end, we are work together shoulder to shoulder, spirit to spirit, heart to heart, like the body. The acceptance of having one purpose is surprisingly disappointing right now. But...that's okay :)

Freewriting Flashback

Many Moons Ago...

in the nighttime the world comes alive
our world comes alive
neon lights point to treasures
we are lifelong friends, the moon and i
even if he is missing, i will thrive
drink, run, kiss me close
hold me tighter, breath out of me
i move to the lights
a moth to the flame
it will burn in the morning like it burns down my throat
but i am numb to it tonight

but now i watch thru windows
afraid to rejoin the giovedi gras
my thrist is quenched by another Source
when my tongue gets dry
from a palate once wet
this flesh's thirst for desire is still my own
but disowned daily knowing life is greater
tempt me
but joy from my Father stills me
I shall wait for His hand
not yours, however soft it may be

Mission: Philadelphia Freedom

For those of you who did not catch the funniness of the blog title, Philadelphia Freedom is a Elton John song. That's right. I'm a dork.

It is the eve before leaving for my third inner city mission trip. Let's talk about God's provision, shall we? After prayers and confrontations, the Lord doubled our men count from 2 to 4. It's not fantastic for the dangers of Kensington Ave, but I'm sure Gideon wasn't too thrilled with his men count before his battle with the Midianites. Then there is the awesome financial provisions. All 15 of us were able to be paid for! One girl without having to pay for anything :)

So there is SO much more to brag about the Lord's work. He really does provide for His children with amazing ways. Again, I shall expand later. Right now I have to finalize things with the trip. God is good and Jesus is our Savior and the Holy Spirit is Living!!!!

The War Still Rages

Today's blog will be my stream of thinking, with one purpose: illumination, praise, and trembling. Okay, three purposes. Wow, what a Monty Pythonism...

There is a war brewing beneath our noses. One that has been fought since the beginning of time, and won't end until the last trumpet (no fat lady...sorry). As the casualties of Iraq continue to climb, the casualties of this war soar with it. And beyond it. You've heard it titled "The Battle of Good and Evil." How cliche. There isn't even room for the amount of downplaying that causes. And even if I were to have the miraculous language to come up with a better name, the severity of this war could still not be captured.

Heaven and Hell are continuing to battle it out. There is still a fight for souls. And every other war term is applied. There are MIA soldiers, those who enlisted in the King's battle and have now disappeared. There are POWs, men and women taken captive by the demons and tortured to release their alliance. This could become very righteous sounding, so let me get to the reason why I felt the need to write this blog.

I had the priveledge to tell one of my sisters in Christ that she was paid in full to go on a missions trip with us this spring break. She had placed her trust in the Lord for providing a financial giant, and He pulled thru BIG TIME. The Holy Spirit recalled the Scripture verse that says, "How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation, and says to Zion, "Your God reigns!" (Isaiah 52:7) Now, obviously the TRUE good news is the saving atonement of Jesus' Christ, who died on the cross to cover the sins of all those who would believe and accept his atonement. But I was so happy and felt so honored to be able to say with confidence, "Your God Reigns!! He has provided for you to serve Him in Philadelphia! He does listen to our prayers!!!"

And then the battle began. Seconds after this shout of victory, I was facing a terrible defeat from the past. I saw how months before I had fallen hard, how I had failed. I immediately saw myself as unworthy, as wretched, as someone who could not be used after abusing the grace given to her by her Lord and Savior. My soaring spirit plummeted into the depths of despair.

This is the battle we face. When the Lord moves, so does the Enemy. Satan fights, his sole purpose to steal, kill, and destroy. There is no mercy. There is no temperment. He cannot be reasoned with. His mission is to destroy the kingdom of God and all those who allign themselves with the King. And when He sees victory, He will try harder to accomplish his endevors. This is our battle.

I think the reason Satan fights so hard is because he knows he is going to lose. Satan fell because of pride. He knows he is no match for the King. Ultimately, the Lord will have victory in the end. And Satan will take as many as he can with him. I cannot allow myself to see past failures as greater than present glories! The end is already decided. The Lord will win. There should be comfort in that. There IS comfort in that.

Do not allow Satan to distract you with forgetfullness of present blessings or too MUCH rememberance of the past. Remember the past, yet see the victory the Lord has claimed despite our defeats. Where there is a Jericho, there is an Ai, but we are always led by the Lord into victory. Ultimately, it is Him who fights for us so He is glorified, not our fighting for Him to be glorified.

Oh, and by the way: cherebs are NOT cute little babies with tiny wings and dimples. They are the WARRIORS of God, the guardians of the gates of Eden with flaming swords, and the Lord is enthroned above them in the Old Testament sanctuary layouts. UGH!! Stupid Hallmark. I had to get that off my chest.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing."
(2 Timothy 7-8)

A Dream is a wish your heart makes...

5The king replied to the Chaldeans, "The command from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb and your houses will be made a rubbish heap. But if you declare the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts and a reward and great honor; therefore declare to me the dream and its interpretation…Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter, so that they might request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven;

Daniel said,
"Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever,
For wisdom and power belong to Him.
"It is He who changes the times and the epochs;
He removes kings and establishes kings;
He gives wisdom to wise men
And knowledge to men of understanding.
"It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things;
He knows what is in the darkness,
And the light dwells with Him.
"To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise,
For You have given me wisdom and power;
Even now You have made known to me what we
requested of You,
For You have made known to us the king's matter."

Therefore, Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and spoke to him as follows: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon! Take me into the king's presence, and I will declare the interpretation to the king."

The king said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, "Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation?"

Daniel answered before the king and said, "As for the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither wise men, conjurers, magicians nor diviners are able to declare it to the king.

"However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days This was your dream and the visions in your mind while on your bed.”

...more on this later...