Freedom…will you join me?

I have spent the last two weekends in Freedom Training for a new ministry that will be launching this Wednesday at Faith Assembly Church. In these sessions, we began to unpack freedom. Not what freedom means…but what freedom is. Freedom isn’t a “place” that we get to, it’s a lifestyle we choose. It’s daily believing that I am who God says I am, and not what the world, what my family, what my friends, not even who I say I am.

“Freedom is not the absence of SOMETHING, it’s the presence of SOMEONE” -Bob Hamp, Gateway Church

These trainings were just the start to a realization that I, like you, need freedom. And not the traditional idea of removing what was constraining you, but freedom of knowing I hear nothing else but the voice of God.

You see Friends, I went into this training thinking I was going to learn how to help others, and what I learned was that we are ALL on a journey. A daily trek of choosing to Hear God’s voice over the worlds, of deciding that we will believe who He says we are, and in that we will find TRUE freedom.

This Wednesday, at 7pm, “The Five” will launch. These are the five core classes to freedom. I believe and am praying with everything that is within me that if you’ll join me in attending this classes our lives will be changed.

Because you see friends, Nothing is worse than being held captive and not knowing that you are being held. Nothing is more liberating than the day you go from prisoner to freedom. Nothing is more breathtaking than the moment you realize you are not a victim but you are a victor.

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to live FREE…it’s better that way. will you join me?

Manifesto

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort  all who morn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion–to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called ‘Oaks of Righteousness’, a planting of the Lord for the display of HIS splendor. – Isaiah 61:2-3 (NIV)

I am reminded of a statement I read in Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young. It said “I have chosen you less for your strengths than for your weaknesses, which amplify your need for Me.” I find this to be true in so many ways. If we all take a minute and look at our lives, I’m sure we can find countless moments of when Christ has stepped into our moments of filth and replaced it with beauty, when we were hopeless and He brought in Hope, moments of worthlessness and He reminded us we had value. There are times when in the midst of our weakest hour, Christ has stepped in and given strength and courage instead of fear and weakness.

The verse immediately preceding this one opens with, “The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to…” This is setting the stage for what would be the manifesto of Christ. A manifesto is a written statement declaring publicly the intentions and motives of its issuer, and this manifesto was given straight from the Father to Jesus. He was sent here to fulfill this and it is through this that we have all been offered a life of “instead.”

Here is where the rubber hits the road. While this is Christ’s manifesto…we too have been called to love.

“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” – John 13:35

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.
Everyone who 
loves has been born of God and knows God.”
- 1 John 4:7

How many times do you or I walk past people that are lonely, different, dirty, rude or “socially unacceptable” and pay them absolutely zero attention? We are all guilty of turning our heads to the beggar on the street or pretending not to notice them with their signs. It is easy to go about our daily routine without stopping to offer them the love of Christ instead of the “you don’t matter” of this world.

During this time that we’ve shut our selves out to the voices of the media, let’s all take some time and ask God, “show me the nameless and faceless I’ve walked past day in and day out. Show me how I can offer them the “instead” they need. Lord remind me of where I was and how you made me who I am instead of who I was headed to be. God, infuse in me this manifesto and let me be a person of the instead.”

I fully believe that if we can begin to offer the “instead” to the world, at the end of the day we will all be called Oaks of Righteousness and the amazing display will do nothing less than show off HIS splendor. …It’s better this way.

He Says…

In John chapter 17: 6-18, Jesus is praying for His disciples and He says…

“…They knew with certainty that I came from You, and they believed that You sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those You have given me, for they are Yours. All I have is Yours, all You have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.” – John 17:8-10 (NIV)

I don’t have much to say today. I don’t feel like I need to say much. The above words say it all.

No matter where you find yourself today, remember this…You are HIS!

Stop Being Sick

This past Sunday, I was on Twitter, and a few tweets from Matthew Barnett (Founder of the Dream Center) that got me thinking. Here is what they said:

“@MatthewBarnett: When someone at church is mad at you don’t leave the church…just sign their name up on the nursery volunteer sheet”

“@MatthewBarnett: When someone at church is mad at you don’t leave the church…just amen real loud points that pertain to them”

After I had a good laugh, at the truth behind these…it got me thinking about complaining. I don’t know about you but when I’m sick I am the biggest baby ever! If you talk to me that day, you will know I’m sick…you’ll know how bad I feel…and you’ll hear it often! I just don’t like not feeling well.

I know that if I have a headache and I tell my mom the first thing she is going to ask me is “have you taken anything for it?” I immediately know that if I say no, that she will have zero sympathy for me. Let’s be honest, it’s my own laziness that has kept me from feeling better in those instances.

The same is true when it comes to complaining, especially IN the church. We complain if the service is too long, too short, too contemporary, too traditional, too predictable, if it’s too hot, too cold…we complain if the music is too loud, too soft, too new, too old..if there were too many scripture references, not enough stories…if it’s too dark there…there is always something that someone doesn’t like. (Before you think I’m crazy, you should know that I’m 100% for excellence, but excellence does not equal personal preference all the time. Sometimes what we want isn’t what is best.)

There’s a story in the Bible of Jesus sitting with some tax collectors, and religious leaders are thinking that His methods are crazy…look at how He responds to them: On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17)

We were all Sick at one time, but like today when we go to the doctor to get better…Jesus came to make us better. He came in fact that we would “have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)

So just like when I complain with my headache and don’t Advil, I am choosing to stay sick. To relieve the pain takes action… sometimes it’s not fun. This isn’t a normal post from me, but like Robitussin this may taste horrible going down, but it makes you better and non-contagious. And if we’re all honest here, no one want’s to spread sickness!

If you don’t like the way you’re “feeling”, do something about it…stop being sick. When you start doing, you’ll stop complaining, and I promise…life is better that way!

I’m going to start living “healthy”, who’s with me?

To All The Naysayers

Many times, you’ve looked at what we are doing and compared it to what you have seen others do. You have tried to put us on a scale in your mind, and from there judge if what we are doing is “right”.
I’ve done this too… I see an athlete, an actress, a designer, an artist, a writer, a musician, a preacher, a teacher….and I immediately try to find something that is familiar to me, to judge them against as the bar for what is good.
Here is what I know …when you judge me, you AREN’T the one who called me. When you or I judge others, we aren’t the one that called them. When you judge a church or organization that isn‘t what you expected…you aren’t the one inspiring them!
If God calls you to do something, do it with everything within you, because He called you. He is the one that put your feet on the path they are on. At the end of the day, if you can close your eyes and realize that what you accomplished that day wasn’t done in your talent, but in His anointing, the naysayers and their words mean NOTHING.
So for every doubter and naysayer out there, that’s ever told you that you can’t do it. I want to tell you this: dream big, work hard, love harder, and show grace…don’t worry about comparing, because what God is calling you to do is unlike anything the world has ever seen. Ignore the doubters. After all, it’s not about them anyway.
And to all those doubting, STOP IT! Don’t worry about what I am doing, or what they are doing…focus on what we can do together…it’s better that way!
Let’s change the world together…
-LC

BE HERE_part 2

It’s been two weeks since I’ve heard these words “BE HERE”…and it still just brings me to my knees. How simple, yet how profound. I’m not sure if you are like me, but at times I think i HAVE to be doing. I have to be busy. I have to be accomplishing. If I’m not, then something isn’t getting done. How silly for me to think that I don’t have permission to just BE HERE. I find that even in my prayer time, I can easily be distracted about what needs to take place. I can get so lost in what tomorrow or the next day or the day after that holds that I forget to thank God for the now.

Friends, I have to tell you this… God has given us permission to be in the NOW. He has given us permission to BE HERE.
34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. (Matthew 6:34 NLT)
I love this! Why? Because I can get so caught up in the then that I can’t BE HERE. If there is anything I’m learning, it’s that I’d rather BE HERE than anywhere else. It is in the HERE that God has the ability to use us NOW. We don’t have to worry about the then… He has already promised us.
“11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. “ (Jeremiah 29:11NLT)
He already has tomorrow figured out for us. We don’t have to worry about it. I’m praying that I would..that YOU would…find a place in the HERE. I truly believe that if we make it a priority to be HERE we will be the ones that God uses in our schools, jobs, homes, restaurants to reach those that others miss as they focus on the then.

BE HERE…TODAY!
-LC

Be Here.

BE HERE.

These two little words have wrecked me this past week, simple as they are. With everything competing for our attention, it is often hard to just BE wherever we are. When I lay down to go to bed, I’m thinking about the things that need to be accomplished the next day. When I’m in meetings I’m thinking about the next task at hand. When I’m in traffic I’m thinking of the things I could be doing. I’m always thinking of the next email, phone call, or text that needs to be responded to. I’m always there, I just don’t know if I’m always here.

Israel Houghton has this song, To Worship You I Live that begins with the following words. “Away, away from the noise alone with you.” I wonder what would happen if we would get away from the noise and just be in the moment. EVERY MOMENT.

I can’t help but think that is we did we’d find ourselves in a place of balance. We find ourselves completely in one place instead of partially everywhere leaving us nowhere.

Be still in the presence of the Lord , and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. (Psalm 37:7 NLT)

Let that verse penetrate your heart today, let it saturate your prayers… This past week that verse has worked me over. And I’ve found myself humbled by two words: BE HERE… wherever HERE is throughout the day BE HERE. Don’t be anywhere else but in that moment.

Shut out the distractions and just BE HERE.

Whew, that’ll mess ya up…

-LC

(p.s. I made the BE HERE graphic at the top big enough for a desktop wallpaper, just click on it to download it. It’s my visual reminder to BE HERE.) 

Day 10: Crossing Over

(Read: Joshua Chapter 3 & 4 in entirety)

“21He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ 23For the LORD your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The LORD your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. 24He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God.”

                                                                                           – Joshua 4:21-24 (NIV)

After years and years of wandering in the desert, the Israelites were finally at the place of stepping into the future that their ancestors had dreamed of. They were crossing the Jordan River and stepping into the promise land. This generation of Israelites had known nothing but God’s hand of provision. After all the people had crossed the river, the Lord spoke to Joshua and He instructed Him to build a monument right there in the middle of the river. It would be something that would stay there forever.

The monument would be the story starter as grandparents sat with their grandkids, and parents with their children. They would ask, “why are those rocks there?” The twelve stacked stones were more than just a conversation starter, they were a daily reminder of the day that the Israelites crossed the Jordan River on dry ground, and stepped into their God promised future. The would sit with their families and the children would hear the stories and learn of God’s faithfulness. These stories would be able to not only point them to God in that moment, but to plant a legacy in them that if God was faithful to their parents, He will be faithful to them.

We are standing on the riverbanks of a new chapter of life at Faith. Together we have journeyed these ten days, and as we cross over, take time to remember this moment. Because in years to come, your children and grandchildren will look at you and ask you “why are those rocks there?” You may not have physical rocks standing, but God has built them on your heart, and in the way you live your life. Just like the physical monument created a moment for families to sit together and remember God’s goodness, you too will have moments to sit and tell the story of how we stepped out of hearing about the promise land and stepped into living in the promise land.

Prayer Focus: Ask God to solidify this moment in your life, and create opportunities for you to tell your children (or future children) about this time of crossing over.

Day 9: Liberate Love

(Read Isaiah 61 in its entirety)

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives  and release from darkness for the prisoners”

-Isaiah 61:1

This what it’s all about. Many people will spend their entire lives trying to figure out “who they are” or what “they are supposed to do.” The answer to that question is simple, if you’re a follower of Christ. It is “to proclaim good news to the poor, bind the broken hearted, proclaim freedom of the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” While we will all live this out differently, we all share this calling.

 For each one of us, God has given us the gift of a second chance. Through that gift came an anointing, to pass it along, and share it with everyone we come in contact with. We’re to give a second chance. Do you remember what it was like the first time you heard that God loved you? Have you ever found yourself feeling unloveable?  Then God sent someone to you to say “God loves you and so do I.”  It was an amazing day.  A life changing day. How great would it be to get to help someone take their first step towards having a thriving relationship with Jesus Christ?

Every day, we have the opportunity to step into someone’s world and bring freedom to things that are holding them back from living a life in God’s grace. To tell the poor in spirit the amazing news that God loves them. To go to the broken hearted and point them to the ultimate comforter. This calling will require us to step into a world that is dying to hear that there is hope for them. We will have to stand unashamedly before and tell about a God that loves them. Tell the story of a God who loved you enough to look past your scars and ugliness, and place a value on you when you didn’t deserve it. It’s time we liberate love and show people that it’s our love for GOD, that allows us to love PEOPLE. It will be through this love, that their hearts will be open, and they, too, will be able to step out of where they are and join us in loving LIFE.

Prayer: As you go through your day, ask God to open your eyes to the people and opportunities that He has placed in your path. Ignore the instinct to pass them by and step out in boldness and show them the love of Christ. What you have is the very thing they need.  Today could be your one and only chance to share it with them.

Day 8: Found In Weakness

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me”

-2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)

 Have you ever found yourself in a place of just not feeling “good-enough?” Maybe a place of inadequacy? The word inadequacy, as defined by Merriam-Webster, simply means “to be not adequate, insufficient, not capable.” It’s not a very fun or likeable place to be.  However, don’t worry, you aren’t alone in feeling this way.

 In Exodus 4:10-14, God instructs Moses to go and speak to Pharaoh. To lead His people out of Egypt, and to this Moses responds… “I Can’t!”  Moses was given the task of removing God’s chosen people from oppression, and beginning the journey to God’s promise.

We’ve all been given this same task…to lead those oppressed by the world, into the promise of God-given life and freedom. When Moses argued, God provided Aaron to speak for Moses. God uses Moses, in his inadequacy, to show off the mighty power of GOD to the world.

Maybe we should embrace our inadequacy. Whenever we think we can’t do it, we can rest in knowing He can. Staying in a place of inadequacy means God can show His glory and power through us.  Through our weakness, His power works best.

This doesn’t mean we don’t try, but it means we trust Him…that we can and will be able to do whatever task He places before us. He has always come through. Look back on all He us  accomplished through us in our inadequacy.  Know that His past favor is the best predictor of His future faithfulness.

Prayer: As you pray today, take time to think back on every time you’ve found yourself worried and scared about how you were going to be able do something.  Reflect on how God brought you through it. Thank Him for His faithfulness.  Ask God to give you a peace in knowing that what God is calling you to do will always be bigger than you. Why? So that He can come along side you and do it with you.