Just ask Moses.  He stood in front of the Red Sea with Pharaoh's army closing in.  He witnessed God making the impossible possible. 

God’s people did not arrive at the Red Sea by accident.  God had been orchestrating this moment for hundreds of years.  Remember Joseph being sold into slavery by his brothers?  Egypt being spared complete devastation during the 7 years of famine?  This Red Sea situation was no more an accident than the Red Sea situation that you’re facing right now.  

Whatever you are facing today, know that God is going to deliver you. 

Where there is God's will, there is always a way.

We are starting the Awakening - 21 Days of Prayer, Fasting & Personal Devotion at LHC (Lighthouse Church) this weekend.  Would you like to hear the voice of God and feel His presence like never before?  Consider joining us, January 13 to February 2, for a time of fasting, praying, and giving.  If you are local, we have a prayer group meeting at 5:00 each Sunday evening. If you aren't local, you can find all the resources you need to participate online. 

In a world where busy-ness is glorified, we can get bogged down spiritually.  It's time to hit the reset button and find revival in our lives! 

Check out these links:

The Awakening 2013 at LHC

The Awakening 2013 Revival

"This will be your best year - IF it is your best year spiritually."  - Stovall Weems

"I know, O LORD, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps."  Jeremiah 10:23

When God asks us to do hard things, we can because even when we do not know His plan, we know Him. 

When God called Abraham, He called him to leave everything to go to a land that was already occupied by many people, clans, and tribes. The crazy thing is that God said,  "I will give you this land."

You have been called by a God who has given you purpose, wants to equip you, and wants to partner with you in order to do something great while you're on this earth.

We may find ourselves saying, “I don’t know how to do this, I don’t have the money, I’m not good with people, I don’t have enough faith!“ But you know what?!?! We can learn from Abraham’s faith.  God said, "Move!" Abraham moved and without hesitation. God blessed that obedience.  We can do the really hard because we know God.  We know his promises.  We know his truths.  What is He calling you to "Move!" on? 

We continued our message series "breathe." at LHC .  This week as I prayed for the Chief, our church, and the message - I ran across something so beautiful the Chief asked me to share during worship yesterday and I wanted to share with you today. 

Breathe in, breathe out. Listen as you breathe. Breathe from your mouth, in and now out. Can you hear it? Do you perceive something profound?

When God spoke His name to Moses in Exodus 3:14, it sounded to Moses like the breath of God. The Hebrew letters, YHWH, when coupled with the appropriate vowel points, sound of whole-hearted breathing.

In both Hebrew and Greek, the word for spirit is the same as the word for breath. Our God is present in all things. His Spirit permeates every aspect of life. He is so everything, that His name is on our lips even as we breathe. In fact, the very first thing we do when we live on earth is draw our first breath, and the very last thing we do is draw our last breath.

Psalm 150:6 says, "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!"  This is not just a command.  IT IS FACT!  Yahweh!  His name is on our lips even as we breathe. 

The Chief started a new message series at our church yesterday called "breathe."  He talked a lot about being empowered by the Holy Spirit to do God's will.  Once you've experienced that empowering, you know exactly what the Chief was talking about (check out a previous post - "Momentum"). 

It is so amazing to find that sweet spot where our efforts are extra blessed.  That place where all we do just seems to go a little further or do a little more.  It's a wonderful place to be! 

Things he shared that I loved,

• And with that Jesus breathed on them and said "Receive the Holy Spirit." John 20:22
• When God breathes on us we need to take it in and then give it away to others.
• God didn't give us a Bible to decorate the coffee table.

There are times that we pray and pray asking God to bless us in our OWN will, while we pursue our OWN desires.  We ask our pastor or others to pray that God will bless us as we do what we want with our lives.  Perhaps we are pursuing a relationship, making a large purchase, choosing to go a certain direction, whatever it is - we need to be seeking to do the will of God empowered by the Holy Spirit. 

May we pursue God's will for our lives and may the power of the Holy Spirit add the "more blessed" to all our efforts.

Many do with opportunities as children do at the seashore;

they fill their little hands with sand, and then let the grains fall through, one by one,  till all are gone.

"And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ..."

Colossians 4:3

May we never miss the doors of opportunities that God provides in our lives.  May we be sensitive to those open doors and have the confidence to walk through them. 

Praying "open doors" for friends, today.

(Photo credit goes to the Chief.  Taken at Hunting Island.)

O for a closer walk with God,

A calm and heavenly frame,

A light to shine upon the road

That leads me to the Lamb!

Where is the blessedness I knew,

When first I saw the Lord?

Where is the soul refreshing view

Of Jesus and His Word?

What peaceful hours I once enjoyed!

How sweet their memory still!

But they have left an aching void

The world can never fill.

 (Hymn by Thomas Cowper, “O for a Closer Walk with God.”)

He wants to fill that void in our lives.

If only we will let him…

"The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth." Ps 145:18

My baby "Moses" floating/napping in the swimming pool. Doesn't really have anything to do with this post but how cute is it?  Pretty cute. 

The Chief shared in his message on Sunday about Jehovah-Shalom, the God of peace.  Our peace comes from Him in spite of our circumstances.  Gideon built an alter to Jehovah-Shalom and shortly after went into battle against thousands with an army of only hundreds. 

I was reminded of an old song, "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms."

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Don't let circumstances rob you of the peace of God.  Don't spend your days in dread and fear of what is ahead.  There will always be unknowns in our lives but be assured in hard times we can lean on Jesus.  We can dig into His Word to rediscover His great goodness. 

O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
O how bright the path grows from day to day,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Lean on Jehovah-Shalom.

"Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest," he said.  

Come.  Don't you love it?  It is an invitation.  I have a standing invitation to come to my Savior.

...to Me.  Christ alone.

...all who.  Each one of us.

...are weary and burdened.  I have a ton of things on my mind - some trivial...  what to fix for dinner?  what book should I order next?  what color clothes should I wash next?  Some not so trivial... (sigh)

...and I will give you rest. Rest. I love even the sound of that word, let alone the concept. His offer to step into our circumstances, to guide us.  To walk through our burdens carrying us.   

So, I take a deep breath, and just go to Him...He meets me right here.  He gives me rest. 

My little guy found rest.

I've found in my own life and in the lives of others that when we make a decision to step out and do something big, REALLY big - it all goes CRAAAAA-ZY.  Have you been there? 

It's like everything gets wonky. Stuff tears up.  We lose things.  The most mundane tasks became extremely difficult.  It's pretty much a guarantee that if we make a BIG spiritual decision the lawn mower's life is over.  It will never start again.  Please tell me this happens to you!

I read an article about how this family made a decision to sell their house so they could adopt a child.  I was all like, "Wow!  That's so beautiful."  People, 

Their. 

Ceiling. 

Fell.   

In. 

Literally. 

I wanted to laugh.  I wanted to cry. 

Today, if you are suffering wacky nut-so stuff after making a major decision, I want to encourage you.  Don't give up.  Persevere.  You are under attack. 

And remember, "I know the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me." Psalm 16:8