Ignite IBS
Psalm 18:26
With the pure You show Yourself pure, and with the crooked You show Yourself astute.
So my Bible is a NASB (New American Standard Bible) version. Other versions say something different than the word "astute". I read it and had no idea what it meant. The verse before says, "With the kind You show Yourself kind; with the blameless You show Yourself blameless" and then it says the one about the pure above. So when I read that I thought to myself, "Well God can't deal crookedly with somebody.". I borrowed some data on Sarah's phone and looked up the deffinition of the word. The deffinition of "astute" is having or showing an ability to accurately assess situations or people and turn this to one's advantage. So what this verse is saying is with the crooked, God sees the crookedness and uses it to show Himself. When I figured that out, it made me think of my life and how I was to how I am now. I was crooked. I was not okay. I had a God shaped void in my life. God came to me and wrecked me. God took my breathe away. God washed me away. The reason I didn't say He washed away my sins is because He did so much more than that. All I was was sin. God washes away sin and if all I was was sin than God just had to wash me away completely and build a whole new Roaren. I know I'm still human and I'm still a sinful creature but the mercy and grace that God's shown me is beyond me. I'm writing a song called "Bleed For Me". It's about my inner disgust and inner sin, yet God still loves me with all of His heart. God has been and always will be astute with me.
Friday, February 9, 2018
Judges 6:31
Ignite IBS
Judges 6:31
But Joash said to all who stood against him, "Will you contend for Baal, or will or will you deliver him? Whoever will plead for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because someone has torn down his altar."
To give you some back story, Joash is Gideons father. In the middle of the night, Gideon did as the Lord told him and took 10 of his servants and detroyed the altar of Baal. So in the morning, everyone who worshipped at the altar came and found it destroyed. They found out that Gideon had did it and went to his father and told him to bring out his son to be put to death and the verse above was Joah's reponse.
So why did I chooe this verse? I chose it because of the response of Gideons father. My favorite part is highlighted in my Bible. "If he is a god, let him contend for himself". The people stood up for this god that did nothing for them and wanted revenge. The thing that I love is God can contend for Himself! In 1st Kings, chapter 18, Elijah told the worshippers of Baal to show himself. They cried out to Baal and cut themelves with swords as usually done in the rituals of Baal. They cried out and nothing happened. So then Elijah called on the Lord and God visually answered. You see God can and does contend for Himself. God shows Himself in everything. There's a song called "The Sea Always Seems To Put Me At Ease" by Being As An Ocean. The song is about getting in an internal tiff about the presence and goodness of God. At the end of the song it turns around and says "For we see testimony of You in the sea, Your creation, all of nature. So with a sudden rush, we abandon our solitary perching place. And as we wash away the mourning dust, Immersed; we see Your face." The sea always seems to put at ease. God always seems to put me at ease.
Judges 6:31
But Joash said to all who stood against him, "Will you contend for Baal, or will or will you deliver him? Whoever will plead for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because someone has torn down his altar."
To give you some back story, Joash is Gideons father. In the middle of the night, Gideon did as the Lord told him and took 10 of his servants and detroyed the altar of Baal. So in the morning, everyone who worshipped at the altar came and found it destroyed. They found out that Gideon had did it and went to his father and told him to bring out his son to be put to death and the verse above was Joah's reponse.
So why did I chooe this verse? I chose it because of the response of Gideons father. My favorite part is highlighted in my Bible. "If he is a god, let him contend for himself". The people stood up for this god that did nothing for them and wanted revenge. The thing that I love is God can contend for Himself! In 1st Kings, chapter 18, Elijah told the worshippers of Baal to show himself. They cried out to Baal and cut themelves with swords as usually done in the rituals of Baal. They cried out and nothing happened. So then Elijah called on the Lord and God visually answered. You see God can and does contend for Himself. God shows Himself in everything. There's a song called "The Sea Always Seems To Put Me At Ease" by Being As An Ocean. The song is about getting in an internal tiff about the presence and goodness of God. At the end of the song it turns around and says "For we see testimony of You in the sea, Your creation, all of nature. So with a sudden rush, we abandon our solitary perching place. And as we wash away the mourning dust, Immersed; we see Your face." The sea always seems to put at ease. God always seems to put me at ease.
Friday, December 29, 2017
Psalm 13:6
Ignite IBS
Psalm 13:6
I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me.
Here lately I've been in just kind of a bad mood. I haven't been thankful for what God's given me. And when I say "What God's given me", I don't just mean Ignite. It's the 29th of December of 2017. Christmas just came and passed, I just had my 19th birthday on the 11th, and I just got my package from my family. So what I mean by "What God's given me" is the people that God's put in my life. My dad, mom, brothers, grandparents, friends, and everyone else. God has given me SO MUCH MORE than I could ask for! So the reason I chose this verse is because it says, "He has dealt bountifully with me". Bountifully means large in quantity or abundant. God has dealt so abundantly with me! This bitterness and uncomfort in my heart has been blocking my joy out. Even today, bitterness caught up to me and honestly I dwelled on it for a bit. The moral of all this is I'm growing. I get lost sometimes but I'm learning to run to God with the bitterness that I get. God always finds me. So it goes back to the beginning of the verse, I will sing to the Lord. I will worship the Lord because He has dealt abundantly with me.
Psalm 13:6
I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me.
Here lately I've been in just kind of a bad mood. I haven't been thankful for what God's given me. And when I say "What God's given me", I don't just mean Ignite. It's the 29th of December of 2017. Christmas just came and passed, I just had my 19th birthday on the 11th, and I just got my package from my family. So what I mean by "What God's given me" is the people that God's put in my life. My dad, mom, brothers, grandparents, friends, and everyone else. God has given me SO MUCH MORE than I could ask for! So the reason I chose this verse is because it says, "He has dealt bountifully with me". Bountifully means large in quantity or abundant. God has dealt so abundantly with me! This bitterness and uncomfort in my heart has been blocking my joy out. Even today, bitterness caught up to me and honestly I dwelled on it for a bit. The moral of all this is I'm growing. I get lost sometimes but I'm learning to run to God with the bitterness that I get. God always finds me. So it goes back to the beginning of the verse, I will sing to the Lord. I will worship the Lord because He has dealt abundantly with me.
Sunday, December 17, 2017
Luke 7:37-38. Humble Servant Am I.
Ignite IBS
Luke 7:37-38
37 And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisees's house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, 38 and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume.
Oh God! I can't believe all the places that I've been and all of those I've come to meet. Blessings of faith, when I have only a mustard seed. For every hardship in my life, I'll hold Your name, I'll do just fine. All praise are Yours and none are mine. Instruments played by hands that cannot read or recollect one solitary note or line, yet play in perfect harmony. God whispers into some mens ears, well He screams into mine. Speaking, endlessly, all my hopes and fears. Nay, simply I'll reply. Blessings so sweet and divine. None of which I do deserve, for only a humble servant am I. Am I. Lowly, I'll wash Your feet with the tears I've cried. Each joy in my life and each breath in my lungs attests to Your overwhelming grace. Show us Your love. You see my tattered shoes, my broken spirit. Unequipped to finish the race that I could have never won. So you snatched me up into Your strong arms and over Your shoulders, I was slung. Lord, You've given me the tools to live as Your own. Talent, drive, and the willingness to run. All praise are Yours, and none are mine, for only a humble servant am I. Am I. Hope my humility can outlast my pride.
Luke 7:37-38
37 And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisees's house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, 38 and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume.
Oh God! I can't believe all the places that I've been and all of those I've come to meet. Blessings of faith, when I have only a mustard seed. For every hardship in my life, I'll hold Your name, I'll do just fine. All praise are Yours and none are mine. Instruments played by hands that cannot read or recollect one solitary note or line, yet play in perfect harmony. God whispers into some mens ears, well He screams into mine. Speaking, endlessly, all my hopes and fears. Nay, simply I'll reply. Blessings so sweet and divine. None of which I do deserve, for only a humble servant am I. Am I. Lowly, I'll wash Your feet with the tears I've cried. Each joy in my life and each breath in my lungs attests to Your overwhelming grace. Show us Your love. You see my tattered shoes, my broken spirit. Unequipped to finish the race that I could have never won. So you snatched me up into Your strong arms and over Your shoulders, I was slung. Lord, You've given me the tools to live as Your own. Talent, drive, and the willingness to run. All praise are Yours, and none are mine, for only a humble servant am I. Am I. Hope my humility can outlast my pride.
Matthew 14:29
Ignite IBS
Matthew 14:29
And He said, "Come!" And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
I read this and it makes me think. Attempting the impossible to get to Jesus. Jesus told Peter "Come!", and Peter came. Peter walked on the water. Peter did the impossible with Jesus. So how can I pull anything out of this? Well the main part that hits me in this is the one word that Jesus says, "Come!". When Jesus said to me "Come!", I thought to get there was impossible. I thought, "10 months out of my life, away from home, family, and friends? Haha. HECK NO!" I think the thing scared me the most was just the thought of two words, "Being away". I'm away. Simple as that. I'm away from my family, my friends, my oklaHOMEa. But Jesus saw me and said, "Come!". It goes back to that everytime. He said, "Come!". So I pushed past the fear of being away. I pushed past the guilt of feeling like I'm leaving my family. And I came! And has it been life changing? Yes. Has it been all unicorns and rainbows? No. But when it comes to my Jesus, I'll attempt the impossible to get to Him.
Matthew 14:29
And He said, "Come!" And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
I read this and it makes me think. Attempting the impossible to get to Jesus. Jesus told Peter "Come!", and Peter came. Peter walked on the water. Peter did the impossible with Jesus. So how can I pull anything out of this? Well the main part that hits me in this is the one word that Jesus says, "Come!". When Jesus said to me "Come!", I thought to get there was impossible. I thought, "10 months out of my life, away from home, family, and friends? Haha. HECK NO!" I think the thing scared me the most was just the thought of two words, "Being away". I'm away. Simple as that. I'm away from my family, my friends, my oklaHOMEa. But Jesus saw me and said, "Come!". It goes back to that everytime. He said, "Come!". So I pushed past the fear of being away. I pushed past the guilt of feeling like I'm leaving my family. And I came! And has it been life changing? Yes. Has it been all unicorns and rainbows? No. But when it comes to my Jesus, I'll attempt the impossible to get to Him.
Exodus 10:21
Ignite IBS
Exodus 10:21
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even a darkness which may be felt."
A darkness which may be felt. I first read that in Guat when I went through Exodus. When I read it, it caught me and hung on to me. I've thought about it alot, wondering if God is saying just physical darkness that is so dark that you can feel it, or spiritual darkness that your soul can feel. Lately, I've been thinking alot just about my life. What I've been through. The pain that I've come out of. The loves that I've lost. Thinking about that goes in turn with this verse for me. I've had a darkness that I coud feel. I think that's why the verse has hung on to me for months, I've been their and there's no real way to explain that feeling, just to say that it really is a darkness that you can feel. As I write this, I'm listening to a song called "Dissolve" by Being As An Ocean. There's a lyric in the song that says, "Anxious for loving embrace to dissolve this ache I felt". That explains everything for me. I was so anxious for the loving embrace to dissolve the ache I felt. I remember literally screaming at God to help me and drive out this darkness that I felt. Looking back, I know that God used that darkness and that pain to put me right where He wants me. My Father showed me the loving embrace that I needed and could only get from Him. You see, God never left me. God is omnipresent. God heard every prayer, every scream, every cuss word, and every cry that I poured out to Him. He used His perfect timing to show me why I needed that ache and why I needed Him more. Because as He speaks, the ache I feel, it dissolves.
Exodus 10:21
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even a darkness which may be felt."
A darkness which may be felt. I first read that in Guat when I went through Exodus. When I read it, it caught me and hung on to me. I've thought about it alot, wondering if God is saying just physical darkness that is so dark that you can feel it, or spiritual darkness that your soul can feel. Lately, I've been thinking alot just about my life. What I've been through. The pain that I've come out of. The loves that I've lost. Thinking about that goes in turn with this verse for me. I've had a darkness that I coud feel. I think that's why the verse has hung on to me for months, I've been their and there's no real way to explain that feeling, just to say that it really is a darkness that you can feel. As I write this, I'm listening to a song called "Dissolve" by Being As An Ocean. There's a lyric in the song that says, "Anxious for loving embrace to dissolve this ache I felt". That explains everything for me. I was so anxious for the loving embrace to dissolve the ache I felt. I remember literally screaming at God to help me and drive out this darkness that I felt. Looking back, I know that God used that darkness and that pain to put me right where He wants me. My Father showed me the loving embrace that I needed and could only get from Him. You see, God never left me. God is omnipresent. God heard every prayer, every scream, every cuss word, and every cry that I poured out to Him. He used His perfect timing to show me why I needed that ache and why I needed Him more. Because as He speaks, the ache I feel, it dissolves.
Sunday, October 15, 2017
Psalm 5:3
Ignite IBS
Psalm 5:3
In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.
So this is the first IBS that I've done in Uganda. I've been here 6 days and it's been busy but relaxing at the same time. Busy in the since of adapting to a new culture and relaxing in the sense of the first week being more of a settle in and adjust week. So now to get down to business. Why I picked this verse. The reason I picked this verse is because I've been slacking on my relationship with God. I haven't been doing my devotions alot of the time and when I do, it's like my hearts not in it. And when I pray, I get side-tracked so easily and lose my focus on what I'm doing. I think the reason for all of this ties back in to the first part of this paragraph. I've been adjusting to these new rules and new people. In Guatemala, things were so strict and structured, but Uganda's just not like that. Here in Uganda, they treat us like men. There's no curfew, no specific wake up time, and no baby-sitting eachother. It's pretty much, as long as you do what you're supposed to do than there's no problems. So what I'm saying is I love it here!! But at the same time, I have to be honest with myself by saying I'm takking too much advantage of it by slacking on my relationship with God which is nobody fault but mine. Which leads to my application.
Application.
Tomorrow is our day off and the day we all sleep in but I'm going to get up at the butt-crack of dawn, climb our water tower (calm down, it's only like 40 feet tall), and read my Bible, pray, and watch the African sunrise and just spend time with my Father.
Psalm 5:3
In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.
So this is the first IBS that I've done in Uganda. I've been here 6 days and it's been busy but relaxing at the same time. Busy in the since of adapting to a new culture and relaxing in the sense of the first week being more of a settle in and adjust week. So now to get down to business. Why I picked this verse. The reason I picked this verse is because I've been slacking on my relationship with God. I haven't been doing my devotions alot of the time and when I do, it's like my hearts not in it. And when I pray, I get side-tracked so easily and lose my focus on what I'm doing. I think the reason for all of this ties back in to the first part of this paragraph. I've been adjusting to these new rules and new people. In Guatemala, things were so strict and structured, but Uganda's just not like that. Here in Uganda, they treat us like men. There's no curfew, no specific wake up time, and no baby-sitting eachother. It's pretty much, as long as you do what you're supposed to do than there's no problems. So what I'm saying is I love it here!! But at the same time, I have to be honest with myself by saying I'm takking too much advantage of it by slacking on my relationship with God which is nobody fault but mine. Which leads to my application.
Application.
Tomorrow is our day off and the day we all sleep in but I'm going to get up at the butt-crack of dawn, climb our water tower (calm down, it's only like 40 feet tall), and read my Bible, pray, and watch the African sunrise and just spend time with my Father.
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