The life is in the blood...

I'm reading through the Bible Chronologically with my church. It's been so sweet. Right now we are in Leviticus. As strange and hard to understand as some of the ancient practices and sacrifices are, I'm so amazed to see so many pictures of Jesus foreshadowed in the Old Testament.

Check this out:

Leviticus 17:11
"For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement..."

Ephesians 5:1-2
"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma."

Leviticus 17:14
"For as for the life of all flesh, its blood is identified with its life... the life of all flesh is its blood..."

I like this verse especially... we sing about it, we pray it, but it is so cool, to me at least, to see it in scripture and understand it better. Before Jesus, my life was identified with my fleshly works and that was only going to lead to destruction and eternal separation from God. But when I accepted the sacrifice of Jesus on my behalf, my life became identified with HIS blood. His atonement on my behalf transfers me from the bondage of my flesh into His glorious kingdom. Wow.

1 John 1:7
"but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin."

... pour the blood of Jesus over me...

Abide...

I have been pondering what it really means to Abide in the Lord lately. John 15 is a humbling and encouraging passage.

John 15:5

"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing."

I could talk a lot about what it means to abide and all that is wrapped up in that, but recently God showed me a neat picture of what the outcome of of Abiding looks like... the fruit part. 

I was thinking about what it meant to produce good fruit. Galatians 5:22-23 talks about what the fruits of the spirit are (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control)... however, I was also thinking about fruit literally.

A tree, that is properly watered, with good solid roots is going to produce healthy fruits. Not only is the fruit a sign of a healthy tree, but the fruit has a purpose.

1. To provide nourishment to those who would partake of it  
2. To plant seeds so that other trees can grow 

How cool is that, when you look at how your life should be in accordance with the Word of God!

A healthy Christian life, that is Abiding in Jesus, should produce fruit that blesses others but also plants seeds and is part of nourishing new believers!

Jesus talking: 

"My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love." 

John 15:8-9

Motives...

"Purify my motives" has been the theme of my prayers of late. So often we get so crazy busy and into so many different things. Life can be exciting and tragic. It can go full speed ahead or be painfully slow... and every step of the way there are decisions to make.

I find I often get caught up in things, opportunities, people, and I'm going full force ahead until I come to a screeching halt usually resulting in me tripping and falling on my face... I look up and realize I'm back at the foot of the cross and I've forgotten to ask my Savior if I was pushing forward in His plan or trying to make my plan be His plan.

Praise the Lord His mercies are new every morning.

The Lord's plan is perfect... He has promised to never leave me or forsake me. He has promised to give me a future and a Hope. The God who spoke light into existence, who breathes power into the wind, and controls the tides of the ocean, looks at me and says: "I love you."

Tonight that took my breath away. I was at the same prayer meeting I've been going to for the last month. With the same people, interceding for a new ministry in Ventura. But I was where I know I need to be be at this moment. And the second I entered into worship, I heard that voice, I felt that calming hand, I knew... I have a Savior who died and rose again for me. He loves me and cares about what I care about... and He is in control. I don't have to force or make anything happen... I just have to be obedient to Him moment by moment. Whom shall I fear? For the Lord, my God, is for me and not against me.

and then... prayer was over.

As I stood up this sweet women of God asked if she could pray for me and the Bible study I am prayerfully starting in September. I of course agreed. She had barely gotten her fist sentence out and I was in struck in awe of how good my Jesus is. Tears of joy flowed down my face because everything she thanked the Lord for in my life were things I had been praying would be so... this very morning I asked the Lord for certain things to be evident in my life and for specific requests, and she covered it all! I sought the Lord, I stopped, I asked for His will to be done, and here He was affirming His work in my life. Wow.

Thank You Jesus. Your will be done... not mine... never mine... here I am Lord... use me that others might glorify Your name... whatever that looks like... here I am.

Reality VBS 2008: Around the World With Jesus: Thailand

Reality VBS 2008 from Kjaere Friestad on Vimeo.

Disgusted...

The State of California has made a grave decision today... and all I have to say is come quickly Lord Jesus... "For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.

For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,

and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left.

Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.

Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming." Matthew 24:37-42

Blowing Dust and My Amazing Lord...

I love that the weather thing on the bottom of my FireFox page says this:

Blowing dust... just to clarify everybody, that is what the weather is today...

Anyways... I just wanted to continue on this random post and share with the world how incredibly amazing the Lord is... If you frequent this blog at all, you know I am dealing with major teeth issues that has resulted in me using all of these every night to tackle the cleansing of my mouth:

And in addition to that, I had hoped to have all my debt payed off by May of this year. Well May is almost over and I am now in deeper debt then I was in the first place. It's been touch and go for awhile
but I have been doing what I can and trusting the Lord.
Sure, it's easy to trust the Lord when everything is great and going your way, but when times are tough, that shows your true colors. And I have honestly had some rough days over these past couple of months.

Over and over again the Lord tells us to "Not Lose Hope".
That is what I have been clinging to although at times
I really did feel like all hope was lost. Friday, I was driving home from Ventura around 6pm. The sun was beginning to set over the ocean, and the coast looked so beautiful. I was suddenly struck with the most amazing, overwhelming sense of peace and control.

I knew - not just with my head, but with my heart and ever fiber of my being - that God was in control. It was as if He was sitting in the seat next to me telling me everything was going to be ok.
It was so beautiful and amazing. I love that the Lord came to me on His time when my heart was ready as I was driving down the 101.

This last weekend the Lord was also ministering to my heart the words of
2 Timothy 1:7 "For God has not given us a spirit of Timidity, but of love, power, and discipline."
So often in my life I have identified and been that timid person. I am shy, I hide, I don't like hard things. But that is NOT what the Lord is calling me to do or be. He has given me a Spirit of Love that I might love others. A spirit of Power, that I might be bold in His name. And a Spirit of Discipline, that I might represent Him in all I do and say and be under His control, not the worlds.

Those two things, in and of themselves, were amazing and I was rejoicing in who my Lord is in my life.

And then...

• Monday: I received my economic stimulus check from the IRS
• Tuesday: I was told by an amazing friend and pastor that half the amount of my 5 crowns was being taken care of and paid for
• Wednesday: The Whites told me they were going to give me a raise for watching their kids next year, but that it would be effective immediately!

I am in utter shock and amazement.
To see the hand of the Lord working so tangibly in my life right now is so sweet. PRAISE JESUS!

True Love

"Light is Sown like Seed..."

"Be still and know that I am God;
I WILL be exalted among the nations,
I WILL be exalted in the earth."
Psalm 46:10

Be Still... Cease Striving... Let go...
I AM God... I WILL be exalted....

I think that being still is one of the most difficult commands of the Lord. I usually can do it for one day and then worry and doubt creep in...
well... usually flood in... and so quickly I find myself trying to work things out on my own and make things happen how I think they should happen...
thoughts of failure and worrying that I am going to be left out or forgotten... that I missed the mark, it's too late...

and all of this generally just leaves me wanting to give up... I've lost hope, I've convinced myself that I've messed up and I might as well just run away from everything...

BUT WAIT!
Who is this God I serve?
In Psalm 2 He is the God who holds entire Nations together... if He is powerful enough to hold a nation together, How much more powerful can He be in my little life?

In 2 Samuel 7, King David reminds us that the Lord works all things together to bring Glory to His name... If I am a child of the king, which I am :-), why wouldn't He want to work the things together in my life to bring Glory to His name?

Psalm 97:9 says "For you are the Lord Most High over all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods." Ok, He is my creator and is the Most High over all the earth, Most High over all my life... God cares about His creation, that's why He created us.... because He's all loving and desires His creation to be in a relationship with Him.

And then at the end of Psalm 97, I was struck by this:

"LIGHT IS SOWN LIKE SEED FOR THE RIGHTEOUS AND GLADNESS FOR THE UPRIGHT IN HEART. BE GLAD IN THE LORD, YOU RIGHTEOUS ONES, AND GIVE THANKS TO HIS HOLY NAME."

If "light is sown like seed" in my heart, then what am I doing to cultivate it, nourish it, that it might reveal a harvest that spills forth from my heart into the lives of others?

One of the keys is to give thanks and all glory back to the Lord... I may not know where my life is going and I may not be doing what I thought I would be doing, but the Lord knows and all He is asking for is my trust and obedience to Him and to give Thanks and Worship to Him at all times... when that is my focus, then joy will abound, and the never dimming light of our Savior will pour forth from my life to all those around me.

And you know what the best part is?
GOD WINS...
not only in my life... but over all discouragement and fears, over everything that is dark and wrong... He is our Conquering King... and He can be that Conquering King in your life, in my life, today, each moment, even when the path seems dark... just look to the light that is sown into your heart, the light of the Prince of Peace who desires that all creation might Glorify His name :-)

JESUS>THIRST...

Check this out friends. There's an organization called Blood Water Mission and their goal is partnering with groups and individuals to empower Africans to build healthier communities through sustainable clean blood and clean water solutions, while developing social responsibility in the U.S. through initiatives that provoke personal engagement and ownership.

Then there's this site: Jesus is Greater than and they make some cool shirts, their latest one being: Jesus>Thirst.
All proceeds from the sales of the shirt go to help build wells in Africa...

check it out, buy a shirt, help provide water to the thirsty...

• Did you know that millions of Africans lack access to clean water?


• Did you know that people living with HIV/AIDS are dependent on clean water to survive?


• Did you know that $1 provides one year of clean water for an African?

10 down, 2 to Go

Hip, Hip, Horray... it's November today!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so glad October is over.
Just 2 more months left of this "interesting" year.
Now I just have to make it through
Thanksgiving, my 26th birthday, and Christmas
and then 2008 will finally be here!

:-)

I've had some interesting conversations this week and I'm trying to determine the Lord's voice from my voice, my friend's voices, my leader's voices, and the enemy... it can all get pretty confusing and overwhelming sometimes.

I just want more Jesus.

"... it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil."

==Hebrews 6:18b-19==

Hmmm... this blog is turning out to be somewhat more random than I had planned...

oh well...

Welcome to my World!

Now...

I think I might need to go play more Veggie DDR at my house....

----------------
Now playing: Tim Hughes - Happy Day
via FoxyTunes

Prayers of Faith...

The simple prayer of: "Dear Jesus, please heal Kj"
seems to mean so much more when it is uttered by a young girl
who's had a 104 degree temperature today
and I've only had a bad headache.
Her prayer, made in faith, was a beautiful thing.

Agape...

Walking up the driveway of the family I was going to babysit for tonight, I found one of their boys standing there; phone in hand, staring up at the sky:

"Pay Jay," Nathan said, (this is the name he's always called me) "will you help me find out how much my Dad loves me?"

Realizing Nathan's Dad was on the phone, he was holding, I heard his Dad say: "Tell Pay Jay to help you find the moon." It took a little bit of searching, but we found it hiding between the trees, big, bright, and beautiful. I had to pick him up and carry him out into the street so we could see it.

"I found it Dad, I see it!" exclaimed Nathan. He was so excited.

"I love you to the moon and back" said his Dad. At this point the phone was on the driveway and Nathan was bent over it with an unsatisfied look on his face. "That's not all, is it?"

"Oh no, son," his Dad said "I love you much more; to the Moon, the Sun, to Mars, and back more than you can count."

That melted my heart. A simple conversation between a 4-year-old and his Father... made me dwell on the Love relationship with our Father in heaven. How much does our Father love us? It's innumerable. To the universe and back a million times over. More then our minds could ever fathom. This love and grace that is freely and abundantly offered to me… yet how does my life reflect, accept, live, use that love? God loves us perfectly. Nothing we say or do can make Him love us any less or anymore. That is why He is God.

What is love? It’s patient and it’s kind. It is not jealous and does not brag. Love is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly. Love does not seek it’s own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered. Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but love does rejoice with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never ever not once will not cannot won’t fail. (adapted from 1 Corinthians 13)

If the cry of our hearts is: “Father I want to know you more and be more like you?” Then the above attributes are the game plan. God is love. And I want to be like that anxious 4-year-old with his Dad on the phone next to him. I want more God… to know Him… understand Him… love Him more… and as a child waiting for their Father to return home, I want to be looking up waiting for His soon return. I want to spread the love of my Father to every nation, that all might know, understand, and believe… entering into this amazing relationship with the creator of the universe… I want to be love to everyone I meet.

“When are you coming back Abba? I’m ready and eager and in the meantime I’m going to look and see and discover how much you love me.”

“But now faith, hope, love, abide, but the greatest of these three is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13

(picture mine: Sun rise on the Sea of Galilee)

tOdAy...

• I repeatedly hit my snooze button... again and again and again
  
• Had a "nutritional" breakfast consisting of a luke warm (not by request) Carmel Machiato and an old fashion doughnut
• Saw some giant Lobsters
• Helped paint some paper dragons
• Used water colors on a plexi glass easel
• Proceed to get water colors all over my hands
• Tried to successfully make 6, 3-year-old boys go to the bathroom and wash their hands (and not then "dry" them on the mirror, but actually use a paper towel)
• Put 7 straws into Capri suns, and only messed up one resulting in it leaking all over the table
• Ate a Handi Snack and a Pot Sticker
• Gave a "million" pushes on the swing
• Got splattered by a wet paint brush and bucket of water
• Had a tongue stuck out at me when I insisted a little girl eat her "good" food first
• Was slobbered on and lightly bit by a few preschoolers who thought it'd be fun to pretend to be dogs
• Read a story about a Teddy Bear who got lost
• Left work and rushed to babysit for my friends
  
• I made monsters out of Play dough
• Let a child make and eat a snack consisting of yogurt, bananas, and whip cream
• Did a Hello Kitty puzzle
• and then I came home....... wow.... when I look at it that way.... I've got a lot going for me!
  

Now to find time to do my homework and try to get the "Bubaba Bubbling" song out of my head and remember what it's like to be an adult in time for me to hit my snooze button again... wait... tomorrow's Saturday... oh the joy of looking forward to sleeping in :-)

"Bubaba bubbling, bubaba bubbling, bubaba, bubbling, bubbling over bubbling over. Jesus' love is a bubbling over, Jesus' love is a bubbling over, Jesus' love is a bubbling in my soul..."
hmmmmm... guess I got to work harder to get that song out of my head!

Apostolic Passion

"The term 'passion' is used to describe everything from romance to hunger pangs... passion means whatever a person is willing to suffer for. In fact, that's the root meaning of the word. It comes from the Latin passerre, to suffer. It is what you hunger for so intensely that you will sacrifice anything to have it. The word 'apostle' means a sent one, a messenger.
'Apostolic passion,' therefore, is a deliberate, intentional choice to live for the worship of Jesus in the nations...
If you have apostolic passion, you are one of the most dangerous people on the planet. The world no longer rules your heart. You are no longer seduced by getting and gaining but devoted to spreading and proclaiming the glory of God in the nations. You live as a pilgrim, unattached to the cares of this world. You are not afraid of loss. You even dare to believe you may be given the privilege of dying to spread His fame on the earth. The Father's passions have become your passions. You find your satisfaction and significance in Him. You believe He is with you always, to the end of life itself. You are sold out to God, and you live for the Lamb. Satan fears you , and the angels applaud you.

Your greatest dream is that His name will be praised in languages never before heard in heaven. Your reward is the look of pure delight you anticipate seeing in His eyes when you lay at His feet and the just reward of His suffering: the worship of the redeemed."

-Floyd McClung
(picture mine - standing on the Temple Mount in Israel facing the Mt. of Olives)

Worship...

Proskyneo
προσκυνώ

Rising and falling
Faces to the ground.
Hands raised in Holy Adoration.

Songs of worship and Praise
Falling from the lips of the saints.

Humbly they bow down,
Awed to be in the presence
of their King.

His Angels swarm around them.
Joining their voices,
Lifting their hands,
Singing their Praises to their Lord.

With sobs they leave their pain.
Lifted to their feet,
Being washed –
Made clean from the stains.

Broken hearts mended.
The throne room stormed with praise.

Crowns cast down.
Bodies prostrated on the ground.

The hush of prayers lifted on the
Wings of the Angels.

The Mantel falls –
The Mantel of Praise –
The Mantel of Worship.

The Saints singing:
"Holy, Holy, Holy, is our Lord, God, and King!"


Copyright 2006 Kjaere Friestad all rights reserved