The surface of our world is increasing in beauty, but it’s depth is in a state of grave decay.

The number of smiling faces on our media outlets and commercials are increasing drastically; so is the – crime, depression, and suicide rates.

The boom in the cosmetic industry is accompanied by a collapse in the self esteem and quality of the character of women, generally speaking. It seems so bad that some are saying that it’s virtually impossible to find a woman you can trust, that ‘wifey’ personalities are becoming extinct.

The big question is, “What is responsible for this sad irony?”

Why is the increase in the beauty of the surface of our planet disconnected from the beauty of the hearts of men? why is there no correspondence between the two?

Why does the character of the people responsible for this increase in the aesthetic beauty in our planet seem ugly?

I mean,

“If the environment reflect the hearts of the people in the environment; why are the hearts of men growing cold – despite the beauty they create in their environment?”

These are deep and important questions that seek answers.

Does anyone have any idea?

Answers, anybody?

I’ll be sharing with us – the essential reason why the beauty on the surface has effectively been severed from the beauty within.

The model of opportunity cost can be used to analyze this problem:

When you focus on something, you let something else suffer as a result of the lack of your attention. When you focus on feeding something, you let something else die of starvation.

The major reason the surface beauty of our planet is blossoming at the expense of the beauty in the hearts of men is because men have shifted focus from themselves – to their creations.

The opportunity cost of material development is spiritual development. It is however not the same trend with the opportunity cost of spiritual development. Spiritual development is all encompassing; material development is not. Material development has little or no effect on the spirit, but spiritual development has a massive and substantial effect on the material.

People are generally measured by what they do and accomplish, not by who they are intrinsically. This paradigm of living, though it has some positives, have largely destroyed the esteem of humanity on a general note – thereby creating cosmetic, superficial, and shallow societies.
This paradigm of living has taken infinitely more than it has given to the society:

It has taken peoples esteem, peoples joy and happiness, peoples confidence and peoples hope.

People can hardly see any hope within themselves. They only see hope outside themselves; in their – job, educational qualification, societal recognition, money in the bank and other material possessions and accomplishments.

Such trend subconsciously suggest that humanity has no independent worth. And that’s a dangerous mindset to live with.

Confidence and hope, amongst other positive personality pillars, have largely been outsourced.

Peoples confidence and hope are now regulated by external and material influences; things that can, has never, and will never fail to disappoint.

The inevitable disappointments that result from outsourcing such important pillars of a healthy personality to external and unstable forces has signed many up for a life of extreme dissatisfaction and sadness – which is a pathway to an increase to societal ills.

It used to be – “Change from inside out”. But today it’s, “Let’s change from outside in”.

The societal attempt to feed the souls of men with the joy and pride of material and aesthetically accomplishments has greatly malnourished the soul. The visible effects of this undernourishment are – emotional, spiritual, and moral bankruptcy in humanity.

People are doing the exact opposite of this divine principle needed for creating a glorious world,

“…First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.” (Matthew 23:26).

The beauty of decay is the perverted pleasure people derive from watching a beautiful world, while despising a beautiful heart.

The beauty of decay is founded on peoples propensity to cover up and pacify themselves over the internal emotional and mental decadence of their soul – by further beautifying their surroundings.

Mirrors have spiritually been replaced with televisions in the mind and hearts of men. So people look into the television and force themselves to believe it’s a mirror. They see what they want to see; a beautiful world. They consciously ignore the disconnection between the beauty in the mirror, that is the television, from the beauty in their hearts.

As we advanced, so did our problems. But we shouldn’t have allowed our problems to advance with us:

The admirable and aesthetic beauty of our world is no longer a mirror – reflecting the hearts of men. It’s now a television displaying a prototype and material interpretation of what the hearts of men should look like.

1 person prayed about this.

“…in my mind and heart it is as if there were a burning fire shut up in my bones. And I am weary of enduring and holding it in; I cannot [contain it any longer].”~ Jeremiah 20:9b (AMP) 

 Oh, how God is speaking to me through this passage of scripture. A few years back I wrote an extensive weekly study on various Hebrew Names of God from Scripture. When I came upon the name Esh Oklah I loved studying the correlation between a consuming fire kind of God and a God so jealous for us that His anger and love burn with the same consuming purpose. The literal translation for this name is “to eat (consume) by fire.” There is no other way to say it, God is PASSIONATE. God’s anger burns in consumption of things that dishonor Him because His Love burns so passionately to be reconciled to us in every way!

When I began to roll Jeremiah 20 around in my heart, massaging it and allowing it marinate in my soul and spirit, I imagined the life of Jeremiah and how frightening it must have been to confess the very truth of God and be so persecuted that one would utter the words, “If I say, I will not make mention of [the Lord] or speak any more in His name,”  Jeremiah 20:9a (AMP) 

Jeremiah even went so far as to accuse God of deceiving him and setting him up to be a laughing stock among his own people just a few verses before this powerful statement about the call and passion of God. Still the last words he speaks in Jeremiah 20:9 resound so loudly with the season of life I am in. “…in my mind and heart it is as if there were a burning fire shut up in my bones. And I am weary of enduring and holding it in; I cannot [contain it any longer].”~ Jeremiah 20:9b (AMP) 

Let’s just SELAH on that for a minute. In the New King James Translation it says, “Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name.” But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, And I could not.”~ Jeremiah 20:9 (NKJV) 

His word is in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones. One commentary I read on this passage said the “burning fire in bones” reference refers to passionate intensity. Jeremiah says, “I was weary of holding it back…” Can you relate to that statement? 

Has God ever called you to something that burned within your heart so intensely you grew weary of holding back? I came to this realization before I had ever stumbled upon this verse. I have been in a season of preparation and struggle is not an adequate word to describe the journey I have been on. I have been challenged, cut back, had my expectations dashed to the ground only to find myself thriving in odd and new ways as well. A few weeks ago I developed an exit plan.

That fire shut up in my bones to do more than just compute, administrate, organize and file. My fire compels me to write, to study, to relate and to create. The desire of my heart comes to life when I connect people to God’s heart through creative expression. In July, my faith will launch me in the direction of passion and dream. I will leave the safety of my position in vocational ministry and strike out into new territory staking out the mission field of my influence, and moving to the rhythm of God’s heartbeat as an artist and communicator. I have no idea what the outcome will be, all I know is the option of not doing what God has set before me far outweighs anything that might oppose me along the way.

Not too long ago, God impressed upon me to not just seek to do things that give life to others, but rather to do the things that give life to me and out of the overflow of that life serve others. That is really what I hear when I read, “I grew weary of holding it back, I could not contain it.” Allowing God’s ministry to others to flow out of a place of life and rest. Doing the things that are not on His agenda will cause me to grow weary, but doing the things He has designed and uniquely fashioned me for will bring life to the full not only to me but to everyone around me as well. Bring on the Life!  

What is it that burns with passionate intensity within you?

Ask the Lord how He has uniquely fashioned you and designed you to carry that passion into this world.

What is it that you grow weary of holding back?

Ask the Lord to show you how to live and serve from a place of rest.

In what ways does God bring life to you in such a way it overflows into the lives of other while you serve from a place of rest? 

Pour out your heart to God about these things and watch Him bring life to your dreams in ways you could never imagine!

 ”It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” ~ E. E. Cummings

Live Boldy, Be All That He Created and Redeemed You To Be! LIVE. FULLY. ALIVE. 

1 person prayed about this.

I don’t know if any of you have sensed the great amount of people going through tough things right now. I believe it is kind of like the scripture that talks about whatever can be shaken will be, and what remains, will remain. I feel the shaking. A friend of mine from KC sent this word yesterday and I thought it confirmed how I was feeling so here it is. Her name is Robin Dublin, awesome lady in tune with the Lord. This is an inward preparation for a battle coming. Holly Smith

This word was given to me driving home one night – the Lord began speaking and I rushed home to write down what I was hearing. Thank you, Lord, for your compassionate warning. Blessed be the name of the Lord God Almighty!

Robin Dublin

1/31/12

My Impression from the LORD 1/31/12

There is a war brewing. I see it as a cloud of dust afar off. The Lord in His goodness is warning us and giving us time to get ready. Prepare yourself – strengthen you arms and ready your bows.

The Lord is preparing a great army to recognize, identify, strategize and war against he enemy. Now is the time to prepare your mind, heart and body for this battle which will take place in the spiritual realm.

Don’t delay. Get ready. Cover yourself with His word, get in His presence, worship Him. Expect Him to speak and give direction and guidance. Connect to the Holy Spirit’s power within you and be confident of His calling on you to fight.

Make time. Make way for Him to arm and equip you for His purposes and His glory.

Be faithful. Be diligent. Be intentional in your preparation. Find those of like mind. Ask the Lord who you are to war with. Align yourself with those people. Be ready to stand with them, arm in arm, heart to heart, spirit to spirit.

Know that you will be called upon to stand strong, stand still and know that He is God. He is the One directing the battle. He is the One that gives the victory. For His glory.

Be confident of this word to you in that evil time and you will have no trouble standing against the strategies and lies of the enemy. Stay clean. Stay pure. Protect your fellow warriors.

God is raising up an army of women and men who will not back down. But they must be armed with His personal word to them to succeed. Know your God. Know your enemy.

The enemy will challenge you in every area of your life. Be prepared to suffer and be misunderstood. It’s alright. HE, the great I AM, knows. Stand. Stand strong. Stand strong in the face of adversity and persecution – for God is raising up warriors. Choose now to prepare – and then don’t look back.

The battle is coming. The skirmishes are already here but the battle is coming. It is coming from within. Beware of those close. The enemy plans to destroy from within the body of Christ. Get very familiar with the weapons of your warfare. You will need all of them alongside the wisdom of God. Victory is mine, says the Lord, but the battle must still be fought.

Don’t delay your preparation. Today is the day He calls you to war. Those of you whose hearts are leaping right now as you are reading or hearing this, are the ones He is calling to fight. You know who you are. It is no secret. Now is your time, dear warriors. You are being called up. You are being called to prepare for war. You have waited a long time but now is your time.

Prepare, watch then wait. The battle is near.

Know your God. Know your enemy.

8 people prayed about this.

Prayer is talked about a lot in Christian circles.  When I first started my journey with Jesus, I took a lot of bible studies and classes on prayer.  The crazy thing was, the more I studied prayer, the more inadequate I felt in my conversations with God.  Looking back, my dialog with Him started out so simple and real.  Then, before I knew it, I was saying all these “right” phrases and approaching Him with some stiff agenda that someone else came up with for me. 

I am not saying that studies on prayer or even prayer mentoring is a bad thing. I’m just bringing up the possibility that prayer is a lot more personal than we present it most times.   I’m concerned that a lot of Christ followers have a weak or inconsistent prayer life not because of something God said, but because of something we’re saying. 

Think about this.  Abraham obviously had a robust prayer life.  The bible tells us he left his home and land just as God said. How did he learn to pray?  He didn’t attend a conference or bible study.  I think the answer lies in another question.  Who gave him the desire to communicate?  

God wants us to talk with and listen to Him. He wired it into us. Remember how He walked around in the cool of the evening with Adam and Eve in the garden… talking? 

Jesus reminded us we should be praying - so we should be praying. But when He talked about prayer, He seemed to be trying to orient our hearts toward God as an intimate and good Father more than teaching us canned strategies.   In Matthew 6 Jesus tells us to get secluded and talk with God.  He seems to imply that prayer is really about centering down…shifting our focus to heaven… allowing the One who resides there to influence our mind, will, and emotions. 

Here’s Matthew 6:5-13 from the Message version:

“And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat?

 ”Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

 ”The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:

   Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best— as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.

For me this centering down with God is a more a mindset than geography.  Yes, a lot of the time, I physically draw away from everybody to talk with God.  More often than that though, I talk with Him right in the  midst of my crazy daily life.  I treat Him as the trusted Father/friend who is right there with me.  I’ve learned to submerge like a submarine into my soul and spirit and get eyeball to eyeball with the One who’s on top of life. 

And I talk spirit to Spirit.  And I listen spirit to Spirit.  And I know I’ve prayed.  But I didn’t learn it.  I’m living it.

What’s your prayer story?

Be the first to pray.