inside this lens

just a boy with a camera

the song of weakness

…Let’s shout it, let’s sing it
Let us whisper it beneath our breaths
IT is powerful
IT is majestic
iT is the reason for my speech

the reason why im afforded lungs
and the crazy mind to use them

oh to sing His name, His holy holy name…

 
 
Psalm 9

“I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.
I will be filled with joy because of you.
I will sing praises to your name, O Most High.”

 
When all we can afford to do is sing His name. When we’re so low to the earth, there’s only heaven to rise. When we are at our most broken point, it’s a new foundation that He lays. There’s quite nothing like it, being broken again, being remade again - I always heard the saying born again christian when I was growing up, but never realized what I had signed up for! And if I could have gone back and told little kevin just what it was it would go down like this, “you are about to make the most important decision of your life, hold on with both hands and don’t resist from His.”
“Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
 
Even better yet, the message;
 

“Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,

My grace is enough; it’s all you need.
My strength comes into its own in your weakness.

Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

 
See God lays us out, not to hurt us. But to DESTROY our sin. Conquering our lives and breaking our rebellious spirit. Have you ever seen a wild horse broken to ride? It is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. A timid spirit of new love born as the young horse looks into the masters eyes and truly understanding its purpose. Its reason for life. 
“I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself.” Colossians 2:2
 
A new strength born. PURPOSE given. Gifted… 
All things under the sun, then the true light is seen. God is in all things, and He shines in our weakness. He shines in times when we struggle and argue. He is right there with us, I imagine sometimes with tears in His eyes. But holding our hands, literally touching our hearts. He sees the pain, He sees the growth. And He allows it to pursue on because He knows the endgame. He gives us the very air in our lungs to speak. He gives us the very will to pursue on and fight! Because of LOVE, because of DEEP DEEP LOVE. The same love that calls us to sacrifice. The same love that almost brought down the knife on Issac. Love that is so terribly hard to understand, but the only love that makes any sense.
 
Today my love, with that very same breath that feels as if your last. USE IT to carry on, DON’T give up. Because He is breaking us. He is building something great. He has a plan, because no man starts building a temple without the means to finish it. And our Lord built the world. Have faith and joy, because inside of this love, this strong tough love. He is making something great, something more beautiful than either of us have ever seen.
 
Prepare to be amazed.
 
9 days.

God is within her

“God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.” Psalm 46:5
Love, this morning we go on the offense! Fearless, we run out ahead into the enemies lines. His sword in our hands, we slash back and forth as it grows radiant, glistening with light. Your grip true, tighter than ever before as the single thought sprints across your mind, “No one could disarm me! This sword will never leave my hand.” Just in that moment the Spirit fills you as every hair jumps, standing on your body. Adrenaline pumping throughout each vein, not a breath found in you as if you even needed to anymore. Your sword blade bursts into blazing flames as it melts away all around you, yet you do not feel its heat. In that moment alone you feel holiness. It is of Him, a Holy sword. It is a sword that cuts through all enemies. 
“The sons of your oppressors will come bowing before you; all who despise you will bow down at your feet and will call you the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah 60:14
No one stands before Him, all the world bends knee before His righteousness. He is a King of kings and no word is said against it. Every word ever breathed came through His mouth first, the same word that brought us into existence. No tongue dare speak before this majesty. Not out of fear, but solemn respect and awe.
Now imagine this; unimaginable. All of it, think back to the description in Isaiah of His throne room. A sanctuary filled with words only known by His cherubim. No others worthy of being spoken. None other able to describe Him but, “Holy, Holy, Holy.” As if we even truly fully understand that single word. And this God; this King, stand with us. Imagine that, loves us.

“When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

you will not be burned;

the flames will not set you ablaze.

For I am the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;” 

Isaiah 43

Let us rush into the enemy lines today, fearless. Let us be the definition of courage, making all others brave to our witness. Let us not be afraid of what others think of our Kings commands, BUT LET THEM KNOW WHO OUR KING IS.

Let us rid this spirit of timidity, let us sing and shout of His holiness and might.

DO NOT BE AFRAID MY LOVE.
FOR WHAT CAN MERE HUMANS DO TO US?


Let us think instead, what can our King do for us.
If we but act.
This is my prayer, now let’s go out!


Fight!

a letter to his lover

“The reason for much of our anger and much of our bitterness in a crucible of suffering is God prying open our hands and taking away something we’ve held onto more tightly than Him.”

Tullian Tchividjian


Our hands are far too strong, yet weak enough to never hold onto something forever. He sometimes exhausts us in ways that cause so much pain that we wonder if its really worth holding onto anything at all. Well I can assure you love, He made your hands, every twist and bend inside each wave of your fingerprint. Each tendon that swims inside your fingers giving you the elasticity to hold on, to reach, to grab. The soft skin that reveals so much beauty, yet protects us from all the surroundings of this world including the sun! 

My love, let go. He has given you what you can handle. He has given you what you need to grow, and just enough of it. Not an ounce more would He afford if it would over encumber you. YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD. You have been awarded more strength than you will ever need. You have been given a Holy Spirit that WILL fight for you. That will hold you as you lay there out of breath and in awe of the thought of what you’ve just done. PRAY OUT!
Give your mind, heart, and spirit over to Him. The master physician will repair, He will mend. He will make new. 

When a bone breaks, it heals back stronger. When a muscle tears, it grows back more powerfully. There is hope love. 


” I will answer them before they even call to Me…” (Isaiah 65:24, NLT).

Cry out, as if you even needed to.. HE HEARS YOU. HE KNOWS YOU INTIMATELY. HE IS WAITING AT YOUR SIDE. THERE IS NO STORM HE HAS NOT BEEN WITH YOU. Waiting there quietly, resting, looking ever so peacefully into your eyes with His hand reached out. “You are my child, love. Take it…” He knows your needs before you ask. He supplies the needs of all the life in His kingdom. He wants to provide for you. He wants to give you the desires of your heart. The deepest ones. Don’t you think this is too little or small. The truth is, He cares about everything that concerns you. 

Cry out for His strength. Reach out for His hand and He wont only take your hand. He will sweep you away into His arms! The road ahead, it is not an easy one I can assure you. But it is worth traversing. The road ahead revels of glory and honor. And it leads right up to His gates. Let me come alongside you, but don’t let me burden you. You follow His voice. Let mine be cast aside. God spoke beauty into your name. He wrote heavenly words that don’t exist here into your spirit. He makes no bad thing.

He loves you.

And so do I.

He restores us.

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul…” (Psalm 23:1-3).

Lets face it- we’re willing to make changes on our own lives only if we think it affects our salvation. This is why people ask- ‘can I divorce my wife and still go to heaven? Do I have to be baptized to be saved? Am I a Christian even if I’m having sex with my girlfriend? To me these questions are tragic because they reveal the state of the heart. They demonstrate our concern is more about going to heaven then pleasing our King.

—Francis Chan (via questionsaboutchristianity)

(via johnnyis)

“The Nigerians were crying their guts out because they were so grateful for the mercy of God. They could not accept the fact that the two countries that invested so much to bring the salvation of Jesus to Africa are now turning away from the Christian faith. They were weeping over our worldliness, our rebellion and our flagrant rejection of the biblical values that were once our roots. They were mourning our backslidden condition. The Nigerians stayed on their faces for at least half an hour, asking God to sweep England and the United States with a spiritual awakening.” (What Africans Prayed Last Week for America by J. Lee Grady)

“The Nigerians were crying their guts out because they were so grateful for the mercy of God. They could not accept the fact that the two countries that invested so much to bring the salvation of Jesus to Africa are now turning away from the Christian faith. They were weeping over our worldliness, our rebellion and our flagrant rejection of the biblical values that were once our roots. They were mourning our backslidden condition. The Nigerians stayed on their faces for at least half an hour, asking God to sweep England and the United States with a spiritual awakening.”

(What Africans Prayed Last Week for America by J. Lee Grady)

(Source: falldownlikefire, via everlastingjesus)

spiritualinspiration: One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead” (Philippians 3:13, NIV) In order to move forward in life, we have to “let go of the past.” But have you ever wondered exactly how to do that? First, understand that we take hold of things in our minds with our thoughts. Our thoughts become words and actions that determine the direction of our lives. It’s that simple. If you want to choose a new direction for your life, you have to choose new thoughts. If you want to let go of the past, you have to quit thinking about it, quit talking about it, and quit reliving every negative experience. Oftentimes, when we see someone who has hurt us, that pain and offense is stirred up, and we start thinking about what happened again. But in that moment, you have a choice to make. One of the best things you can do, instead of rehearsing the hurt, is to pray for that person and speak blessing over them. Remember, forgiveness is for you. Letting go of bitterness is for you. Don’t let the past hold you back from what God has in store for your future any longer. Get past the past by choosing right thoughts because God has victory and blessing in store for your future!

spiritualinspiration:

One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead”
(Philippians 3:13, NIV)

In order to move forward in life, we have to “let go of the past.” But have you ever wondered exactly how to do that? First, understand that we take hold of things in our minds with our thoughts. Our thoughts become words and actions that determine the direction of our lives. It’s that simple. If you want to choose a new direction for your life, you have to choose new thoughts. If you want to let go of the past, you have to quit thinking about it, quit talking about it, and quit reliving every negative experience.

Oftentimes, when we see someone who has hurt us, that pain and offense is stirred up, and we start thinking about what happened again. But in that moment, you have a choice to make. One of the best things you can do, instead of rehearsing the hurt, is to pray for that person and speak blessing over them.

Remember, forgiveness is for you. Letting go of bitterness is for you. Don’t let the past hold you back from what God has in store for your future any longer. Get past the past by choosing right thoughts because God has victory and blessing in store for your future!