All That I Am - Rend Collective

I think it's really easy for me to think "I know you ask for all of me, God, but I'm just going to hold onto this one little piece" - whether that piece is something that I really like, or something that I am really ashamed of, or something that I just plain don't want to share. I do it with my kids: "God, you can have it all, but maybe not my kids... they're mine... I'm not sharing"... I do it with sins: "God, I know you can and have forgiven everything, but sometimes, I just need to feel the pain again, to wallow in that, to feel unforgivable and horrible and rotten"... I do with with my desires: "God, I know you want me to stop feeling this way, or doing this thing, but... It feels so good... and it makes me happy... you want me to be happy, right?"

"Everything's on the altar now
No holding back, no holding out
In view of your matchless sacrifice
Take every treasure, take this life"

But if I think about it - His sacrifice. It was everything. He gave it all. He gave up His desires. He gave up His plans. He gave up His selfishness. He gave up my sins.

If I am to really be like Jesus, I need to give it all up. ALL.

"Selfish ambition and my pride
I'm giving up, I'm letting die
In these empty hands I have it all, have it all
The pure joy of knowing You, my Lord"

In our empty hands, we are filled with His pure joy. We must be completely empty to be filled up with Him, in all situations.

"We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love." (Romans 5:3-5 NLT)

The trials and problems we run into help us see our blind sides. They help us see where we haven't yet surrendered everything. That doesn't mean they are fun, but they help us surrender - to help us develop the endurance needed to keep surrendering every day. To set us free - free to be filled with His love, which gives us hope.

"All that I am for all that You are, my Lord
All that I have for all that You are
You're the pearl beyond price, greater than life
All that I am for all that You are"


Everything's on the altar now
No holding back, no holding out
In view of your matchless sacrifice
Take every treasure, take this life

All that I am for all that You are, my Lord
All that I have for all that You are
You're the pearl beyond price, greater than life
All that I am for all that You are

Selfish ambition and my pride
I'm giving up, I'm letting die
In these empty hands I have it all, have it all
The pure joy of knowing You, my Lord

All that I am for all that You are, my Lord
All that I have for all that You are
You're the pearl beyond price, greater than life
All that I am for all that You are

It's only in surrender that I'm free
It's only in surrender that I'm truly free
It's only in surrender that I'm free
(All I am is Yours, my Lord)
It's only in surrender that I'm truly free
I am free. I am free indeed
I am free. I am free indeed

All that I am for all that You are, my Lord
All that I have for all that You are
You're the pearl beyond price, greater than life
All that I am for all that You are

Linger - Warr Acres

"How's life?"
"Busy."

"How are you doing?"
"I'm tired."

How often do we find ourselves in these conversations?

But what does God call us into? Busy? or Peace? Tired? Or rested in Him?

What do you do with the time and space that God has given you? Do you linger in Him? Resting in His presence?

What will it be like when we see Him? Will we hear well done faithful servant?



I think I'll just linger
A little while longer
My flesh tries to flee
But my spirit pleads to stay
Your presence is peaceful
Your love's ever faithful
I'd ask for more years
But to You they appear just like a day
What will it be like when I see You
And all of Your glory and power
Will I hear
"Well done faithful servant
You treasured your hours."
Oh may I be found in Your presence
Paying no mind to my needs
Consumed by Your infinite wonder
Content at Your feet
I think I'll just linger
A little while longer
Oooh my flesh tries to flee
But my spirit pleads to stay
Your presence is peaceful
Your love's ever faithful
I'd ask for more years
But to you they appear just like a day
Oooh so I think I'll just linger
Oooh oh ooooh ooooh yeah
What will it be like when I see You
And all of Your glory and power
Will I hear
"Well done faithful servant
You treasured your hours.
My child did you linger
A little while longer?
Those good works and deeds are not what I need
I only want you."'
Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus
Just to take Him at His word
Oh, just to rest upon His promise
And to know this sayeth the Lord
Oh and Jesus, Jesus how I trust Him
How I've proved Him o'er and o'er
Oh and Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus
Oh for grace to trust Him more
Oh for grace to trust Him more

I Will Wait for You (Psalm 130) - Shane & Shane

What gets you out of bed in the morning? What keeps you from hiding there?

Maybe, like me, you have had stretches of your life where you're not sure if you ever actually got out of bed. Maybe you have cried until you weren't sure you could ever cry any more tears, and then cried for hours more. Maybe you have shut down, shut out, numbed out, blocked out to the point where you simply sit and stare with unseeing eyes. Maybe you've been told that you just need to "get over it" or that there's "no reason to be upset". Maybe you believe that it is your fault. Maybe you believe that there is no way anyone could possibly love you or forgive what you have done.

"Out of the depths I cry to You, in darkest places I will call. Incline Your ear to me anew, and hear my cry for mercy Lord. Were You to count my sinful ways, how could I come before Your throne. Yet full forgiveness meets my gaze, I stand redeemed by grace alone."

How well I know the feelings; the depths of the pit. The self condemnation, the hatred. But He doesn't count your sinful ways. He meets our gaze with full forgiveness.

"So put Your hope in God alone, take courage in His power to save, completely and forever won, by Christ emerging from the grave."

We are fully and completely saved... that all who trust in Him find healing in His sacrifice.

When I'm stuck in bed. When my thoughts are stuck on negative repeat...

I will wait for You, I will wait for You
Through the storm and through the night
I will wait for You, surely wait for You
For Your love is my delight
I will wait for You, I will wait for You
On Your word I will rely
I will wait for You, surely wait for You
Till my soul is satisfied

Lean into His truth, found in His word, until your soul is satisfied.



Out of the depths I cry to You
In darkest places I will call
Incline Your ear to me anew
And hear my cry for mercy Lord

Were You to count my sinful ways
How could I come before Your throne
Yet full forgiveness meets my gaze
I stand redeemed by grace alone

I will wait for You, I will wait for You
On Your word I will rely
I will wait for You, surely wait for You
Till my soul is satisfied

So put Your hope in God alone
Take courage in His power to save
Completely and forever won
By Christ emerging from the grave

I will wait for You, I will wait for You
On Your word I will rely
I will wait for You, surely wait for You
Till my soul is satisfied, oh, ooh

Now He has come to make a way
And God Himself has paid the price
That all who trust in Him today
Find healing in His sacrifice
That all who trust in Him today
Find healing in His sacrifice

I will wait for You, I will wait for You
Through the storm and through the night
I will wait for You, surely wait for You
For Your love is my delight

Oh I will wait for You, I will wait for You
Through the storm and through the night
I will wait for You, surely wait for You
For Your love is my delight

I will wait for You, I will wait for You
Through the storm and through the night
I will wait for You, surely wait for You
For Your love is my delight, oh, ooh
Oh You are my delight
You're my delight

I will wait for You, I will wait for You
On Your word I will rely
I will wait for You, surely wait for You
Till my soul is satisfied

I will wait for You, I will wait for You
On Your word I will rely
I will wait for You, surely wait for You
Till my soul is satisfied

Lord I Need You - Matt Maher

Sometimes a song gets stuck in my head because it's annoying (hello, VBS music). Sometimes a song gets stuck in my head because its sooooooo good. And sometimes a song just gets stuck because it's the message I need to hear on repeat all day. (That's not actually to say that those are mutually exclusive or that this is an exhaustive list, it's just that most of the time, it's one of those three things for me)

This song has been stuck in my head for roughly a month. It's not like I've really felt like I was going to fall off the deep end. I've actually felt fairly stable. But... and yes, there is a but... God has been steadily reminding me throughout the last few weeks just how much I need Him - even in the good times. For me when things are going well I think I tend to get lax. I get complacent. I think to myself, "I can totally do this." It's taken some pretty catastrophic things in my life to knock me down enough to get on my face before God to say "I need you". And God has been spending the last several months whispering to me... "it's ok you think you're ok... you still need me... and we can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way, your pick."

I have done a bunch of different Bible reading plans through the years. Currently I'm in the middle of two (one that is called #SamePageSummer - it's a cool one, check it out... for the record, if you want to be on the "same page" today is day 38 in YouVersion or you can click these for a more standard paper print out: guys or gals) reading plans. I just finished a different one that was reading through the old testament in a year.

What has struck me over and over and over throughout all of my different readings is this concept of forgiveness. And I think also how very messed up my view of forgiveness tends to be. God has been gently nudging me to leave my many misconceptions of forgiveness, or my imperfect applications of forgiveness to others or myself, to leave them for good, and to walk free in a sweet forgiven state.

"Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he did for me. For I cried out to him for help, praising him as I spoke. If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer. Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer or withdraw his unfailing love from me."
Psalms 66:16‭-‬20 NLT

God listens, because we confess our sins - not because we are perfect! And not only is it not because we are perfect, we can't be perfect on our own! If we could, then there would be no reason for Jesus!! 

"Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.” I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless.... For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die."

Galatians 2:16‭, ‬21 NLT

"Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?"

Galatians 3:2‭-‬3 NLT

So - are you trying on your own? Or are you willing to confess "Lord I need you, oh I need you, every hour I need you" - because let me tell you - you can do it the easy way... or the hard way.



Lord, I come, I confess
Bowing here I find my rest
Without You I fall apart
You're the One that guides my heart

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

Where sin runs deep Your grace is more
Where grace is found is where You are
Where You are, Lord, I am free
Holiness is Christ in me

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

So teach my song to rise to You
When temptation comes my way
When I cannot stand I'll fall on You
Jesus, You're my hope and stay

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You
You're my one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

Save My Life - Sidewalk Prophets

Who do you have in your life that will look you in the eye and see behind your facade? Do you have someone?

It is crucial that you have someone.

Who do you look in the eye? Who do you challenge? Who do you tell what they need to hear? How are you showing others that there is a God and that He is real?

Because here's a secret: WE ALL NEED TO HEAR THIS TRUTH! (I guess in all caps, now it isn't a secret anymore?)

I was blessed yesterday to meet with someone who has looked me in the eye since I was ten. For twenty nine years (I think as of next week??) this person has spoken truth to me. Reminded me that I was valuable when I was at my lowest, told me about Jesus when no-one else did. Reminded me that I could seek Him, and that He wouldn't leave me. She's been real (we've cried so many tears!!), she's been authentic, and she's asked hard questions. She has been the person God has used to save my life. She is not my savior. But she has pointed me at God consistently.

But a word of encouragement to you, if you are thinking "I couldn't possibly be that person" for someone else, have you seen my life, Wendy? I'm not perfect.

She's not perfect either! She's screwed up, too. And that's the awesome part - as our relationship has morphed over the years, we have been able to encourage each other! To pray for each other. To speak truth and love and be forgiven for our own faults... to be a witness and testimony to each other - demonstrating on earth what God does for us every day.

So... keep your eyes open: who is God putting in front of you? Who can you look in the eyes and take the time to tell what they need to hear? Who can you tell they're not forgotten?

Find someone today!

I am just like everyone
Jesus I need You, I need Your Love
To save my life

Tell me what I need to hear
Tell me that I’m not forgotten
Show me there’s a God
Who can be more than all I’ve ever wanted
‘Cause right now I need a little hope
I need to know that I’m not alone
Maybe God is calling you tonight
To tell me something
That might save my life


We’ve met half a dozen times
I know your name I know you don’t know mine
But I won’t hold that against you

You come here every Friday night
I take your order and try to be polite
And hide what I’ve been going through

If you looked me right in the eye
Would see the pain deep inside
Would you take the time to

Tell me what I need to hear
Tell me that I’m not forgotten
Show me there’s a God
Who can be more than all I’ve ever wanted
‘Cause right now I need a little hope
I need to know that I’m not alone
Maybe God is calling you tonight
To tell me something
That might save my life

I’m the pastor at your church
For all these years you’ve listened to my words
You think I know all the answers

But I’ve got doubts and questions too
Behind this smile I’m really just like you
Afraid and tired and insecure

If you look me right in the eye
Would you see the real me inside
Would you take the time to

Tell me what I need to hear
Tell me that I’m not forgotten
Show me there’s a God
Who can be more than all I’ve ever wanted
‘Cause right now I need a little hope
I need to know that I’m not alone
Maybe God is calling you tonight
To tell me something
That might save my life

Save my life

I am just like everyone
Jesus I need You, I need Your Love
To save my life

Tell me what I need to hear
Tell me that I’m not forgotten
Show me there’s a God
Who can be more than all I’ve ever wanted
‘Cause right now I need a little hope
I need to know that I’m not alone
Maybe God is calling you tonight
To tell me something
That might save my life