God on the mic.

"Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm. On that day they will say to Jerusalem, 'Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.'" Zeph. 3:14-17

Do you hear Him?

In the midst of your...

suffering

joy

pain

success

loss

confidence

confusion

excitement

resentment

faith

doubt

freedom

imprisonment

overflow

debt

fulfillment

hunger

thankfulness

wilderness... do you hear Him sing?

Shout aloud. Be glad! Rejoice. We have a God who weeps from His heart when we weep, laughs from His heart when we laugh, and rejoices over us in singing. He has taken away our punishment and turned back our enemy. He will quiet us with His love.

No matter if the tempo is slow and solemn or upbeat and toe-tapping. No matter if the lyrics are those of tender compassion or of power in victory. No matter if you're listening for His every breath or you don't even know there's a God. He rejoices in you.

Can you hear His song?



Star struck.

"He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit." Ps. 147:4-5

IMPORTANT NOTE: I do not condone drinking and/or partying, but it's not my place to condemn it either. 

I'm really afraid of offending someone, but I promise I'm just sharing some Spirit thoughts :)

Tonight I went with some girl friends to several frat parties.  Since we're playing big ol' Florida tomorrow, the parties tonight were rumored to be awesome and have really good music.  It was pretty true (ex. Corey Smith!).  If you know me, you know partying is not my thing.  I mean, when I go it's because I find the whole concept hilarious.  And because if I'm going to form my opinion on how I feel about all that stuff, I need to have experienced it, right?

I did have fun! And of course, the Spirit was crazy teaching me in the midst of it. (Tangent: I do not believe Jesus would have shunned parties.  I think He would have pursued them. He would spend Friday nights on New Row in the midst of it because He loves His people.)

If you wonder what a college party is like, the movies actually get it pretty right. They are dark and loud, there is smoke everywhere, people are dancing and stumbling around, etc.  It's funny though.

On the surface, it's people drinking and dancing away a long week and relaxing for the weekend. It's socializing and having fun! But let's be real.  Beneath the surface, it's all empty.

It's consuming poison to feel accepted.  It's drowning pain and worries in a drink.  It's seducing the opposite sex to feel cheap love. Maybe it's just boredom or amusement. Whatever it is, it's about pleasing fleshly desires, searching for worth, and living in the moment. It's entirely earthly.

Again, I'm not casting judgment! I'm not trying to offend.  I have my own sack of rocks too, and I definitely pursue all of the same earthly things in my own way.

Here's the thing! At one party, I looked up at where people were on the roof and holy cowww.  The stars grabbed me!  Mystified me. It was like God was just smiling!  I wanted to stop the party and have everyone look up into the sky.

The stars tonight took my soul to a new place.  I saw God as so high above all of us doing our own stupid stuff.  We act like sheep without a shepherd, but we have One!  The One who arranged the night sky to take my breath away, and then sat back eagerly waiting til I would take notice.

As people, we're living in our own selfish little worlds.  The stars light up an entire galaxy.
We're restless and compulsive.  The stars know peace. 
We're pursuing our own glory.  The stars SCREAM God's glory.
We're broken and ugly. The stars are breathtakingly beautiful.

God is calling us to something astronomically bigger than ourselves. Tears are welling up right now because I am so sure. God is calling us into His love. And it's wider, deeper, longer than the farthest galaxies. Brighter and more beautiful than the clearest night sky.

We are stuck in our tiny, self-centered, moment-by-moment worlds, and God is inviting us into HIS world. His world. There, we will find pleasure, worth, and true life in abundance! That's not me being a dreamer, that is truth.

God is calling me and you to something higher.
He's calling this campus to something higher. Even a generation of goofy college kids.
He's calling this city, this state, this country to something higher.

Can't you see?! He's using His stars to woo us because He's hopelessly in love with us!

Hey, look up.

"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?" Ps. 8:3-4