The Introverted Evangelist

All Your Ways are Good : " Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth; do you not perceive and know it and will you not give heed to it?  I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert . " (Isaiah 43:19) God is working in our lives each and every moment. We must have faith that  He only has the best planned for us , for He loves us unconditionally.  All He plans for our lives stems from His unfathomably rich love and kindness . Even the dry seasons can and will overflow with abundant riches, because Christ paid the price. " For you are becoming progressively acquainted with and recognizing more strongly and clearly the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (His kindness, His  gracious generosity , His  undeserved favor  and spiritual blessing), [in] that though He was [so very] rich, yet for your sakes He became [so very] poor, in order that by His poverty you might become enriched ( abundantly supplied ). " (2 Corinthians 8:9 AMP) Thr...

Rest In His Faithfulness: Sick days are a great ("great") reminder that it's OKAY to take a day off. God had been nudging me lately, saying, "I don't expect you to perform for Me. Simply be. Be who I made you to be, and that's Mine. I don't put all these rules and regulations on you. Throw them off, and come to the Waters. Come and drink from the flow of My Living Waters, and I will give you rest and restoration." Lesson learned? Don't drive yourself into the wall with an attitude that screams, "Do! Perform! Earn!" Instead, listen to the gentle voice of the Holy One, whispering, "Be. Rest. Receive." ---> He doesn't drive us like cattle, He leads us like sheep .<--- -The Introverted Evangelist

Celebrate Baptism : " If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins,  He is faithful  and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will  forgive our sins  [dismiss our lawlessness] and [ continuously ]  cleanse  us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action] ." (1 John 1:9 AMP) He is faithful . When we repent, He remakes us. We are new creations ( see  2 Corinthians  5:17 ), and we are created to live in  the current of His unrelenting grace . One such manifestation of this undeniably, overwhelmingly miraculous grace is the  forgiveness  He offers to us through Christ's sacrifice. And baptism? Baptism is like our graduation announcements. We make the public proclamation -  the start of a life of beautiful newness . It's unlike anything we've ever ventured into before, but a completely welcomed and long anticipated  season of renewal and opportuni...

Hallelujah! I'm ALIVE! " I call out at the top of my lungs, “ GOD! Answer! I’ll do whatever You say. ” I called to You, “ Save me so I can carry out all Your instructions. ” I was up before sunrise, crying for help, hoping for a word from You. I stayed awake all night, prayerfully pondering Your promise. In Your love, listen to me; in Your justice, GOD,  keep me alive . As those out to get me come closer and closer, they go farther and farther from the truth You reveal; But  You’re the closest of all  to me, GOD, and all Your judgments true. I’ve known all along from the evidence of Your words that You meant them to  last forever . " (Psalm 119:145-152 MSG) I'll do whatever You say, my God. I'll  leap with faith  into the great unknown, wherever You instruct me to go.  You saved my life from death  - again! You saved me and remade me once more.  You redeemed this dying life for so much more  than merely sitting and waiting to arrive Home...

I Live to Love You Lord : " For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent,  to be well pleasing to Him ." (2 Corinthians 5:7-9) I just want to live for You , God. I want to live my life, not to gain the approval of others, but to please and to serve You, my Gracious King. I want to see Your Will be done. It's so hard living in this fallen world, but I know You've put me here - in this city and in this season - for a reason. In surrendering trust, I put aside all pride and joyfully proclaim, " Have Your way in me, O Lord!  All I am is Yours ! " -The Introverted Evangelist (Photograph Taken by: @instagramvancouver)

Christ the Eucharist: "Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight." (Luke 24:30-31) When we humble ourselves in thanks, honouring His Sacrifice, His Presence shows up and removes the blinders from our eyes. When we gather under His Name, as the Body of Christ, and glorify Him together, His Spirit envelopes us in God's wonder. His Presence is made manifest among us. And it's in that sacred moment that we all as believers remember that only by grace through faith are we saved. We're reminded of our desperation, our insufficiency... His abounding love, His unending mercy... Christ be glorified! For He has rescued us, redeemed us, and made us new creations by the power of His holy blood! -The Introverted Evangelist

God Understands : " He heals the brokenhearted  and bandages their wounds. He counts the stars and calls them all by name. How great is our Lord! His power is absolute!  His understanding is beyond comprehension ! " (Psalms 147:3-5) The world and all its troubles are pressing hard upon your shoulders. The dark storm clouds seem as though they'll never clear away. The ache you feel within grows deeper and deeper still, yet  His love shall never be removed . No,  His love for us will never be weakened . God sees every wounded soul and every broken heart, and He understands. His understanding is far beyond our comprehension.  He sees the hurt  we feel, and  He's been there  too. " It’s obvious, of course, that he didn’t go to all this trouble for angels. It was for people like us, children of Abraham. That’s why he had to enter into every detail of human life. Then, when he came before God as high priest to get rid of the people’s sins, he would have...

Jesus Our Risen King : " Jesus said to her, I am [Myself] the  Resurrection  and the  Life . Whoever believes in (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on) Me, although he may die, yet he shall live; And whoever  continues to live  and believes in (has faith in, cleaves to, and relies on) Me shall never [actually] die at all. Do you believe this? " (John 11:25-26 AMP) We're free because  Jesus lives ! We serve a living, breathing, personal Lord.  He conquered the grave , and now it's His life within those who receive and believe that gives us the strength and courage to truly live. We're called to lead by example in this glorious freedom.  Drop your chains ! Pick up your cross with joy! Knowing that  it's when we lay down our lives that we truly find the reason to live  with no fear, no resentment, and no shame. Jesus. Jesus is the reason.  He is the Resurrection . He calls our cold dead hearts back to life again - beating passionately ...

Victorious Love and Saving Grace : " For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal ( everlasting) life . " (John 3:16 AMP) Love , not law, has won.  Grace , not guilt, is the gift of Salvation that saves us all.  Faith , not fear, is what flourishes life everlasting. The immense love of the Father is our  eternal victory . There is hope for all ages, triumph for every nation, and healing for each soul, because in Him we're made whole. Salvation's spelled out in  blood-stained agony  there on the Cross. It seemed like hope was lost, but it's from the darkest grave  He rose again in glorious light . " But God is so  rich in mercy , and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (...

Good Friday Morning Meditation : Tea and Bible reading. It really doesn't get much better than that. I love how even the tea bags couldn't help but praise the One who gave it all. "Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing." (Ephesians 2:7-10 MSG) More Good Friday meditation coming later today. I am so in awe of all He's done for us. What a selfless sacrifice! Our Humble King is worthy to be praised! He has won the INFINITE V...

Take Heart : " And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” " (Matthew 9:2) Take heart.  Don't let your past paralyze you . Don't listen to the lies that say your mistakes are who you are. Remember that the Blood of Jesus has made you new ( see 2 Corinthians  5:17 ).  His atoning sacrifice cleanses us  from all unrighteousness. We don't have to live the way we used to. The grace of our generous Lord gives us  inner strength  to break old habits and create a life of newness, rooted and founded in Christ Jesus. His Holy Spirit comes and floods us.  His Presence washes over us like the waves of the ocean's tide ... Washing away the shame of our old self, and  replenishing our strength with His mercy . Take heart, He is for us. Take heart, we are new creations. Take heart, for  He is good and worthy of our trust and prais...