Take Control of the Keyboard

Once we become "born again" we threw away the old script of our lives that were written from our experiences of pain, sorrow and heartache. But being “born again” gives us the opportunity to write a new story for our lives. 

But there is an opposing factor that will still try to dictate the writings of your future. It’s your old nature or thought process. It will want to continue to write the negative history of your life and not the promised future. It is like opening up a blank word document and letting someone else type in the script of your future life.
In this new life of ours we need to do what any good writer needs to do. Write daily and write often. Just as writers need to learn to write. We need to seriously take a good look at what the bible says about us and rewrite the script for our lives. We need to take hold of the keyboard and write the epic story of our lives.

The story has already been given to us. It’s in our heart. It’s in our desires.  It’s in the restlessness of our soul. Yes, we all know our story but here is the problem. It’s like the big bible in the living room that never gets read. All it does is collect dust. We’ve got to take action and dust off the inner script. We need to sweep away the dust of negativity, oppression and pain.

Think about this for a moment. Take time to remember a book you read or a movie you watched. One that has a victorious ending. It could be a love won or a battle well fought. Were there times in the scenes you thought of something deep down inside yourself that was lost? A dream, a vision or a desire that once gallantly danced in your heart and soul. But as life slowly, or even abruptly, buried your hope the music faded. The dance ended, and now it seems that the dance hall is closed for good. Life since has been a dry dusty desert with only trickles of water to keep you barely alive. Even zombies need water.

So what about this “River of Life” the bible talks about? We could certainly use this “River of Life”. That would wash the dust completely away. The trickle of water we have only makes the dust muddy. So how do we experience the “River of Life” or “life to the full” Jesus referred too? How do we dance again? How do we dust off the book that holds our dreams, visions and desires? How do we awaken the deep aspirations of childhood?

I have a few ideas. This is most certainly not an exhaustive list but it is a start.

1.        

        Read highly inspirational books, magazines and blogs.

When the bible tells me I’m more than a conqueror, it inspires me. John Eldredge and Andy Andrews have books that get my heart fluttering. If you don’t read or listen to books, you will have a hard time dusting off the book that reveals your future.

2.        Spend time analyzing your heart.

Proverbs 4:23 (Amp version) says: “Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.” I believe this is Christ Himself and all He encompasses. Your heart holds the intimate details that God downloaded into your personality. Your heart leads you to the good works and good life He has planned for you.

Watch an inspirational movie with paper and pen in hand. Write down the different emotions and thoughts that come to you. Don’t be afraid to cry (I’m talking to you guys) for it helps release the pain of the lost dreams. It also helps to sweep the dust off of those dreams so you can feel the depth of your love for those desires. This is good. The desire is not God himself but an expression of Him and how He wants to express Himself to the world through you.

Write.

You might ask why should I write? I’ll tell you in a moment. But first, you must know we all have a book inside of us to write. Though I do not believe everyone’s book is to be published. However, writing is a strong way for us to see who we are as individuals. Writing helps us express what is held in our heart. It helps express what we can’t yet say. Writing helps us envision our future and helps erase the pains of the past that hold us back in life. The very act of writing is a gift from God to help us to express what He has put in our hearts.

When you write make it personal. Write one word or a paragraph but write something as often as you can. It will help lead you into the “River of Life”.

I strongly encourage you to take control of the keyboard and write the story of your life. Don’t let anyone else write it. God has already planted the story in your heart. But it is up to you to search it out. Proverbs 3:32 (Amp) says: For the perverse are an abomination [extremely disgusting and detestable] to the Lord; but His confidential communion and secret counsel are with the [uncompromisingly] righteous (those who are upright and in right standing with Him).

Spend some time with God and He will counsel you in secret and lead you to the good works and good life he has predestined for you.

Now go and write your story.

Andy

Mud Man

He must have seen the glory beaming out of the one named Adam. He had to see the sunrise and sunset, creativity and passion, strength and love in the muddy mixture. He must have seen the majesty of untold greatness and the beauty of wholeness in this unfamiliar work of creation. Lucifer, in all his anger, resentment and bitterness must have seen Adam as a reflection of Almighty God. He must have shook in fear as he watched the Creator from a distance form, mold and shape the mud into man. Questions and worry must have invaded his mind as God etched away all imperfections to create His self-portrait. The fallen angels must have been uneasy as they observed the great Artist do His finest work. They must have anxiously paced and murmured amongst themselves. They had to wonder with great apprehension: “What is God up to now?” The scene, I’m sure, was like an audience in a theater entrenched in a movie leading up to the climax of the film. Nothing is more important than knowing what is next.

Then it happens. God, the Father, draws near to the hand crafted form of dirt. He looks deep into the eyes of the lifeless creation. As the fallen one’s silence them-selves in utter anticipation, God breathes deep, as do the fallen also. He releases His breath into His art form. Life giving breath. Not just any life, everlasting Life from the Father of all that is.

The climax has reached its summit. The fallen have reached a point of clamor and riotousness within its camp. Who knows what’s next with God’s making? They sense the atmosphere altering. And in God’s perfect timing, as if He was waiting for the cells, blood, nerve endings and all the infinite details that keep man physically alive, the eyes of His image abruptly open. The body violently gasps its first breath and moments later, softly says, “Abba”.

With a hostile piercing roar, the fallen cry out, “God has released His most glorious composition! More glorious than all that He has created. The music, songs and worship from this mud man will be superior to our Lucifer.”

Psalm 139:13-16(AMP)

¹³For You did form my inward parts; You did knit me together in my mother’s womb. ¹⁴ I will confess and praise You for You are fearful and wonderful and for the awful wonder of my birth! Wonderful are Your works, and that my inner self knows right well. ¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from You when I was being formed in secret [and] intricately and curiously wrought [as if embroidered with various colors] in the depths of the earth [a region of darkness and mystery].

If we could grasp, take hold and capture our depth of significance in our God, dramatic shifts in our thought, words and actions would take place. The creation of man and you is not to be looked at moderately, with restraint or with minor importance. You and I were created with the upmost thought and care. We were created with hands of a loving Father, the passion of Jesus and the strength of the Spirit.

Take this seriously.

You are supremely significant to God.

Today, start to read all the good the bible has to say about you and ask the Spirit to ingrain it into you so you can express it in your daily life.

Andy

Insecure God…Not!

God may be a jealous God,

But God is not insecure.

He wants no idols before you

because He’s jealous for you.

He knows the price you pay for that idol.

He knows you’re short changing yourself

with other idols.

He knows the idols make you idle in life.

He knows the idols are a covering for pain

or a symptom of addiction.

God may be a jealous God,

But God is not insecure.

He’s jealous for you.

Death in the Garden

Jesus crucifixion started in the garden. The Father gave Him a vision. (Luke 22:41) Jesus died to His own will. (v42) Jesus accepted, visualized and internalized the Father’s plan. (v44) This sequence of steps was a defining moment for Jesus and for us. No, it was much more than that. It was the beginning of the final great battle that led Jesus to the victory that had been foretold for thousands of years. This was the established point in time for Jesus. The same point in time God gives to all of us. He gave His only begotten Son, our only chance, a vital, critical and crucial choice in the matter at hand. Make no mistake, the vision and the weight of it was clear. (v44) He chose to die.

I know I often choose to carry my cross. I do have to ask myself why. It could be of pure motives wanting to be more like the Lord. It could be I may get some sort of gratification out of it. It’s the “woe is me” syndrome that could get it the way of my sincerity. I could carry my cross all my life and never have to die. This way I can still partially have my way in any given situation in my life and not die. As long as I don’t die to a situation, I still have a bit of control in my life…so I think.

Today I’m not going to name any situations. I believe you are already thinking about them.

I’ve become tired of carrying my cross without the end game of death. I’ve had to die to what I’ve wanted in this life and cry for Him to give me the desires of His heart so I could live again.

I thought I would share this from my heart.

Andy