I Remember the Days of Old..

I spend a lot of time at my favorite coffee shop, Michelangelo’s.  It has become like a second home to me.  I have my favorite places to sit, my favorite drinks, and have come to know the people that work there or attend as frequently as I do.  One of my favorite people that go to Michelangelo’s is Bud.  Bud is an 84-year-old man that loves people as much, if not more than I do.  Everyday around 4pm, Bud slowly enters the coffee shop and makes his way past every table.  At every table, Bud stops and asks the person what they are doing, what they are studying, where they are from, ect.  Bud and I have become good friends.  The funny thing about Bud is that he hardly ever remembers any of the basic things that I have told him.  Every time I see him I tell him that I am a junior from Fort Worth, Texas.  Every time, we laugh at how you practically have to be from Texas to go to OU.  Every time, I ask him how his dogs are.  And I always learn something new about Bud.  He has led a pretty spectacular life.  Even though Bud can’t remember the basic things that I tell him, he knows my face.  He has come to remember my name and He remembers that I want to live overseas to share the gospel with people.  He remembers me.

God revealed himself to me through Bud this semester in a huge way.  I have struggled to feel the Lord’s presence in my life this semester and it has been a battle.  I am reminded of David’s struggle to feel the Lord’s presence and his longing to be filled.

“I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the works of your hands.  I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.  Answer me quickly, O Lord!  My spirit fails!  Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit.  Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust.  Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.”- Psalm 143:5-8

David begged for the presence of the Lord in the same way that I do today.  David thirsted for God so much that he had to meditate on all that God had done in the past just to remind himself of who God was and that He was always faithful.

Much like Bud, I am constantly forgetting the basic promises of God and the things He is always telling me about Himself.  He tells me that He will never leave me or forsake me (Deuteronomy 31:6).  He tells me that He has swept my offenses away like a cloud (Isaiah 44:22).  He tells me that He is with me and will watch over me wherever I go (Genesis 28:15).  He tells me that He delights in me and will quiet me with His love (Zephaniah 3:17).  He tells me that His Spirit helps me in my weakness (Romans 8:26).  He tells me that I have been set free (Galatians 5:1).  He tells me that I will find Him (Jeremiah 29:14).  He tells me that no weapon turned against me will succeed (Isaiah 54:17).  He tells me that His word will not return to Him empty, but will accomplish what He desires and achieve the purpose for which He sent it (Isaiah 55:11).  He tells me that nothing is too hard for Him (Jeremiah 32:27).  He tells me that He is making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland (Isaiah 43:19). 

Like David, we must remind ourselves of who God is and how powerful He is.  We must meditate on the days of old, the work he has already done in our lives.  Once you know a person, you may forget facts about them, but you never forget their face.  You never forget who they are.  We never forget how the Lord has saved us, and redeemed us.  We never forget His face.  Our job is to meditate on God Himself.  Our job is to remind ourselves daily of His promises.  When we become discouraged we must remember the days of old.  We stretch out our hands to Him because our souls thirst for Him like a parched land.

Deeper

Oswald chambers says that a life of faith is not a life of one glorious mountaintop experience after another, like soaring on eagles wings, but is a life of day-in and day-out consistency; a life of walking without fainting (Isaiah 40:31). If I have learned one thing over the past year, it would be that. The Christian faith is exhilarating and adventurous. It is a life worth living. But if you can relate with what Oswald is saying, you know that the Christian faith leads us into the wilderness at different times in our lives. Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness before being launched into the greatest 3 years of ministry the world has ever seen. 

The wilderness is a dry place. The wilderness is a season that I believe we will all walk through. But if faith is really built in the day to day consistency, then why should the wilderness push us backwards in our walk with Christ? Shouldn't the wilderness launch us into the greatest ministry of all time? When I say great, I don't mean easy and successful. I mean great as in living each day with the boundless joy of knowing our ministry is in the hands of a God who already has the victory. We are already successful when we are consistent in pursuing Jesus. 

Cheryl Fletcher said that miracles happen in the midst of the mundane. The wilderness is a mundane place to be in. Not much happens, there is not much to see, and to be honest, it feels like God is far from you. It's hard to want to show up for work when you're working in the wilderness. 

So how do we go about not only surviving, but thriving in the wilderness? How do we prepare to be launched into the ministry in which Jesus said we would do greater things than he? God reveals the answer to Ezekiel many years before Jesus and we too have the privilege of knowing the only answer that will ever be right.

Now he brought me back to the entrance to the Temple. I saw water pouring out from under the Temple porch to the east (the Temple faced east). The water poured from the south side of the Temple, south of the altar. He then took me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the gate complex on the east. The water was gushing from under the south front of the Temple. He walked to the east with a measuring tape and measured off fifteen hundred feet, leading me through water that was ankle-deep. He measured off another fifteen hundred feet, leading me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another fifteen hundred feet, leading me through water waist-deep. He measured off another fifteen hundred feet. By now it was a river over my head, water to swim in, water no one could possibly walk through. He said, "Son of man, have you had a good look?" Then he took me back to the riverbank. While sitting on the bank, I noticed a lot of trees on both sides of the river. He told me, "This water flows east, descends to the Arabah and then into the sea, the sea of stagnant waters. When it empties into those waters, the sea will become fresh. Wherever the river flows, life will flourish—great schools of fish—because the river is turning the salt sea into fresh water. Where the river flows, life abounds. Fishermen will stand shoulder to shoulder along the shore from En-gedi all the way north to En-eglaim, casting their nets. The sea will teem with fish of all kinds, like the fish of the Great Mediterranean. "The swamps and marshes won't become fresh. They'll stay salty. "But the river itself, on both banks, will grow fruit trees of all kinds. Their leaves won't wither, the fruit won't fail. Every month they'll bear fresh fruit because the river from the Sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing." (Ezekiel 47:1-12 MSG)

A river begins at a source and ends at a mouth, following a path called a course. Rivers can flow down mountains, through valleys (depressions) or along plains, and can create canyons or gorges in some cases.

The river of life gushes out of the Source, which is our mighty creator God. He takes us out deeper and deeper into the river until we cannot stand. At ankle-deep we begin to experience the depth of the knowledge and holiness of our God. We will never reach the depth of this understanding on earth. But still he takes us deeper. At knee-deep we sink into more understanding of the grace and love of the father. We will never know the pain of this cost while on the earth. But still he takes us deeper. At waist-deep we begin to learn more of who God is. His character, his heart, and his deep adoration for us. We will never know the depths of his affections for us on earth. But still he takes us deeper. The river is so deep that not a single person can stand without being emerged high above their head with water. We experience a fullness of God. We experience him as a lover. We experience him as a father, a healer, a provider.

God tells Ezekiel that the river is a river of freshwater that empties into the salty sea which then becomes fresh. The river is a source of life. Where the river flows, life abounds. I believe that God reveals His river of life to Ezekiel for the specific purpose of revealing Himself as the only source of life which would express itself through the sacrifice of His only son Jesus on a cross to pay the debt so that we could experience the depth of His river of life. It is only from the Source that we can receive life. And that river of life propels us down a different course into a mouth of salty water that must be made fresh through the sacrifice that can only come from the Source. The sea cannot be made fresh except through the Source from which fresh water comes. And on the banks of that river grow fruit that will never fail. Fruit that is used for eating and leaves that are used for healing. "Every month they'll bear fresh fruit because the river from the Sanctuary flows to them."

And just like Oswald Chambers said, faith is not a life of only mountaintops. "Rivers can flow down mountains, through valleys (depressions) or along plains, and can create canyons or gorges in some cases." As we wade into the depth of the river, God will take us down mountains, through valleys, and across plains. But what an adventure to know that our journey is carrying us towards God's destination of making things new, making things fresh, producing fruit that will not fail. So no matter if we are in the wilderness or not, we can seek life from the Source that never fails to give life and take us deeper.

Let us sink into the depths of his great river of life, our Source, because it is from the Source that we receive life to thrive in the wilderness.

Reagan Alissa McDonald

He's Jealous For His Bride

Many times in scripture, we read about Jesus being referred to as the bridegroom, and believers referred to as the bride of Christ.  For a long time this picture never sat right with me because I didn't understand how the coming of Christ or our relationship with Him could resemble a wedding or a marriage.  I'm learning that everything in scripture is perfectly understandable to the people of that century so I decided to look at it from their point of view.  What I found was absolutely incredible and breath-taking. I researched what a Jewish wedding looked like in the 1st century and this is what I found:

 "The Bible refers to the status of the prospective bride and groom as "espousal" or "betrothal."  It meant that the two people were committed to each other as much as a married couple would be.  The only parts of the marriage not yet completed were the formal "huppah" ceremony followed by their physical union.  This betrothal was considered so binding that the only way to break it was by an actual bill of divorcement. 

 The groom then departed, but not before he assured his bride with the promises of building a home for her and returning to complete the marriage ceremony.  He usually took a year to prepare her new home which often consisted of an addition built onto his own father's house.

 The bride was expected to remain true to her groom as she prepared herself and her trousseau.  She lived for the day of his return for her which would be heralded by a shout from the members of the wedding party.  The impending return of her groom was to influence the bride's behavior during this interim espousal period.   

 The typical Jewish wedding took place at night.  As soon as any members of the wedding spotted the moving torches signaling the groom's approach, their cry echoed through the streets, "The bridegroom is coming."  The Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia tells us, "Mirth and gladness announced their approach to townspeople waiting in houses along the route to the bride's house."  Upon hearing the announcement, the excited bride would drop everything in order to slip into her wedding dress and complete her final personal preparations for marriage."  -Oasis Tradepost

Ephesians 5:25-27- "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish."

Revelation 21:2- "And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."

John 3:29- "The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete."

Revelation 21:9- "Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

2 Corinthians 11:2- "For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ."

I want my life to reflect my anxiousness for the day that Jesus comes to marry me.  The day that I will be made holy and without blemish.  Lately my soul has become restless living the day to day life.  I yearn to see the world come to know the Savior of the world and at the same time I am so scared.  My biggest dream is that I will travel the world to tell others the saving news of the gospel.  Each day I have to ask myself the hard questions, am I okay with spending my life in another country where I will not have the luxuries of America?  Am I willing to move overseas unmarried?  Am I okay with the possibility of never getting married?  Am I willing to give up my life physically for the sake of the gospel?  Some days the answer is yes.  And sadly, some days the answer is no.  I'm realizing that as a believer, I am not entitled to anything in this world. The Lord promises me salvation when I don't come close to deserving it!  Shouldn't that be enough? Yes, it should. But the cool thing is that God delights in giving us the desires of our hearts.  His word says that He opens His hand and satisfies the desires of every living thing.  We are His bride and He delights in fulfilling His beloved. His plan exceeds the greatest and wildest adventure we could ever imagine for ourselves.

My prayer is that we will ask God to show us how to live each day in anxious anticipation of His coming.  I want Him to show us how to be the anxious bride awaiting the arrival of her groom. What would it look like to live as if Jesus were coming back for us any second?  What would it look like to give up all of the worldly hopes that we think we are entitled to?  What would it look like if every believer in the world proclaimed their faith as if nothing else in the world mattered?  I thank the Lord for His grace on me because these are not the questions I ask myself everyday.  But I want them to be my life. 

God Bless you!

If dependency is the goal, then weakness is the advantage.

Jesus rocked my world this summer.  I clung to Isaiah 55:11 from May 13th on.  "So is my word that goes out from my mouth.  It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."  Again in Isaiah 14:24 it says "The Lord Almighty has sworn, 'surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand.'"  It's weird to think about every situation being purposed and knowing that everything the Lord wants to happen will happen.  Everything that He promises will come to pass because He is faithful.  So many times this summer I questioned my role and my purpose in my role.  My consistent prayer was that the Lord would make me "good" at my job.  I was in a leadership position at camp and I felt I had nothing to offer.  Every morning I would wake up begging God to make me adequate for the challenges I was to overcome.  Every single day the Lord provided the boldness and the strength and energy to do my job.  There came a point in the summer where I realized I didn't want to be "good" at my job because then I wouldn't need Jesus.  I have slowly grown to love my weaknesses because it forces me to cling to my God each day for the things I need to be successful and victorious in all that He has planned for me.

My friend Sarah Ellison put it perfectly; If dependency is the goal, then weakness is the advantage.  I don't ever want to be in a place where I am good at anything or capable of anything without the Creator of the universe.

Dependency is the state of relying on or being controlled by someone or something else.  It is being abnormally tolerant to and dependent on something that is habit-forming.  It is an over-reliance by a person on something.  The state of needing help.

This definition of dependency is beautiful to me because it paints a picture of what I want my dependency on Jesus to look like.  I want to overly rely on Him for everything.  How can we not depend on the very one who speaks what will come to pass?  The very words He says become life.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ”Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."- 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Being at camp is like being on the top of a mountain with the Lord.  It is a pure and beautiful thing to be captivated by our King in a place where it is encouraged.  But we weren't created to live on the top of the mountain.  My boss, Lanie, spoke about our purpose to dwell and grow in the Valley.  At the top of the mountain you can see everything.  It is a place to put life into perspective.  But at the top of the mountain, nothing grows, because trees and life grow in the valley.

I am encouraged to thrive in the valley I'm in because I know that everything that happens has to go through the Lord's hands first.  It has to be spoken first because His words will not return to Him void.  I love waking up every morning begging the Lord to do with me what He wants.  Dependency is my goal and my weaknesses have become my advantage.

The Lord accomplished all that He planned for this summer and I believe that His word did not return back to Him empty.  Kids came to know Him this summer and the sweet gospel was shared.  People were healed, and restored.  People were set free, and given life.  I was stretched and molded and reminded that I don't have to be anyone but a Child of the Most High King.  I am now back in the valley and ready to do work for His kingdom in anxious anticipation of His coming.

A Burdened Heart.

I want the Lord to create in me a burdened heart.  In fact, I am begging God for a burdened heart.  When I hear the word burdened, I consider it a negative word.  It is certainly not a word to be taken lightly.  There are several definitions of burdened in the dictionary.  It is something that is carried.  It is something that is emotionally difficult to bear.  It is a source of great worry or stress; weight.  It is a responsibility or duty.

Sitting in my college apartment, I can look around at my closet that is full of clothes, my bed, my laptop, my college education, and most importantly my freedom in Christ that guarantees my salvation when I am finally called home to be with my sweet heavenly dad.

And while I take all of these things in, I beg for my heart to be burdened with a heart for the people that can't claim that hope and assurance that they are saved and treasured by the King.  The people that don't know Jesus.  It's hard for me to sit with all of my stuff my life and not be completely convinced that none of it matters if people in this world don't know the one person that does matter.

If my heart is burdened for the lost, then the lost are people that I carry on my heart.  Knowing that people are lost is something that is emotionally difficult to bear.  The lost are a source of great worry or stress (an urgency for them to know Jesus). The lost are a weight.  But most importantly, it becomes a responsibility or a duty to seek the lost.  I want my heart to be burdened like that.

If every single Christian in the world had a burdened heart for the lost, I don't think that there would be very many lost out there.  Sadly that isn't the case.  In Asia alone, less then 9% of the population know Jesus.  That means that roughly 3,797,785,607 people don't know Jesus on that continent alone.

Now I'm not saying that everyone should pack up and move to Asia to tell them about Jesus, (even though that would be legit).  Certainly there are people all around us that don't know Jesus and we are near them for a reason.  What I want is to be used by the Lord.

I know that the Lord uses those who are willing to be used.  I know that the Lord uses those that have a desire to be used.  Mine is burning.  Why He would use me, I have no idea.  I have nothing to offer, and I certainly don't deserve it.  But I am going to take the responsibility that He has given me as a believer, and run with it.  God will do the rest.

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
   because the LORD has anointed me
   to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
   to proclaim freedom for the captives
   and release from darkness for the prisoners,^[a]
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
   and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
 ³ and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
   instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
   instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
   instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
   a planting of the LORD
   for the display of his splendor.----Isaiah 61


I started writing this to get my thoughts out about what the Lord has been teaching me, but I hope it encourages you in your purpose.  I want us to live with a sense of urgency.  If we know the truth then why aren't we sharing it?  Let's start asking God to burden our hearts for the lost and let Him do it.  Let's start praying for the nations, the people in our classes, our president, the sick, the broken, the weary, and the lost.  Let's actually share the gospel with the people we see everyday.  Let's start looking at things eternally and stop trying to think of how we can make ourselves comfortable.


I'm tired of being comfortable.  


So I pray that you will join me in the life of being uncomfortable for Jesus.  I pray that you will join me in being a prayer warrior for the lost.  Let's finish this commission together that God created us to live for in the first place.  Jesus is worth it!  The adventure is worth it!


I love you friends!

Unending Grace.

This summer I worked at Sky Ranch Christian Camp in Van, Texas.  Although I went there to serve and love kids, the Lord did more in my life then I thought possible.  It's funny how God works like that.  Being at camp was like living in heaven on earth.  We got to have fun and worship the Lord without any distractions or worldly things.  The kids that came to Sky Ranch called it the "sky high."  They catch on fire for Jesus at camp but when they go home it fades away and they fall into the way they were before.  Every girl that I talked to wanted to go home and be different.  They each wanted to serve the Lord passionately and not lose it.  I remember the worship song with the words, "when I come down the mountain and get back to my life, I wont settle for ordinary things.  I'm going to follow you forever, for all of my days, I won't rest until I see you again."


How many times do we promise ourselves that this time it will be different?  This time I will follow Jesus.  This time I won't give into to temptation.  This time will be the last time.


When we come into a relationship with the creator of the universe we become a new creation.  We become beautiful butterflies, and we are transformed out of being the gross caterpillar that was once confined to the dirt.  The Lord allows us to fly in our freedom.  But one thing that was constant with my girls at camp were the feelings of worthlessness and failure.  Failure to be "perfect" and maintain the "sky high."  The Lord revealed to me just HOW MUCH grace He has for us.  He already paid for every sin that we will commit and every mistake that we will make.  We are clean, perfect, forgiven butterflies.  So why are we still sitting in our mess on the ground?  Why are we still confining ourselves to the ground when we now have the ability to fly?  We fly in freedom and in grace.  The Lord has given me a free gift that I do not deserve and I could never repay.  So this mindset that I have to repay Him by being perfect just stabs the grace out of the gift.  Jesus just wants me to love Him and give Him all of me.  Not by my works so that I cannot boast in earning anything.


Galatians 5:4-6 says "You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.  But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope.  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value.  The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."


I don't know about you but I don't want to fall away from grace because I'm too busy working for it.  I want to sprint towards it and never let go!  God just wants my faith and my love and my life.  He doesn't ask me to obey rules to earn His love because I can't.  I want to express my faith through love because that is all that God is, love.  Is there a better way to worship God who is love then to be love and give love the way that Jesus did for us?


God doesn't need us but He WANTS us!  I want to walk in His grace for the rest of my life and never again become a slave to sin, a slave to works and rules.  I want to experience everything that God has for my life and for me.  If you have felt the burden of trying to live by rules and laws, and you are missing out on the grace that is freely being poured over you, I would encourage you to get back in it!!  Grace is why we are saved, period.  Allow God to take you out of your mess and wash you in His love.  His desire is for you and YOU belong to HIM!

Israel's Only Savior

¹ "But now, this is what the LORD says—
   he who created you, Jacob,
   he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
   I have summoned you by name; you are mine. ² 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. ³ For I am the LORD your God,
   the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
   Cush and Seba in your stead. ⁴ Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
   and because I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
   nations in exchange for your life."-Isaiah 43:1-4






This passage has completely opened my eyes to the truths of God's immense love for us.  The first thing that God says is that He has summoned us by name.  The definition of summon is to authoritatively or urgently call on.  How cool is it that God calls us by our names to come to Him?  I think of it as if God is saying "Reagan I am urgently calling for you!"  He will be with us always and through everything, the fire, storms, water, even when we are walking on solid ground.  I have always known that "God was there," but I never completely lived as if He was living inside of me.  As I finish my freshmen year of college, I look back on everything that I have learned and it is more then I could ever even have imagined.  This year the Lord has urgently called for me to live for Him and it has been the experience of a lifetime and I will never go back!  Just like this passage says, I have gone through the rivers but they have not washed over me.  I have gone through the fires but I have not been burned.  I am precious in the Lord's sight and because He loves me He says He will give men in exchange for my life!!   


Today I was looking through my brother's national geographic magazine and the article was about the world's tallest trees.  This pictures were incredible of the 300 foot trees.  They were absolutely breath-taking!!  A lot of people can see God's beauty through nature.  I see how huge God is compared to the hugest things.  If MY GOD created a 300 foot tree, He must be HUGE.  If my God made the biggest mountains, he is still much bigger.  So who am I to think that my life and my problems matter?  But they do to God.  He loves me and will give anything for me to seek and call after Him.  And what is stopping us sometimes?  God created everything.  He is funnier then the funniest person I know.  God is HILARIOUS!  He is more loving then the most loving person I know.  Because He created them.  He created me.  This fact alone should make us want to THROW our lives at him and allow him to control it all.  If He knows whats going to happen and whats best then why would we ever want to do anything on our own??


What are you holding onto, big or small, that God is asking you to trust him with?  Are you willing to give it away and rest in the lap of our daddy?  The only one who will always be faithful?


This week at church we looked at the passage in Matthew where Peter steps out of the boat and walks on the water towards Jesus.  While this passage is so important in understanding trust and being able to surrender, I picked out something I had never thought about before.  Paul ASKS Jesus to ask him to get out of the boat and walk on the water!!  How many times have we ever ASKED God to challenge us to step out in faith when we could surely fall?  I think that the Sweet Lord wants us to want to be uncomfortable for his glory.  If we are comfortable in our faith then we have settled and we are missing out!!


Today, ask God to test you, ask God to challenge you in an area that you never even thought about.  Then leap out of the boat and run towards the father!  YOU WILL NOT FAIL!  He will be right there with you and when you reach him he will wrap his arms around you.


Hope everyone is having a blessed week.  I love you all so much!!