Let the Little Children Come to Me...

The Father has been answering some prayers and placing others on my heart lately.  A recent training I attended talked about the importance of physically reaching out to the kids we work with.  Many kids in the city schools go without their parents touching them (hugs, high fives, etc.) for long periods of time.  Or the touches they do receive come in the form of abuse.  To many that high five or hand shake from the teacher or administrator or social worker is the only contact they get.  It brings a sense of camaraderie and trust.
At the end of last month I was feeling lonely and just desiring a connection with someone.  I wanted to lay my head on someone's lap and have them run their hand through my hair, like a mother to her child.  I was looking for comfort and God brought it to me in the most unexpected way. 
A few Sundays ago I was at an inner-city church and a young girl came up to me and began to hug me and hang around.  She sat down next to me during church and I just felt such a tug on my heart to reach out and wrap my arms around her.  The whole time of worship I had my hand on her shoulder.  As the service progressed she moved closer to me and wrapped my arm around her.  Immediately tears began to fall and I heard God tell me, "This is the connection you've been looking for, the touch you need."  It wasn't so much anymore about me needing that connection, because a great burden was placed on my heart to reach out to and love on the kids at this church.
Since that Sunday I have visited the kids' Sunday School class.  There is a great need for people to come and love and teach these kids with a program designed for them.  Right now there is one teacher for approximately 20 kids, ages 2-12.  I've been praying about how God wants me to be involved.  Many ideas and desires have come to mind, but fear and self-doubt also come to mind.  I am not sure what to do or how to do it, but I plan on pursuing this desire God has placed in my heart.  I would like to ask for your prayers for a few things:

• Pray for the boys and girls, that the Spirit will open the eyes of their hearts to see His truth (Ephesians 1:15-19).
• Pray for the enemy to be bound and darkness to be dispelled, because Satan has blinded the minds of the unbelieving (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).
• Pray for the hearts of the children, that they will not be hardened, but that they will be opened for God to place a new, living heart in them to follow His commands and to be counted among His people (Ezekiel 11:19-20).
• Pray for leaders (young men especially) with a heart for children to be raised up and called to love and serve and be role models for these kids (2 Timothy 2:2).
• Pray for me, that I will be humble and not act like Miss Know-It-All, but that I will have a servant's heart to reach out to these kids (Philippians 2:5-8).

This morning God brought to mind the account of Cain and Abel.  When God asked Cain where Abel was he replied, "Am I my brother's keeper?" (Genesis 4:9).  The answer is a resounding, "Yes!"  We are to keep and watch over our younger brothers and sisters in Christ.  If not, we're like the watchman who sees the trouble coming, but doesn't sound the alarm.  In the end he is held accountable for all the lives lost, because he didn't do his job (Ezekiel 33:6).


Oh, gently lay your head upon My chest
And I will comfort you like a mother while you rest
And the tide can change so fast
But I will stay the same through the past
The same in the future, the same today

I am constant, I am near
I am peace that shatters all your secret fears
I am holy, I am wise
I'm the only One who knows your heart's desires, your heart's desires

Oh, weary, tired, and worn
Let out your sighs
And drop that heavy load you hold
'Cause Mine is light

I know you through and through
There's no need to hide
I want to show you love
That is deep and high and wide

I am constant, I am near
I am peace that shatters all your secret fears
I am holy, I am wise
I'm the only One who knows your heart's desires, your heart's desires

 I am constant, I am near
I am peace that shatters all your secret fears
I am holy, I am wise
I'm the only One who knows your heart's desires, your heart's desires

Oh, gently lay your head upon My chest
And I will comfort you like a mother while you rest
~I Am by Jill Phillips~

Desensitized and Disillusioned

"I'm bored."  The most repeated phrase I heard out of a boy's mouth at Vacation Bible School.
Blank stares in a Sunday School.
"What else is there?"  "Is this all there is?"  "Why can't I have what she has?"  Questions I've asked myself a million times.
If you are a Christian, chances are you have encountered all these thoughts, feelings, and actions.  After all, it's not too often that we find a Christian who stands out.  We're so used to complacency, to seeing everybody smiling in church, but not living a powerful, Spirit-filled life.  Over these past few months God has really been opening my eyes to how He intended our Christianity to be.  We have so missed the mark.
A couple of years ago, I began to feel a tug on my heart and ask the question: "Is this going to church and pretending everything is okay and that I'm not struggling in sin and doubt all there is to being a Christian?"  It's all I ever saw.  I was never invited to really become a part of a maturing Christian's life: to observe and be taught and be challenged.  As I began to ask my Sunday School teacher about something more, she led me to a lady who would disciple me.  In turn, she introduced me to a group of ladies whose passion and purpose was to follow Jesus and build women to do the same.  What they had amazed me and I wanted it too.  But it's not today's standard and I didn't think I could ever have anything like it. 
Over the past three years I have had three women disciple me.  But it hasn't been until the last few months that my heart and desire have been changed to really start pursuing and developing my relationship with God.  Through the lady who has been discipling me, the books of Leslie Ludy, and key verses God has placed on my heart to memorize, claim, and pray (Matthew 7:7-8, Hebrews 11:6), I have been able to get a glimpse of what God truly has for us in our relationships with Him.  It's so much bigger and beautiful and passionate than anything I've ever experienced.  It calls for self-sacrifice, discipline, a yielded heart, and perseverance.  Nothing ever comes easy and so it is with a satisfying, fulfilling relationship with God.  It's not that He doesn't want to have that with us.  It's that He wants to reveal Himself to those who are faithful enough to lay aside everything to pursue Him. 
A true relationship with God, one that changes your life and stands out in the sea of Christians, is one in which God is placed first and earnestly sought after.  He is radically changing my world and the way I view Christianity.  It deeply saddens me that so few people are really transformed upon accepting Jesus.  Granted, it is a process, but we should be swept away in a joyous adventure, not roped into the mundane of the crowd.
As I glimpse more of the Father, and the relationship He desires to have with me, I want to shout the joy and wonders of it to the world.  I urge you, I beseech you, I beg of you to surrender your heart, mind, body, and soul to God and to begin praying that He will reveal Himself to you.  Then do your part and seek (Jeremiah 29:13).  God promised that you will find Him, but too often we wait to look until we are buried in sin or pain, and at that point we begin to doubt His presence and goodness.  It is imperative we begin seeking right now.  Believe me, He will reward your pursuit of Him with joy and peace and confidence of His presence.  It's not easy, but it's possible.  A radical, Spirit-filled life is not the norm, but it is worth stepping out in faith and being "weird".

Many have traveled this road before
I see their tracks in the dirt
But maybe I don't agree
With where they are leading

And who am I, just a youth
But why has that become the excuse?
A monotone voice
In my head saying

"Dreaming all the time, it's so foolish
Your flood of empty words will drown you in ruin"
So we listen
Should we listen?

They shake their heads
As they drive away in the bandwagon
Didn't feel like hitching a ride
Oh, but I'll be fine

Some nights it's hard to be alone
I want some kind of kinship
But the finish line
It drives me on when they say

"Dreaming all the time, it's so foolish
Your flood of empty words will drown you in ruin"
So we listen
Should we listen?

Come with me, they'll call us revolutionaries
Come with me, they'll call us revolutionaries
Revolutionaries
Revolutionaries

Dreaming all the time, it's not foolish
Your flood of life giving words
They will refresh
They will refresh

Dreaming all the time, it's not foolish
Your flood of life giving words
They will refresh
Should we listen?
Revolutionaries
~Revolutionaries by Bethany Dillon~


I hear a voice calling out
I hear a voice in this wilderness
Where darkness has reigned for so long
Ground is being taken

The trumpet sounds
And Your glory touches the ground
And we all stand in awe
Who is this, this glory far beyond us?
I hear a voice

I hear a drum beating, heaven's drawing near
The sky will open up, people are being healed
I hear a drum beating, heaven's drawing near
The sky will open up, people are being healed
I hear a voice

Heaven's battle cry, Rise!
See the sun light what was hidden
Heaven's heartbeat, see it moving
What was a whisper is now
A voice calling out

I see a generation rising up
No longer accepting lies
Running to the battlefield
And losing their lives

I see a generation rising up
No longer accepting lies
As a band of worshipers run to the battlefield
They're finding their lives
They're finding their lives
I hear a voice

Heaven's battle cry, Rise!
See the sun light what was hidden
Heaven's heartbeat, see it moving
What was a whisper is now
A voice calling out

Heaven's battle cry, Rise!
See the sun light what was hidden
Heaven's heartbeat, see it moving, it's moving
What was is a whisper is now, is now
A voice, voice calling out
~A Voice Calling Out by Bethany Dillon~