christine caine

In this week’s take away, Erin talks with us about seeking rest by setting boundaries for herself with social media.  Technology is such a big part of our lives and social networking has created habits that allow us to find instant gratification and welcome distractions from the stresses of our daily life. We often post about our days instead of living presently in them. 

God is present with us in every moment and we have an open invitation to live fully present with Him.

We want to encourage you today, to take time to ask God what it is that is distracting you and what might be depleting you of your strength.  When we eliminate those distractions we find a depth in the space that remains.  But getting there requires a step of faith. As you draw near to the Lord, choose to step in faith into the strength of your true identity as a daughter of the Most High.

Inside and outside the church these days, we see people searching and yearning to find their purpose, for their calling, as if it were one special thing and we might miss it. And there’s a lot of pressure that comes with that.

It seems like everywhere we look, whether at work or in church or even online, we can find tests and tools to help us determine our personalities, our strengths, weaknesses and where we might fit best into the fabric of the world around us. But those boxes, though helpful, are not what defines us. 

More than anything, our purpose is to follow God and to rest in Him. To love God and to love people. But we can so easily get caught up in the striving and bending to the pressure to figure out our calling and our purpose and where we are supposed to fit, that we miss God entirely. 

The scripture we’ve been focusing on these past few weeks is found in Isaiah 30:15 which says, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength...” and many times we stop there. But the final words of that scripture are equally as important… “but you would have none of it.” 

Regardless of what social media says, or what the enneagram or any other test says about us, we need to let God lead us. Our potential in Him is not limited by a test or even a box we might put ourselves in. In His strength and by His power our potential is limitless, and in that truth we can find confidence, peace, and rest.

In this weeks conversation, Rossaue shares on seeking true rest. She talks about establishing boundaries that help to create a pattern of rest week to week, and how she realized she needed to add herself to her list of priorities. She has made it a goal to seek rest in community, and in doing so, she has seen the fruit of spending quality time with those she loves.

What boundaries do you need to set for yourself in your day to day that that could help you find true rest? We want to encourage you to set some time aside to be present with your friends and loved ones and invite God to show up. He has created us for community and He delights in His daughters spending time together. When we draw near to the image of God in each other, we often find ourselves experiencing a deeper intimacy and closeness with the Lord.

‘This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.’ Isaiah 30:15

In this weeks Take Away, Tami shares about how God invites us in to rest and how there's always a reward when we return to His arms. This rest that He invites us to is not passive and often requires action. The first step we must take comes down to choice. We decide whether or not we accept God’s provision of rest.

We want to encourage you this week to choose rest and choose life. Draw near to the Lord and accept His gift of rest for His beloved. Whether it is sitting at His feet, or working in a restful posture, let go and allow yourself to be realigned with the Father.

Psalms 62:5-8 “My soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.”

In today’s Take Away, Rossaue talks about rest and the benefits we experience when we choose to rest in God. 

His word says in the place of rest we won’t be shaken. That we will be protected and surrounded by His presence in that place of rest.  But what happens when we have left that place of rest? 

When we are operating out of our own strength and ability, we tangibly experience the loss of peace. And as believers and followers of Christ we can use that as a marker. To help us to see when we have stepped outside of His best and need to go back and re-focus. 

Knowing that God is leading us, we operate from a posture of listening and hearing His voice. Sometimes God will leads us to sit still and quiet before Him and other times He will call us to run with all our might, but regardless of what obedience looks like, we can walk in confidence knowing that it is God who is ordering our steps. It’s God does the work, not us. 

Phillippians 4:6-7 says that the Lord is near. That we are to be anxious for nothing. And that the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard our minds and our hearts in Christ Jesus. 

Are you walking in peace today? Has peace left you? If so, take a moment, pause, and let God bring you back to a place of rest in Him. He is faithful to His word! And His plans for you are always good!

In today’s Take-Away, Erin Blair talks openly about her love-hate relationship with the word repentance, and how she is continually brought back to what the Bible says in Romans 2:4, “Do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance.”

God’s kindness is intended to lead us back to repentance. 

We are not meant to rely on ourselves. 

We are invited to let God in. 

When we embrace the Father’s extravagant love and accept His invitation, the power of the Holy Spirit comes from within our brokenness. Through repentance and a posture of surrender we can invite the Holy Spirit to renew our perspective and we can ask God to take control.

Our prayer today is that you would receive and experience the kindness of God. That His presence would fill you with strength and give you the grace to let go of expectations, stress, schedule, and control. 

Lean in, take a deep breath, and allow the love of the Father to loosen your grip.

In this take away Kalisha talks about a season in her life as a worship leader where she felt like she was crashing and burning. It was hard and it required a realignment of her mind and heart. Choosing a posture of rest. Choosing to stop striving, and allowing God to work in that moment.

She began to see that her expectations were much different from His plan for her. Her frustration drew her near to God and that place of rest brought her into a new, deeper worship in the most unexpected places.

We hope that as you listen to Kalisha’s take away you will walk away encouraged in whatever season you find yourself in right now. That you would also make the choice to draw near to the Lord as you move forward and find rest.

In Lucy’s current season of rest God is teaching her how to go against the patterns of the world and the culture we live in to actively practice not striving. The world is always adding things to our to do list, but we are called to have higher priorities. We are called to live intentionally with God at the center of all thing’s and at the top of our to do list. We hope that Lucy’s take away will encourage you to make time to rest and live in the outpour of love that comes from within.

Do you ever feel like you are being pulled in so many different directions, stretched thin, and all over the place? We may not like how it feels, but stretching is good for us. We’re supposed to be stretched because it's in those places, we experience growth.

In todays Take Away, Lucy Kyllonen shares about how in studying the process of purifying wine, God revealed to her a truth that she had never seen before. The movement of wine from one container to another was to preserve its purity and its flavor. The movement had a purpose, just like God’s movement in our own lives has a purpose. 

We may not like where we are right now, but if we can learn look beyond right now and trust that God is working for our good, we will learn what it looks like to rejoice in our present circumstances. Knowing that what God is doing in us is making us more potent, more flavorful, and more impactful. 

"He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it."

Philippians 1:6

What happens when we’re looking for God to comfort us, to deliver us, to heal us, to provide for us, but we find devastation instead? In today’s Take Away, Rossaue talks about how both David and Jesus responded in these moments.

It’s easy, when we are blind sided by our circumstances, to want to blame God, to get angry, to run away. The feelings are real, the pain is real, and we need to allow ourselves to feel, but we can’t get stuck there.

The example set for us, is not to turn away from God but rather to look to Him to lead us, asking Him to reveal His will in the middle of our most difficult moments. Like David, it may lead us back into battle, or like Jesus it might lead us to death, but even in those moments, God’s is able to resurrect.

God is good. His word promises that He works all things together for our good. And when we can grab hold of that truth in the midst of the moments that would devastate us, He will always lead us to a place of victory.

The struggle is real. For all of us. And it’s so easy sometimes to get caught up in comparison. Measuring our situations, our responses, our outcomes to those around us. The temptation is to get so caught up in what is happening to us that we miss what God wants to do in us and through us.

Perspective changes everything. What if instead of seeing our circumstances as obstacles, we chose to to see them as an opportunity to strengthen ourselves. To set our eyes on the author and the finisher of our faith. To encourage ourselves in the Lord.

What if instead of reacting we choose to pause and respond? Think on it. Try it out. Let God meet you there. His strength is made perfect in our weakness.

Are you tired, worn out, and weary from life? You are not alone. Many are facing situations that have brought us to the end of ourselves, but one thing is certain, God is near.

King David, author of the Psalms and the one who God called ‘a man after my own heart’, understood these feeling more than most. His life was a rollercoaster, but perhaps what shaped him more than anything else was what He did when life got rough.

1 Samuel 30:6 says, ‘David was greatly distressed… but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.’

In today’s conversation, we break down what that looks like for each of us. Regardless of where we find ourselves, we have the same opportunity as David did, to encourage ourselves and find hope in the Lord our God.

Above all else, love one another. 

That is the foundation of who we are in our faith. But when faced with a situation that could clearly divide us from those we are called to love, many times we have to make a choice... Do we want to be right or do we want to make a difference? In our last conversation Michelle shared about how she has seen that play out in the relationships closest to her and in today’s Take Away she breaks down those thoughts even more in talking about expectations and how unrealistic expectations can literally destroy us and separate us from the ones we love.

It’s a powerful truth. And something we all need to be reminded of daily. We can let God be God and love those around us well when we trust Him to do what only He can for the people we love.

In today’s Take Away, Whitney Kelly shares about this season of her life, and the temptation to look around at other people and compare ourselves and our circumstances. It’s something we all can relate to. 

In those moments of comparison we can feel like we’ve missed something or that we should be doing something more or being something more based on the timelines we have placed on ourselves, but we serve a God that is not confined by time. He operates outside of our timetables, and His plan for us is always good. His words for us and His plans for us remain constant through every season of life, and regardless of where we are, we can always find a way to encourage others.

 "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23

Do you ever see something that catches your eye and makes you wonder if God is trying to show you something? In today’s Take Away, Tami talks more about a moment where God used a moment like that to reveal more about light and darkness. 

We, as God’s people are called to be the light bringers. In John 8:12, Jesus says “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 

As the light bringers, we don’t need to be afraid of the dark places, but rather recognize that the darkness is only in indicator the absence of light. As believers and followers of Christ, we carry the light that can change and transform everything around us. 

What is God speaking to you today? Is there a place you are called to bring the light?

Deuteronomy 30:11-14 says ‘ Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.’

God is always speaking, He is always moving, and His word is near. Today, join us around the table as we talk about the NOW word of the Lord. What is God speaking to us now? And how does His word alive in our hearts bring life not only to us but to those around us?

His word is not for just a few of us, but for all of us! What is God speaking to your heart? Listen in and allow Him to use you to speak life today!

Today, Erin shares how knowing and understanding the love of God has radically transformed her from the inside out. When we encounter Jesus, like the woman at the well, our lives are forever changed, and not just for a moment, but for the rest of our lives. We serve an out-of-the box God. A God that is limitless. But continuing to grow in that understanding requires something of us too. It requires us to position ourselves to hear His voice, to learn from others, to grow in our knowledge of Him, to cultivate the gifts we have been given, and to choose faith over fear. And the more that we choose step in to what He has for us, the more our capacity to change and influence the world around us grows.

February of 2019 was a milestone for Erin Blair, marking 17 years of being free from drug and alcohol addiction. It also marks the moment she met Jesus. Take a moment and listen to this week's Take Away, as Erin shares her personal testimony of how God rescued and redeemed her from a life of addiction and pain. His love meets us where we are... right where we are... and leads us out of darkness and into light, into life, into peace. And being led by His spirit we see Him work all things for our good. He can bring purpose from our pain, and hope from our healing.  

"Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him." Psalm 34:8

None of us are immune to “stinkin thinkin”. Our subconscious and “self-talk” really do determine the outcomes of our lives.  Rossaue encourages us today to take our thoughts captive and align them with God’s word. We don’t have to know the end results.  We don’t have to have all of the answers.  When we are overwhelmed with fear of the unknowns, we can take those thoughts and make them obedient to the truth that God is all-knowing, and His ways are better and for our good. His Word has the power to transform our lives by transforming our thoughts. His steadfast Word changes us. And He really will finish the work He started in us.

Philippians 1:6 “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”