Tag: light

Bekah's Heart, Crossroads, First Trinity, Youth Ministry

Truly a Beautiful Sight!

Rebekah Freed

Here is a glimpse into the beautiful sight I witnessed while I worshipped this weekend:  

  • Two middle school students working together to make sure we had light on the candles in the front of the Church to help us focus on THE Light, Jesus. 
  • Three high school student singing, playing, leading the congregation in praises to our King.
  • Four sisters in middle and high school greeting people as they came into worship, directing God’s sons and daughters to go receive His very body and blood, helping collect the gifts of God’s people and present them back to God.
  • A high school student, knelt down in prayer with a man at the altar railing.

 

I LOVE seeing youth involved in worship.  And no, for those of you who don’t attend First Trinity, this was NOT a special ‘youth’ service.  It wasn’t really a “special” day at all (well, minus celebrating Sue’s Master DCE Award!!!).   What I mean is this is not the first time I’ve witnessed young people in action here at First Trinity. 

Take Christmas Eve, for example, when a 4th grader stood up in front of the entire congregation for each service and recited, from memory, the entire Christmas story from Luke 2.  Hearing the story of the Christ child, proclaimed from a child… simply beautiful.

Or our New Years’ Eve lock-in where 7 of the 15 youth participating had some role in planning or leading a section of the event. 

It is such a beautiful thing to see the entire body of Christ working together.  And it wasn’t JUST the youth either that made these things (and so many more) so wonderful.  It’s the interaction between all those serving.

At that New Years Eve Lock-in, TEN adults helped with some aspect of the lock-in from set-up to serving breakfast and even a few brave souls who stay the entire night (mostly awake) with the students so they could enjoy bringing in the New Year with their friends.

On Christmas Eve, I’m sure there were many hours of practice with those 4th graders’ parents rehearsing and encouraging to each of them to prepare, not to mention the many others who served in that service.

And last week… those students I witnessed using their gifts weren’t alone!  Just for that one service alone, at least 25 other people worked TOGETHER to make that service possible… other band members, readers, people working sound and powerpoint, greeters, ushers, and the list continues.

THIS is what the Body of Christ is all about. … each person doing their part … no matter whether the role seems to be “in the spotlight” or no one but you knows it even gets done… whether you’re 9 yrs old or 90.  It is so encouraging to be serving and learning and growing and worshiping in a place who values each person for who they are and honors the gifts they bring to worship our King.

 

“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” 1 Corinthians 12:27

 

“Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” ~ 1 Timothy 4:12 

 

Poetry/Songs

FREE!!!

Rebekah Freed

Oh that nasty Satan
So good at telling lies
That bind, constrict, destroy, and kill
So many innocent lives

 

He tells you you’re not good enough
But yet builds you up with pride
Insecurity overwhelms your heart
Makes you run and hide

 

The chains wrapped tight around your soul
Getting tighter and tighter each day
But there’s one thing that is stronger still
Love alone breaks chains away

 

It starts as just a whisper
One Satan tries desperately to end
But slowly it gets louder still
A simple "hope" points ’round the bend

 

Around that bend you swear didn’t exist
Despair blocked it from your view
But as light broke through your darkened heart
You realized that hope really is for YOU

 

It’s not just for those "other ones"
"For anyone but me"
No, truth be told, Jesus loves all
And love … has set you

 

free.

31 Days of Hope

Hope {Day 25} – Let Hope Arise!

Rebekah Freed

Hello again!

Wow! What a great weekend it was with the First Trinity Crossroads Group at Acquire the Fire!  I hope to make a special post tomorrow about our adventures in addition to blogging about hope… so watch for that.

 

For today, I wanted to look quickly at one of the worship songs we sang many times this weekend.  The song is called “With Everything” by Hillsong and here are the words to the chorus:

Let hope rise,
And darkness tremble
In Your holy light,
And every eye will see
Jesus, our God,
Great and mighty to be praised.

When we first sang this song this weekend I was in such a state of awe.  These six lines describe my heart and my prayer… the very essence of what prompted me to even start blogging for 31 days about Hope…

 

I saw people that desperately needing hope.  And so I began to pray that hope would rise up in their lives.

As God shines light to the darkest places of our lives, it removes our need to fear and tremble because darkness itself is trembling in His holy light.

It can be a crazy thing to pour out your heart day after day onto a blog, but I feel as if when we’re able to share the things God is bringing to light in our lives, it gives other people the courage to let God shine light in their lives as well… they can see Jesus as he offers them hope.

 

So this is my prayer this week as I wrap up this 31 day adventure into the heart of Hope:

That true hope would arise in my own heart giving me the courage to share what You, God, are bringing to light from my darkness.  As I share, Lord, may all who read this words see Jesus.  In everything, may You get ALL the glory and the praise!

 

Let hope rise,
And darkness tremble
In Your holy light,
And every eye will see
Jesus, our God,
Great and mighty to be praised.

 

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A thought to take with you: I’ve decided to blog for 31 days about hope… it what ways, big or small, can you help hand out some hope to people this week? 

31 Days of Hope

Hope {Day 19} – Made New

Rebekah Freed

I’ve heard the stories again and again.

Each one so distinct and unique, yet, so similar at the core.

Something happened-

Many things maybe.

Something so horrifying it rarely,

if ever,

gets any attention in conversation.

Yet, it gets all the attention in the heart.

 

Neglect.

Rape.

Abuse.

 

The death of a loved one.

The death of a marriage.

The death of a friendship.

 

An eating disorder.

Depression.

Self-injury.

 

A monstrous mistake.

A horrific memory.

A crippling fear.

 

“I’m not good enough.”

“Will I ever change?”

 

The shame is too much.

The guilt is too heavy.

 

Forgotten.

Alone.

Afraid.

 

Whether it was “their fault” or not, the pain obviously runs deep as the story eventually flows out. But it’s not just “them.” 

 

It’s me

and

it’s YOU. 

 

We all have had those secret things buried deep in our hearts… those times when we seriously wonder…

 

Is there any hope?

 

Can God REALLY do anything with this messed up life of mine?!? 

Through the darkness comes a marvelous Light responding:

“YES! THERE IS HOPE!  I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW!

No matter what mess you’ve gotten yourself into… no matter what anyone has done to you… no matter how much sin has messed up your life and messed up your heart, I can, and will, through Christ, make something BEAUTIFUL out of your life! 

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

 

Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

 

Isaiah 43:19 See I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

 

 

 

 

Beautiful Things
by Gungor

All this pain
I wonder if I’ll even find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at all

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

 

You make me new, You are making me new
You make me new, You are making me new

31 Days of Hope

Hope {Day 17} – LIGHT Part 2

Rebekah Freed

I was hoping to put this up yesterday in continuation to Day 15’s discussion about LIGHT but after fighting with my computer for entirely too long yesterday, I gave up.  Thankfully, I was victorioius over my computer today and have this song, or the startings of one, to share: (Click the triangle to play.)

This prayer asks God to let his light shine in our lives… to give us a little hope.  Sometimes when God shines his light into the dark places of our lives it’s scary, but there is freedom when we step into the light.

I hope you enjoy.  Maybe eventually it’ll get some verses and be a full song. 🙂  But for now, here are the lyrics for the chorus:

Break through the darkness
Break through the night
Break through the shadows
Lord, shine Your light
In the deepest places of fear and shame
Lord, shine Your light again.

31 Days of Hope

Hope {Day 15} – LIGHT

Rebekah Freed

It seems as if I have two parallel themes running in my life right now.  For 15 days straight I’ve been blogging about HOPE.  At the same time, God has been showing me a lot about LIGHT.  I call them parallel themes, because hope and light seem to have a lot in common.  Often we describe times of hopelessness as “dark” moments in our lives.  So here are some thoughts about LIGHT which, I pray, bring hope as well.

 

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LIGHT.

I LOVE LIGHT.  It may sound a little weird, but it’s true.  I dread winter each year with short, dark, dreary, days all bundled up inside.  The first thing I like to do each morning is turn on all the lamps or lights possible in whatever room I’m in.  If it’s ever a sunny day, the blinds get opened to let as much light in as possible. 

 

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I LOVE LIGHT.

 

…well … most of the time.

 

There are some things though that, at first glance at least, I think I’d rather leave tucked away in the dark closet that never gets opened.  I think we all have those things… the ones that are just fine staying in the deep dark shadows, because it seems easier to deal with that way, right?  Things like fear… like shame… like guilt and sin and failure.  Those can just stay hidden or at least in a dim room where you can’t REALLY tell what they are…. just that something’s there. 

 

But in reality.  As much as we REALLY want to just keep those things in the dark, at the same time, our hearts also deeply desire the freedom found when those things of the darkness are brought into the light. 

 

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Ann Voskamp put it this way in a blog post:

I know the terror of telling the truth… I am far more scared of secrets.  Because its keeping secrets that keeps us from being real.   From fully being alive.

It is true: I am terrified to be real.  But I am far more terrified to be false.  Which would mean I cease to be.

It can be painful at times for the things of the deep dark places of our hearts to be brought into the light… but only then can we find healing and hope. 

 

God doesn’t desire us to live in darkness.  Instead he says:

You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to go, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9)

And in Isaiah 42:16 he says:

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them, I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth.  These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. 

I find it interesting that the first part of this passage talks about unknown ways and unfamiliar paths.  The process of letting God shine light into the dark places is often uncertain… which is what makes it scary.  But I love how it then says… he will turn darkness into light, making the rough places smooth and through it all… OUR GOD WILL NOT FORSAKE US!  It may not be an easy process, and probably will involve some pain, but God never leaves.

 

I’ll close these random thoughts about light with two quotes that Ann Voskamp had in another one of her posts. 

“Never fear shadows.

They simply mean there’s a light shining somewhere nearby.”

~Ruth E. Renkel

“The Lord is my light and my salvation—
so why should I be afraid?”

~Ps. 27:1

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Bekah's Heart, Devotional, Joy

Joyfullyblessed… with HOPE!

Rebekah Freed

Hope.  We use this word so often that I think it has lost some of it’s meaning. 
“I hope it doesn’t rain today.”
“I hope ‘such-n-such’ sports team wins their game.”
”I hope I did okay on my test/work project/etc.”

 

But truly, hope is a much greater concept.   When we really look at hope, we realize that often it is all we have… and that is is more than enough… that is, when our hope is found in something bigger than if someone notices our new outfit or we succeed in whatever we do today.

 

To not have hope is truly a horrible thing… a scary thing… a DANGEROUS thing.  BUT to have true hope, is beautiful beyond words.

“God did this so that… we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged.  We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. …” (Hebrews 6:18-19a)

An anchor.  Something stable.  Isn’t that what we all really want in life… isn’t that what we all really need.  HOPE.  And not just some flimsy half-hope as if wishing for something that probably won’t happen.  In this crazy, chaotic, painful, confusing world, we need hope that anchors us to the Unchangeable, Immovable, ROCK… Jesus.

“… [Hope] enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf….” (Hebrews 6:19b-20a) 

Just as an anchor on a ship holds the boat firm in the wind and the waves, this anchor, hope, settles in to the deep love of Jesus and holds us firm and secure no matter what life brings.  What a beautiful picture to know that we can set our hope in Jesus.

 

I could end here but my heart yearns to go further… what about those who have no hope or have tried to place that anchor in things other than Jesus.

 

Have you ever known such a person?  I have.  The darkness in their souls goes so deep.  Their pain becomes unbearable and hope is “lost”.  Maybe you not only know that person, maybe you ARE that person.  And I guess the question begs itself… how is hope restored?

 

And strangely enough, on this chilly October day, my thoughts shift to a well-known Christmas carol, “O Holy Night”:

Long lay the world In sin and error pining,
‘Til He appear’d And the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope The weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks A new and glorious morn.

Pining.  Longing.  Yearning. To hunger.  To ache.

 

I believe this really describes that person who has “lost” hope.  I believe this really describes each and every one of us at one point in time or another as we are caught in our “sin and error”… we’re left longing for more.

‘TIL HE APPEAR’D! 

 

That’s the key… THAT’S the transition… that’s… the HOPE!

 

Only when we see Jesus can our soul feel its worth.  “I’m worth something.”  That’s what the the hopeless soul needs to be reminded of.  Suddenly a thrill of hope appears and not just hope… but JOY as well… suddenly breaking through the deep shadows of a soul comes a newness… restoration… LIFE.

 

Hope is restored when we set our eyes back on Jesus… when we admit that we’re not in control… when we realize our weariness … when we recognize that self-effort just doesn’t cut it.

“Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives STRENGTH TO THE WEARY and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall;

but those who HOPE in the Lord will renew their strength.

  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

~ Isaiah 40:28-31 ~

 

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