I in Him, and Him in me....: EXTRAVAGANCE?

i had a mentor of mine tell me the other day that she is noticing that the Lord is "hiding" His leaders.

there are some in the world who desire to do nothing but what they are used to.

there are others who dream beyond their grasp,

wanting to touch every unknown place,

they are exhilarated by impact.

whether it be big in the eyes of man, or small,

more extraordinary than numbers, bigger than fame, i think obedience is the definition of

extravagance before God.

anyone can sign up for a movement.

a system.

a program that is already taking you somewhere.

but to the passionate one who wants to take over the world for Jesus.

He may ask you to lay down in green pastures for a while.

those pastures can purge.

these take you to the familiar moments in the wilderness Jesus experienced.

as He was being tempted by the devil.

the Son of God being beckoned to bow down to Satan in order to receive temporary glory.

He knew that all things were held together by His power.

all things were made through Him and for Him,

His future consists of all things being subject to Him.

Yet, He didn't assume these rights, He knew there was a route He needed to take to get there.

He trusted His Father - knowing that His Father's way was to true glory.

that route was for Him to die.

Wait, You are the King?

Wait, You have all this power to heal, why don't You heal everyone NOW?

Wait, what? You're going to take all that potential, and just DIE?

Yep. that's what He did.

Fully submitting His spirit into the Father's hands.

Now He is seated in the highest place.

All glory and honor are His.

A kernel of wheat must fall to the ground and die, then it can produce a plentiful crop.

but it if doesn't -- it will stand alone.

There are moments in our lives where Jesus will remind us that the very thing you're facing is the exact thing He faced. In that moment you can tolerate it, or take it as a divine privilege of identifying with Christ in His suffering, in His journey.

with my heart and soul feeling like wild horses,

ready to overtake the pastures, hills, valleys, and mountains of life.

He whispers to me to stay still.

i just wanna go now Lord.

please let me.

stay still.

be with Me here.

obey.

die with Me here.

the Father is the one who gives a glory that will last.

not man.

it still feels like crucifixion.

you'd think i'd be done with this season by now.

but nope.

the horses all harnessed up.

not even able to step out of the gate.

others who may be a part of the swirl of "making impact in large numbers"

may be tempted to look at the lying down and deem it as falling away,

as a heart going dull.

what are you doing with your life?

we know your calling, and it seems as if it's slipping through your fingers..

i used to have an underlining judgment towards the average christian.

though they were faithful to their church

accountable to their community

loving those around them and sincerely reaching for God in their daily mundane life.

if i was honest -- i believed they were ones who were just not "getting it"

but "someday they would"

now i am that average christian.

faithful to the church.

accountable to my community

and trying to sincerely love Jesus in my daily mundane life.

my sincere apologies to those who ever felt the brunt of my pride in thinking that what you were doing was less extravangant.

i believe if you have all the talent in the world to preach and teach and disciple the world and you hear God tell you to work at a coffee shop and love your friends,