My 7-day Pledge {to Purge My Heart and Protect My Destiny}

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. 

2 Corinthians 12:9

Relaxed under the warmth of my soothing detox bath, it felt strange to feel heavy. After all, water is a place we usually feel lighter in weight, not heavier. 

But it wasn't my body that felt weighted. It was my heart. And hearts don’t follow rules of buoyancy.

Placing my book on the nearby stand I whispered to the Lord through confused lips, “Why do I feel this way?” 

Jesus responded to my heart in a word that flooded all understanding to my soul…Gluttony.

Oh how instantly my heart knew He intended that word to embody more than just the overindulgence of food. 

The thing about gluttony is that it seeps into all areas of our lives before we realize it. Then suddenly we feel the weight of disconnection and we long to know why. All the while, Jesus waits for us to turn our hearts back to self-discipline and an armored way of living. 

Longing for more of Jesus took over my senses. The hot tears began to stream and I cried, Anything. I will give up anything to be nearer to you and free from the sin of gluttony. Show me how. Give me clarity in the steps to take. And help me Jesus to do it.”

“Purge Chelsia.”

Jesus is so gentle but so honest with us. 

I know my heart well enough to know that some seasons of life require soft growth where God is working on growing me more silently in the unseen places of my being. Then there are times in which He asks me to take a stronger stand by harshly removing and replacing with the guidance of his strong, loving hand. 

God's dreams are big for you and me but the war waged against our souls by our enemy is big too, so we must keep our eyes open wide. 

The devil prowls around like a lion only to devour us. He saturates our culture and allures us with temptations of laziness, distraction, and even numbness to our own sin. 

But our mighty God waits tirelessly for us to choose His way of preparing and growing and nurturing our hearts and lives in order to live more fully. 

Wisdom is teaching me that adopting an eternal perspective is the only passage-way to fully living in the fullness of those God-sized dreams. Because short-sightedness is the friend of our enemy but grand vision is the friend of our Savior. 

And so dear sisters, I share with you my 7 day battle plan to purge in order to protect my destiny, my marriage, and my family. 

Just as going through my closet is far less productive without a purpose, so going through the closet of our hearts and minds is less productive without a plan. Within each area as I seek to re-center and re-fill with life-giving replacements, I have kept a list of specific things that I need to abstain from or that I need to begin practicing.

Focusing on 3 areas to purge, I will: 1) Make a pledge and 2) Meditate on scripture that encourages my growth in these areas.  

This is not a one and done deal, for God is always calling us deeper. This is simply a launching pad - a step toward offering myself as a sacrifice and asking God to make me more like Him. 

3 Areas to Purge

1. Heart
2. Health
3. Habit

Pledge 

I pledge to take all thoughts captive. To release to God those harmful thoughts that I’ve kept in the dark. And instead of allowing toxic thoughts and actions to take residence in my heart I will choose edifying soul-food that builds me and the church. (2 Corinthians 10:5, Philippians 4:8)

I pledge to abstain from indulging in food and physical laziness that tears my body down. Instead I will choose substance and exercise that fuels me with energy and fosters a healthy lifestyle. By doing this I am pledging to take care of the temple God gave me therefore being better equipped to serve others and live in the freedom and fullness Jesus promises. (1 Corinthians 6:20, 1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

I pledge to re-direct my unhealthy habits that steal time, energy, and life from the people that matter most in my life. Turning from idol living that squelches living to the full. Instead I will choose to implement life-giving habits to establish balance and promote a life more reflective of godly character. I will honor the gifts God has given me by using them wisely.  (Romans 12:2, Luke 6:45, 1 Peter 4:10)

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Going Deeper

1. What area from your own life came to your mind that you may need to purge?

 2. What holds you back from getting rid of gluttony-like living?

3. What step can you take today to walk toward a more free life??

How to change the world - RISE UP CHURCH - it begins with you

The church bells ring but there is no sound. 

For the sound of freedom, of powerful light and truth and love is within you and I.

Not the towering steeple. 

Jesus hung on the cross to show us what it looks like to be love in front of the world for the world. He was not crucified quietly in the dark with no witness. He chose exposure to the world. The temple shook, the veil torn, the whole world aware of his earth-shaking, his life-quaking power. 

He did that so that you and I would, so that we could, live the same bold life. 

He came as love. But he was not a quiet coward. Love. Truth. They are loud. Superior to darkness. Love and truth outweigh darkness ten-fold. 

But not if hidden in the bodies of Jesus people.  Because the power within us is the mightiest force ever in existence. But only when we choose to hang on a cross as Jesus did. Not literally - for Jesus did that for us. No. We need to hang our pride, our selfishness and self-agendas and self-motivation and self-awareness and self-loathing and self-everything on the cross where Jesus laid himself. It is in the hanging place of self, the releasing of self, that the power within us will break free from us and change the world. 

Do you want to change the world? Then hang yourself on the cross with Jesus and live. 

Let the rising come like a flooding water. Like a tsunami of love and truth and abandoned living in order to give life to the world. 

“People get ready. Jesus is coming.” The lyrics to a song that have played over and over in my heart this weekend. I believe those words. I believe God is rising up the hearts of his faithful servants around the world because he is coming. 

While the world forms strategy to overcome the evil, I believe there is only one way to win this war against violence and evil.

“For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”  Ephesians 6:12

The battle is not for lives - it is for souls. 

It’s never been about world power. It’s about a spiritual agenda. 

It’s not against Christians - It is the devil fighting against God. We are just the attempted pawns.

Remember that the “thing” fought for is almost never the “thing” it’s really about. Because at the end of this life we’ll all see that the battle really was raging in the spiritual realm. And the enemy was just trying to distract us - to take our eyes off Jesus. 

But take heart church! For “you are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.” (1 Thessalonians 5:5)

Rise up! Rise up to fight for the souls of man you were made to fight for. 

Not with weapons of this world. But fight this way…

1. As one body. Ephesians 4:1-6
2. Counting everything a loss compared to knowing Jesus. Pursuing him above all else. Philippians 3:7-11
3. With the fruit of the spirit. Galatians 5:22-26
4. Fully trusting that Gods grace is sufficient for you, and his power is made perfect in your weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9
5. Study love and live it shamelessly, offensively and profoundly. 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
6. As free children of God, free of FEAR! Romans 8:15-17
7. Believing that God is for us, we are more than conquerors through him and nothing can separate us from his love. Romans 8:31-39
8. Putting on the armor of Christ all day long. Ephesians 6:10-20

And then church - we will see the light explode in the darkness. It must begin in us first. Then the spirit of God will overflow through us and his power will overtake us and our land. 

He is mighty to save. 

He is ready to save. 

He is waiting for us to hand the world the greatest gift they’ll ever know. 

WILL YOU RISE UP?

Will you rise up in your place, wherever you are right now? Will you be the change in the world by allowing the power of God to permeate the world through you?

Will you rise up?

No matter the cost. Putting aside your view of yourself and believing that God has made you for such a time as this.

Will you rise up? 

And trust that God’s perfect plan for this universe actually wrote you in the story because he longs to know you and love you and love others through you.

Will you rise up?

By waking up. And abandon your safe, numb-faith for one that actually looks like Jesus. 

Will you rise up?

By grabbing hold of the fire of God within you and allowing it to change the world.

Rise. Up. Church. For God's glory is at stake. 

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If you answered yes but don’t know what to do next...

First, you must believe that Jesus died for you to cleanse you of your sins. (Read Romans 3:23) He then rose again to conquer death so that you can live eternally with him. (Read Romans 6:23) Repent by asking him to forgive you. Then believe that his love for you is everlasting and never changing. Ask him to be Lord of your life. (Read Romans 10:9) Now trust that you are a new creation in him! (Read 2 Corinthians 5:17) Commit to following him and having relationship with him and believe that your loving God wants nothing less and nothing more than to be with you. (Read Romans 8:38-39)

If you answered yes and have already committed your life Jesus....

Fall on your knees and honestly repent of all your sin because that is what separates us from God. With your Bible open, and a heart ready to live more boldly for Jesus, ask God to show you what he desires from you. Then believe that he made you for more than mediocre christian living. He will speak to your heart because he made you for this.