Moving Into Your Inheritance


“But you will cross the Jordan and settle in the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and he will give you rest from all your enemies around you so that you will live in safety.” – Deuteronomy 12:10

Do you ever wonder what your inheritance is? I’m not talking about the future hope of dwelling in Heaven, not talking about holding on until Jesus returns, or anything else like that. I’m talking about the here and now.

What is the land that God is calling you to move into?

I was asking the Lord this weekend about what my inheritance is, and for the first time in months, I felt Him awaken my heart for worship. All of my dead aspirations were suddenly resurrected as flesh grew on the skeletons of dreams long ago. I could sense the flood of His breath fill my lungs as what was dead to me came to life all over again, roaring with passion and longing on the inside of me.

And it got me to thinking that maybe our inheritance has something to do with what makes us come most alive both physically and spiritually. The Lord promises us a future and a hope. There’s no hope, no rest, and no safety in an office cubicle for me (maybe there is for you), but there is freedom and rest for me in the heart of worship.

So I decided that I want to be more intentional about stewarding the passion, the gift, and the dream to populate Earth with Heaven’s songs. I want to position myself to usher in the Presence of God in the places around me.

The hardest part is going to be creating momentum that will propel me into occupying the thing that God has promised.

Any ideas how to increase the momentum that will carry me into settling into my inheritance?

 

Loving Her Like Christ

Just grabbing her hand can sometimes take my breath away. It’s in those quiet moments as we’re walking side-by-side, thoughts fluttering like butterflies in my stomach that I’m overcome with thankfulness for who she is in my life.  Merely staring into her eyes freezes time and for once I’m at peace with eternity.

I don’t think I’ve quite grasped the charge, the blessing, or the challenge of the up-and-coming married life. This engagement season is entirely way too short, but I think that God knows if it were any longer, I’d second-guess myself.

I’m reminded of what Paul tells the Ephesians:

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (5.25-27).

And I wonder how I’m going to do that? How could I possibly love someone else like Christ loved me?

The weight of my role in marriage is slowly dawning on me: the laying down of myself to make my wife as radiant and blameless as possible.

It means I need to lay down my pride, put aside my fears, and boldly defend the honor of the woman I’m going to marry. It means I must be able to sit with peace in the midst of the storm and remind her of His promise. It means I sacrifice, no matter how much I bleed.

The thought of covenant overwhelms me. Making promises is easy, but choosing sacrifice when they’re tested isn’t.

One thing I do know for certain: I love her. I see the greatness in her and I believe in the woman she is and the woman she’ll become. I’m honored to call her my soon-to-be and future wife. And I’ll always remember how wide His grace is every time she takes my hand.

**Please keep Merridith and I in your prayers as we continue to plan for our wedding. Even more so, pray that I can grow into a man who can lead, provide for, promote, and protect her well. Thanks!

 

Starting Over

The rhythm of life heralds in an unseen number of changes, especially when we’re adapting and growing into the bigger person that God is calling us to become. This past year has been full of these changes for me, the seemingly endless life and death of seasons, and I’m wondering how I’ll ever adjust to the things that are coming my way (career changes and marriage – just to name a few).

You’ve obviously noticed some immediate changes around here. My website looks completely different and all of my old content is gone. I decided to hit the reset button and start from scratch. Why?

3N1 MEN

I want to build up 3N1 MEN, a new initiative that empowers men to fight human trafficking through advocacy, education, and accountability. It’s for that purpose that I’m going to move the mass majority of ALL human trafficking conversations, articles, blog posts, links, and information to that website. All of my old human trafficking content will be posted there in the coming weeks.

You can visit the 3N1 MEN website by clicking here and sign up for human trafficking blog updates.

Sharing the New Journey

Honestly, I felt a little self-centered making myself into a “human trafficking resource”. It’s almost as if I had hijacked my own name and attached itself to an identity that said I was nothing more than an abolitionist.

I’m more than that – and yes, I realize you know that too!

But I want to have a place to share this new journey with you. I want to write again for the sake of writing. I want to be transparent and honest about my struggles living a Kingdom lifestyle and a journey of faith. I want to share with you the stories about when I get it “right” and when I get it “wrong”, of all my victories and defeats.

If that sounds like something that interests you, sign up to receive updates from this blog by clicking here.

Thank You

Lastly, I want to sincerely thank you for your understanding and support. There is a great majority of you who have been following this blog since I was writing for the World Race back in 2008. You’ve seen my transformation from an arrogant prick who wrote out of a judgmental and pious attitude into a guy who has been completely broken for the 27 million across the world tormented by human slavery.

Your support is invaluable.

Invitation

So I want to invite you to come on this journey and to start over from scratch with me. We all need new beginnings and you’re more than welcome to become a part of mine. It’s time to keep growing.

Many blessings to all of you. Contact me if you have questions.

Chasing Him,

Matt

*photo via jonclegg, Creative Commons