During my trip to Austin this past weekend, I had so many thoughts going through my head.
#1- There are SO many people that need God
#2- I am still way too judgmental
#3- God has blessed with some new amazing friends this year. :)
#4- I have the most amazing brothers and sisters!
I saw the "weirdness" people talk about when referring to Austin and thought to myself "Why are these people living their life in total confusion when complete peace is right at their fingertips?" Then I thought to myself, "Oh, maybe these people haven't been shown love by any Christians because of who they are." It just makes my heart ache to see so many people trying to find fulfillment in gender swaps, alcohol, flirting, bad attitudes and cheating. These people aren't good because they have no good in them...we have no good in us as humans. We cannot expect any less.
HOWEVER.
We CAN show them the love of Christ, and that they won't have to keep searching for "the meaning of life" once they find Jesus. Some people call it a religion; to many that's all it is. A time to go to church on Sunday, you do "good works before men" and that makes you a "Christian." But that is so not what it's about. Christianity, TRUE Christianity, is a lifestyle. It's something you have become part of your life and it changes you inside out. You then shine Jesus instead of your fleshly self... which is all sin anyway. You become something people want to be like because of the peace you have. You know where you're going...they don't have a clue or won't admit to "believing" in heaven or hell.
I can go to my bed and stand there all day saying it's not really there, or that I don't believe it's not there. But that's ridiculous, because it IS. Just the same with Christ, heaven and hell. Just because you say you don't believe in them doesn't make them any less there.
I have this awful attitude problem sometimes...if you know me well them you'll know... I tend to sit and talk about how awful so and so is for doing _____. I will say how *I* would have done or said it, and then it becomes a huge battle of the judge. I judge til I can't think of anything else negative about that person then just say I was venting. If anything, I should vent to God...the one who can give true love for another person even if they get on my nerves or do things I wouldn't do. I want to love people do bad, I really do; Satan just tends to grab my heart and try to convince me how much better I'd feel if only I let out the thoughts I had about another person...no, it never makes me feel better just so you know.
I want to love those around me like Jesus did while He was here on earth, and does still to this day. I want to shine Him everywhere I go and have people ask me why I'm so different.
Lastly...my siblings and friends. Ah. Just a smile in itself right there. My siblings have taught me the meaning of support for other people, and how to encourage better. They have taught me the value of team spirit and being there for one another. My new friends have taught me how much I still have to learn and grow. lol God puts people in my life that will teach me new things, get me outside of my comfort zone, meet new people, go new places, do things I never would have allowed myself to believe I COULD do...all kinds of things. God is good, and has given me so many blessings.
I am who I am. I believe what I beleive because it is true. I have the freedom to chose what I do and don't want to do; I have made my mind up about certain things that I will stay away from in my life, and I hope people will be understanding of that. My God is not a religion, but a God of majesty, wonder, peace, mercy, wrath, love, judgement and righteousness and will not be put to shame by anyone or anything. He is my Lord, and I will stand up for Him no matter the cost.
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 4:6-7
"But being full of the Holy Spirit, he (Stephen) gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse. When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he fell asleep." -Acts 7:55-60
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Painful growing and learning
"Father forgive them, for they know not what they do."
It's so nice having been forgiven for everything I've done...and even things that I will do in the future of my life. But there are so many times when I do things that I DO know what I'm doing. I'm grumpy, mean, hateful and hurtful. I say things knowing full well what I'm doing, then use the excuse when I apologize that I "didn't mean to." I meant to, plain and simple. I can apologize, but there's no way around what I did on purpose.
"Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing. But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised." -Proverbs 31:30
I've messed up so many times in my life; I've never been a fantastic person. People only see my actions, not my heart. I DO hold bitterness. It's VERY hard for me to say I'm sorry selflessly. I tend to do what is best for "me" even if it's at the expense of someone else. I wonder quite often if I will ever learn. I constantly think to myself how God can truly love me. I start learning my lesson, then go back into old habits. I'm absolutely ashamed by the things I do sometimes.
But, right when I think I won't ever learn after doing the same things over and over, or that I can't be loved with my mistakes, God takes a hold of my heart and turns my eyes heavenward. He tells me how much He loves me, how many times He will forgive me...even when I make the worst of mistakes. He tells me that, even though I'm far from perfect, He still has a plan for my life. He warns me that it will be hard, I will be ridiculed, disliked, defriended and even hated. Yet He offers me that plan all the same.
I think to myself how much I feel I have gone through; all the hurts and scars I have. I tell myself that God couldn't possibly have a plan for me, because I'm too broken and sinful. Then He wraps me up in His love again and tells me that I am not worthless, that He died for me and my sins. He died for all of my mistakes and brokenness. He reminds me that it is when I am weak, He can show how HE is strong. I could choose a life without love, one with guilt and the feeling of misery, but the one with God is my choice. Even if it means I will be hurt more. Because now I will constantly be reminded that no matter what happens to me, or what I do, God loves me and always will.
"My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." -Psalm 73:26
"Love of my life look deep in My eyes, there you will find what you need.
Give Me your life, the lust and the lies, the past you're afraid I might see.
You've been running away from Me.
You're my beloved. Lover I'm yours. Death shall not part us, It's you I died for.
For better or worse, forever we'll be. My love it unites us, and it binds you to Me.
It's a mystery.
Love of my life look deep in My eyes, there you will find what you need. I'm the giver of life I'll clothe you in white, My immaculate bride you will be.
Oh come running home to me.
You're My beloved. Lover I'm yours. And death shall not part us, It's you I died for. For better or worse, forever we'll be. My Love it unites us, and it binds you to me." ("Beloved" by Tenth Avenue North)
I am but a lowly person in God's big plan for life. Yet He chose to let me follow Him, knowing full well that I would mess up and even disgrace His name sometimes. I know I am not loving to people as I should, I know I have hurt many people, some of which I won't have the chance to apologize to. But I can repent to God, and receive His forgiveness because honestly, it might be humanly impossible for those others to forgive me. I do pray that God would keep cleansing my heart though. I pray when I fail Him and others, that He will bring me to a low low place and to my knees until I realize I've done wrong. Just because I know He will forgive me over and over and over doesn't mean I can do anything my flesh wishes to do and just go back and apologize for it. My flesh is so very weak. Only through God's strength can I overcome the desires of my fleshly body. I won't ever be perfect until I get to heaven, but each and every day I can strive to be more like my Savior, Jesus.
Dear Lord, I pray You would teach me the way to a loving heart; one that forgives without ceasing. I pray for a cleansed heart every single day of the things Satan tries to have me hold against those around me. I pray for a peaceful mind, one that is constantly on You and You alone. I pray you would grow me in You, and tear out all that is me from me. Put You, Lord, in my heart and life so I will be able to love others as You would love them. Amen.
It's so nice having been forgiven for everything I've done...and even things that I will do in the future of my life. But there are so many times when I do things that I DO know what I'm doing. I'm grumpy, mean, hateful and hurtful. I say things knowing full well what I'm doing, then use the excuse when I apologize that I "didn't mean to." I meant to, plain and simple. I can apologize, but there's no way around what I did on purpose.
"Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing. But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised." -Proverbs 31:30
I've messed up so many times in my life; I've never been a fantastic person. People only see my actions, not my heart. I DO hold bitterness. It's VERY hard for me to say I'm sorry selflessly. I tend to do what is best for "me" even if it's at the expense of someone else. I wonder quite often if I will ever learn. I constantly think to myself how God can truly love me. I start learning my lesson, then go back into old habits. I'm absolutely ashamed by the things I do sometimes.
But, right when I think I won't ever learn after doing the same things over and over, or that I can't be loved with my mistakes, God takes a hold of my heart and turns my eyes heavenward. He tells me how much He loves me, how many times He will forgive me...even when I make the worst of mistakes. He tells me that, even though I'm far from perfect, He still has a plan for my life. He warns me that it will be hard, I will be ridiculed, disliked, defriended and even hated. Yet He offers me that plan all the same.
I think to myself how much I feel I have gone through; all the hurts and scars I have. I tell myself that God couldn't possibly have a plan for me, because I'm too broken and sinful. Then He wraps me up in His love again and tells me that I am not worthless, that He died for me and my sins. He died for all of my mistakes and brokenness. He reminds me that it is when I am weak, He can show how HE is strong. I could choose a life without love, one with guilt and the feeling of misery, but the one with God is my choice. Even if it means I will be hurt more. Because now I will constantly be reminded that no matter what happens to me, or what I do, God loves me and always will.
"My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." -Psalm 73:26
"Love of my life look deep in My eyes, there you will find what you need.
Give Me your life, the lust and the lies, the past you're afraid I might see.
You've been running away from Me.
You're my beloved. Lover I'm yours. Death shall not part us, It's you I died for.
For better or worse, forever we'll be. My love it unites us, and it binds you to Me.
It's a mystery.
Love of my life look deep in My eyes, there you will find what you need. I'm the giver of life I'll clothe you in white, My immaculate bride you will be.
Oh come running home to me.
You're My beloved. Lover I'm yours. And death shall not part us, It's you I died for. For better or worse, forever we'll be. My Love it unites us, and it binds you to me." ("Beloved" by Tenth Avenue North)
I am but a lowly person in God's big plan for life. Yet He chose to let me follow Him, knowing full well that I would mess up and even disgrace His name sometimes. I know I am not loving to people as I should, I know I have hurt many people, some of which I won't have the chance to apologize to. But I can repent to God, and receive His forgiveness because honestly, it might be humanly impossible for those others to forgive me. I do pray that God would keep cleansing my heart though. I pray when I fail Him and others, that He will bring me to a low low place and to my knees until I realize I've done wrong. Just because I know He will forgive me over and over and over doesn't mean I can do anything my flesh wishes to do and just go back and apologize for it. My flesh is so very weak. Only through God's strength can I overcome the desires of my fleshly body. I won't ever be perfect until I get to heaven, but each and every day I can strive to be more like my Savior, Jesus.
Dear Lord, I pray You would teach me the way to a loving heart; one that forgives without ceasing. I pray for a cleansed heart every single day of the things Satan tries to have me hold against those around me. I pray for a peaceful mind, one that is constantly on You and You alone. I pray you would grow me in You, and tear out all that is me from me. Put You, Lord, in my heart and life so I will be able to love others as You would love them. Amen.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Thinking "less" and not "ish"
You know those times in your life when you think you do so much for all of those around you then all of the sudden, like an iron anvil, life hits you and you realize you haven't been doing very much at all? Yes, it's fun and I've come to that time.
Between the small things I do, little tasks, worrying about what I SHOULD be doing and the conversing with other people via facebook or phone... I don't do much of anything productive these days. I let things get out of hand and hadn't even realized it. Sometimes it takes a harsh reality check to get me back into motion with thinking of "others" and the better of my family than constantly doing things to help myself.
I put everything off so long that when I don't ever get around to the jobs, I blame it on forgetting all about it. I'm in a pretty sad state.
"And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." -Hebrews 13:16
"Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others." -Philippians 2:3-4
"But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?" -1 John 3:17
"Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you." -Matthew 5:42
You see, my life isn't about me. It's not about always getting only what's fair or what I feel like I deserve. It's not about having my way, it's not about always being right, it's not about always being treated right. My life is to be lived for Christ; that will mean I go through some hard things. Though, nothing I go through can even come close to what Christ went through for me.
The one thing that comes to mind when I think of saying to myself "well, that wasn't fair!" is this: Was Christ's life, rejection and crucifixion fair? Did He deserve to take on the worlds sin to Himself? Did He deserve being beaten and hung? No. Absolutely not. Life isn't fair; life certainly isn't perfect. I need to make sure that, even when things aren't going my way, I still give God the glory, keep a clean heart, a cleared head, loads of patience and only kind words flowing from my mouth.
There is so much more to life than being treated fair and getting "only what I deserve."
"To live is Christ and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:20-21) Shouldn't my life be Christ? Lived like Him, given of myself like Him?
"For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith." -Romans 12:3
I can think of myself quite easily. It doesn't take much to be selfish or do what's best for me rather than another person. But to truly be a "Christian" I have to be Christ like...to do that I must empty all my own wants and wishes and do what is best for others, even if it means I give up my own desires. I only have this life but a short time...why would I want to waste it thinking of myself all the time? It would be rather boring, I must admit.
"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:13-16
I need to stand out; be the person other people notice for being selfLESS and not selfISH.
Between the small things I do, little tasks, worrying about what I SHOULD be doing and the conversing with other people via facebook or phone... I don't do much of anything productive these days. I let things get out of hand and hadn't even realized it. Sometimes it takes a harsh reality check to get me back into motion with thinking of "others" and the better of my family than constantly doing things to help myself.
I put everything off so long that when I don't ever get around to the jobs, I blame it on forgetting all about it. I'm in a pretty sad state.
"And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." -Hebrews 13:16
"Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others." -Philippians 2:3-4
"But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?" -1 John 3:17
"Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you." -Matthew 5:42
You see, my life isn't about me. It's not about always getting only what's fair or what I feel like I deserve. It's not about having my way, it's not about always being right, it's not about always being treated right. My life is to be lived for Christ; that will mean I go through some hard things. Though, nothing I go through can even come close to what Christ went through for me.
The one thing that comes to mind when I think of saying to myself "well, that wasn't fair!" is this: Was Christ's life, rejection and crucifixion fair? Did He deserve to take on the worlds sin to Himself? Did He deserve being beaten and hung? No. Absolutely not. Life isn't fair; life certainly isn't perfect. I need to make sure that, even when things aren't going my way, I still give God the glory, keep a clean heart, a cleared head, loads of patience and only kind words flowing from my mouth.
There is so much more to life than being treated fair and getting "only what I deserve."
"To live is Christ and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:20-21) Shouldn't my life be Christ? Lived like Him, given of myself like Him?
"For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith." -Romans 12:3
I can think of myself quite easily. It doesn't take much to be selfish or do what's best for me rather than another person. But to truly be a "Christian" I have to be Christ like...to do that I must empty all my own wants and wishes and do what is best for others, even if it means I give up my own desires. I only have this life but a short time...why would I want to waste it thinking of myself all the time? It would be rather boring, I must admit.
"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:13-16
I need to stand out; be the person other people notice for being selfLESS and not selfISH.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
God truly cares
My 2 younger brothers and younger sister had a tennis tournament today that my mom, little brother and I all went to. It's a team tennis group of kids, playing different teams from other areas. The one thing that I thought of as we sat there cheering for the good shots, was this: God loves what you do if you're doing it for Him.
On Facing The Giants the kids asked coach Taylor "So, you really think God cares about football?" and his response was "I know God cares about you, and if you really care about football then yes God cares about football because He cares about you."
He then went on to explain that people in history who have won were forgotten after years passed. There are a few, mind you, that are remembered for breaking records and such, but just your "normal" players aren't ever remembered. This confused the team, because they thought the point of playing football was to win. Then it was explained that winning isn't everything, but how you play is and what you play for is. If you can have a team or group of people who verbally or outwardly praise God no matter the outcome of what they're doing, then you have made a difference doing something you love. "We praise Him in our wins, and we praise Him in our losses."
2 Corinthians 9:8
"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything; you may have an abundance for every good deed..."
Tennis doesn't just have to be a "sport"; something you do when you don't have anything better to do...it can be a ministry. Anything in your life you do can be a ministry. You can even witness to those around you simply by having a good attitude. They will see something different in you and start wondering what it is.
Like I quoted already, God cares for you and me, which means He cares about the things we care about.
Romans 8:28
"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
Our lives can have such a huge impact on those around us if we will just "go do" and not sit around all day hoping for something to come along with "Jesus" written all over it. Someone mentioned something once that really spoke to me. She said "The reason a lot of the things in this world are getting so bad, is because Christians are pulling away from them and letting all of the worldly people take over. Whether it be authors, film directors/writers, singers, photographers, etc,etc,etc. Something starts getting out of hand and, instead of all the Christians standing up for what's right, they back out and pull everyone out of that category or line of work."
If we all stay away from Hollywood, writing, acting, etc then of course there will be bad things that come out of those parts of life, because we aren't taking a stand or doing anything about it. We're complaining that the world won't be "good" when we should know better than than. If you don't have Jesus, you can't be "good" or do "good"...period. What we need are Christians who will go into things to make a change. Christians who will go play football, baseball, soccer, tennis or basketball and praise God for all to see. We need Christians in the film industry, ones who will take a stand and protect the viewers eyes and ears from things they shouldn't have to hear or see. To use their talents to make great films, but films that are pleasing to God, and not be ashamed to give Him credit. People who will write books full of adventure, romance, suspense, thrills, mystery and such...but in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. We need photographers who are willing to take a stand against immodesty and inappropriate photos but use the God given talents to make amazing pictures. We need people using their musical talents to praise God, to blow away those spouting out filth to fill our minds with.
1 Corinthians 10:31
"Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
We need people who will make a difference where they're asking others to do so.
I need to not be ashamed to mention God's name wherever I go. I need to shine Jesus with everything in my life that I do. I need to make sure my actions and words only point to Him, and not me or the world.
I can make a difference...in a small or a huge way, depending on where God leads me. Won't you join me in being radical? Everything we do, should be done to give God glory.
"You’re picking up toys on the living room floor for the 15th time today.
Matching up socks and sweeping up lost Cheerios that got away.
You put a baby on your hip and color on your lips and head out the door.
And while I may not know you I bet I know you wonder sometimes does it matter at all. Well let me remind you it all matters just as long as you do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you. Cause He made you to do every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face and tell the story of grace. With every move that you make and every little thing you do.
Maybe you’re that guy with the suit and tie, maybe your shirt says your name.
You may be hooking up mergers, cooking up burgers but at the end of the day little stuff big stuff in between stuff God sees it all the same.
Everything you do to the glory of the One who made you, 'cause He made you to do every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face, and tell the story of grace with every move that you make.
Well maybe you’re sitting in math class, maybe you're on a mission in the Congo.
Maybe you’re working at the office, singing along with the radio. Maybe you’re dining at a five star or feeding orphans in Myanmar. Anywhere and everywhere you are, whatever you do, it all matters so do what you do and don’t ever forget
to do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you. Cause He made you to do every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face, and tell the story of grace." ("Do Everything" by: Steven Curtis Chapman)
On Facing The Giants the kids asked coach Taylor "So, you really think God cares about football?" and his response was "I know God cares about you, and if you really care about football then yes God cares about football because He cares about you."
He then went on to explain that people in history who have won were forgotten after years passed. There are a few, mind you, that are remembered for breaking records and such, but just your "normal" players aren't ever remembered. This confused the team, because they thought the point of playing football was to win. Then it was explained that winning isn't everything, but how you play is and what you play for is. If you can have a team or group of people who verbally or outwardly praise God no matter the outcome of what they're doing, then you have made a difference doing something you love. "We praise Him in our wins, and we praise Him in our losses."
2 Corinthians 9:8
"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything; you may have an abundance for every good deed..."
Tennis doesn't just have to be a "sport"; something you do when you don't have anything better to do...it can be a ministry. Anything in your life you do can be a ministry. You can even witness to those around you simply by having a good attitude. They will see something different in you and start wondering what it is.
Like I quoted already, God cares for you and me, which means He cares about the things we care about.
Romans 8:28
"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
Our lives can have such a huge impact on those around us if we will just "go do" and not sit around all day hoping for something to come along with "Jesus" written all over it. Someone mentioned something once that really spoke to me. She said "The reason a lot of the things in this world are getting so bad, is because Christians are pulling away from them and letting all of the worldly people take over. Whether it be authors, film directors/writers, singers, photographers, etc,etc,etc. Something starts getting out of hand and, instead of all the Christians standing up for what's right, they back out and pull everyone out of that category or line of work."
If we all stay away from Hollywood, writing, acting, etc then of course there will be bad things that come out of those parts of life, because we aren't taking a stand or doing anything about it. We're complaining that the world won't be "good" when we should know better than than. If you don't have Jesus, you can't be "good" or do "good"...period. What we need are Christians who will go into things to make a change. Christians who will go play football, baseball, soccer, tennis or basketball and praise God for all to see. We need Christians in the film industry, ones who will take a stand and protect the viewers eyes and ears from things they shouldn't have to hear or see. To use their talents to make great films, but films that are pleasing to God, and not be ashamed to give Him credit. People who will write books full of adventure, romance, suspense, thrills, mystery and such...but in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. We need photographers who are willing to take a stand against immodesty and inappropriate photos but use the God given talents to make amazing pictures. We need people using their musical talents to praise God, to blow away those spouting out filth to fill our minds with.
1 Corinthians 10:31
"Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
We need people who will make a difference where they're asking others to do so.
I need to not be ashamed to mention God's name wherever I go. I need to shine Jesus with everything in my life that I do. I need to make sure my actions and words only point to Him, and not me or the world.
I can make a difference...in a small or a huge way, depending on where God leads me. Won't you join me in being radical? Everything we do, should be done to give God glory.
"You’re picking up toys on the living room floor for the 15th time today.
Matching up socks and sweeping up lost Cheerios that got away.
You put a baby on your hip and color on your lips and head out the door.
And while I may not know you I bet I know you wonder sometimes does it matter at all. Well let me remind you it all matters just as long as you do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you. Cause He made you to do every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face and tell the story of grace. With every move that you make and every little thing you do.
Maybe you’re that guy with the suit and tie, maybe your shirt says your name.
You may be hooking up mergers, cooking up burgers but at the end of the day little stuff big stuff in between stuff God sees it all the same.
Everything you do to the glory of the One who made you, 'cause He made you to do every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face, and tell the story of grace with every move that you make.
Well maybe you’re sitting in math class, maybe you're on a mission in the Congo.
Maybe you’re working at the office, singing along with the radio. Maybe you’re dining at a five star or feeding orphans in Myanmar. Anywhere and everywhere you are, whatever you do, it all matters so do what you do and don’t ever forget
to do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you. Cause He made you to do every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face, and tell the story of grace." ("Do Everything" by: Steven Curtis Chapman)
Friday, July 22, 2011
Looking at my life through God's eyes
I do not love the law of the bible. I love Jesus, and because of this love, I long to follow His commandments. God's laws (or commandments) are not something we should check off of a list. Yes, we are to follow what He said we should/shouldn't do, but we are sinners. We cannot be perfect. But because of our love for Christ, we long to follow His law (or at least we should.) It's the difference between doing something simply because we were told to do it, and doing it because we love that person so much we would do anything for them.
I cannot force anyone to follow the law, God's or man's; I can, however, show them the power and love of my God in hopes that they will fall in love with Him too. If that can be accomplished, they will come to long to do what He has said.
But the thing is, if I have God's law in my heart and not His love and forgiveness...from Him or for others...then I do not have God in my heart. If all I care about is following God's law, or pointing it out to those around me when "they" fail to do it, that means nothing. God doesn't need me doing His job of judging who is righteous and who needs more discipline. He is perfectly capable of correcting people Himself... The minute humans try to take over God's job of judging or thinking we know enough to know a persons intent...we start to think more of our self than we should. Pretty soon people will start to ask if that person is really a Christian, or just a judge. Satan was one of Christ's angels. Yet He wanted to be like God, he wanted to be powerful and know everything. That very minute, God struck him down. He will now burn forever in hell one day with all who wish to follow him.
If we are truly Christians, why do we feel the need to be all-powerful, all-knowing, and always judging? Isn't that why we have God? So we have someone to count on who IS all-powerful, all-knowing, and a RIGHTEOUS judge? Shouldn't we rely on Him for taking care of those who fall short? Now, I'm not saying, of course, we should allow those we know to continue in sin. But more so don't try to take over God's job. More and more people these days hunger for more and more and more. They want all the knowledge they can find, and instead of getting it from God, they go out and get books by supposedly smart people... If we want knowledge and wisdom, why aren't we going to the One who knows *everything* anyway? Something to think about.
Love is the strongest power there is. God is love, and of course He is all-powerful. Should we, then, not love as well? "Love your neighbor as yourself; there is no other commandment greater than this."
"Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law."
There's a verse in Psalms 4 that is pretty good.
"How long, O you songs of men, will you turn my glory to shame? How long will you love worthlessness and seek falsehood? Selah. But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly; the Lord will hear when I call to Him."
How long am I going to take the glory of the Lord and make shame of it? How many times will I do something from my flesh, and put God's name on it to make it sound/look more worthy? How many times do I long and search for worth in this world, only to get a false sense of hope, love, and acceptance?
God has already set apart the one's who are truly His. He has their name written down...no matter who says their works are done in His name.
"Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' " (Matthew 7:20-23)
If you read through your bible, you'll see Jesus calling the scribes and Pharisees on all of their wrong doings and hypocrisy. They tried to look so perfect on the outside, dressed right, talked right, did the right "rituals"...etc,etc,etc. But Jesus knew their heart, knew why they were doing all of those things. Jesus didn't see them as righteous, or even good role models! His words were "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!" (A good spot to go is Matthew 23:1-29) Jesus DOES care about the way we look, talk, dress or act. These things are our fruit...but more importantly to Him is out heart. I love the line on Facing the Giants when Grant (the coach) gets a new team philosophy. He tells the team "Your attitude is like the aroma of your heart. If your attitude stinks, your heart isn't right."
We may try so hard to make my actions and life look as though everything is done with a good intent or from a heart for God...but we had better be super careful and watchful of our heart. God knows our heart, even better than we do. He sees the bitterness, hate, lust, less than admirable intentions and the root behind our actions... He sees everything we do, He knows exactly every word we have ever said. We can gossip to other people all we want and make stories fit what *we* want them to be, but God knows the truth, and we will be judged by it one day.
So many times in life my heart hasn't been right. Situation after situation...you'd think I would learn. My prayer is that someday, I will. In this life, I have learned that I have to be content. I have to have God as my all in everything I do. My life is to be full of God's love for those around me no matter what. People can hurt me, I can hurt people...love and forgiveness can fix...pretty much...any problem. God is my perfect example; not a single human. I am striving to be more like Him...and even though I fail miserably every single day, I know God will pick me back up and forgive my mistakes.
I cannot force anyone to follow the law, God's or man's; I can, however, show them the power and love of my God in hopes that they will fall in love with Him too. If that can be accomplished, they will come to long to do what He has said.
But the thing is, if I have God's law in my heart and not His love and forgiveness...from Him or for others...then I do not have God in my heart. If all I care about is following God's law, or pointing it out to those around me when "they" fail to do it, that means nothing. God doesn't need me doing His job of judging who is righteous and who needs more discipline. He is perfectly capable of correcting people Himself... The minute humans try to take over God's job of judging or thinking we know enough to know a persons intent...we start to think more of our self than we should. Pretty soon people will start to ask if that person is really a Christian, or just a judge. Satan was one of Christ's angels. Yet He wanted to be like God, he wanted to be powerful and know everything. That very minute, God struck him down. He will now burn forever in hell one day with all who wish to follow him.
If we are truly Christians, why do we feel the need to be all-powerful, all-knowing, and always judging? Isn't that why we have God? So we have someone to count on who IS all-powerful, all-knowing, and a RIGHTEOUS judge? Shouldn't we rely on Him for taking care of those who fall short? Now, I'm not saying, of course, we should allow those we know to continue in sin. But more so don't try to take over God's job. More and more people these days hunger for more and more and more. They want all the knowledge they can find, and instead of getting it from God, they go out and get books by supposedly smart people... If we want knowledge and wisdom, why aren't we going to the One who knows *everything* anyway? Something to think about.
Love is the strongest power there is. God is love, and of course He is all-powerful. Should we, then, not love as well? "Love your neighbor as yourself; there is no other commandment greater than this."
"Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law."
There's a verse in Psalms 4 that is pretty good.
"How long, O you songs of men, will you turn my glory to shame? How long will you love worthlessness and seek falsehood? Selah. But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly; the Lord will hear when I call to Him."
How long am I going to take the glory of the Lord and make shame of it? How many times will I do something from my flesh, and put God's name on it to make it sound/look more worthy? How many times do I long and search for worth in this world, only to get a false sense of hope, love, and acceptance?
God has already set apart the one's who are truly His. He has their name written down...no matter who says their works are done in His name.
"Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' " (Matthew 7:20-23)
If you read through your bible, you'll see Jesus calling the scribes and Pharisees on all of their wrong doings and hypocrisy. They tried to look so perfect on the outside, dressed right, talked right, did the right "rituals"...etc,etc,etc. But Jesus knew their heart, knew why they were doing all of those things. Jesus didn't see them as righteous, or even good role models! His words were "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!" (A good spot to go is Matthew 23:1-29) Jesus DOES care about the way we look, talk, dress or act. These things are our fruit...but more importantly to Him is out heart. I love the line on Facing the Giants when Grant (the coach) gets a new team philosophy. He tells the team "Your attitude is like the aroma of your heart. If your attitude stinks, your heart isn't right."
We may try so hard to make my actions and life look as though everything is done with a good intent or from a heart for God...but we had better be super careful and watchful of our heart. God knows our heart, even better than we do. He sees the bitterness, hate, lust, less than admirable intentions and the root behind our actions... He sees everything we do, He knows exactly every word we have ever said. We can gossip to other people all we want and make stories fit what *we* want them to be, but God knows the truth, and we will be judged by it one day.
So many times in life my heart hasn't been right. Situation after situation...you'd think I would learn. My prayer is that someday, I will. In this life, I have learned that I have to be content. I have to have God as my all in everything I do. My life is to be full of God's love for those around me no matter what. People can hurt me, I can hurt people...love and forgiveness can fix...pretty much...any problem. God is my perfect example; not a single human. I am striving to be more like Him...and even though I fail miserably every single day, I know God will pick me back up and forgive my mistakes.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
He started a good work in me, and will be faithful to complete it
"So you thought you had to keep this up, all the work that you do so we think that you're good. And you can't believe it's not enough, all the walls you built up
are just glass on the outside.
So let 'em fall down. There's freedom waiting in the sound. When you let your walls fall to the ground, we're here now.
This is where the healing begins. This is where the healing starts. When you come to where you're broken within, the light meets the dark.
Afraid to let your secrets out. Everything that you hide can come crashing through the door now. But too scared to face all your fear, so you hide but you find that the shame won't disappear.
So let it fall down, there's freedom waiting in the sound. When you let your walls fall to the ground we're here now.
This is where the healing begins. This is where the healing starts. When you come to where you're broken within, the light meets the dark.
Sparks will fly as grace collides. With the dark inside of us, so please don't fight
this coming light. Let this blood come cover us, His blood can cover us."
("Healing Begins" Tenth Avenue North)
You know, no matter how much I try to be good, all the works and things I can do on my own to try and make a difference...none of it will do any good. Apart from Christ, I cannot do "good." I've built up so many walls through the years...trying to hide myself from those around me so they can't see where my weaknesses lie, so they can't see my faults, so I can't be rejected for the mistakes I make. Over the past two years I've had so many people come break my walls down... People think I've changed, that I'm not who I once was. The truth is that I am the same person I have always been. Yes, I've grown and found out more about myself that I myself never knew, but I am the same Jessica I have always been. Once I let walls fall down that I'd built up, I simply let others see how human I am and that I, too, am sinful and make many many mistakes. When I was always quiet, I couldn't really get in trouble that often...the more I do and the more I say, the more I'll make mistakes, but it also means I will be growing and learning more.
I care about people more, because I can see hurts. When I didn't want to be around anyone, I couldn't see how people around me were struggling. The walls were not only hurting me, and holding me back from being who God created me to be, but they were also keeping other people from having someone to listen to them, pray for their needs, and just be a friend who was there. Yes, I am totally different than who I used to be...but I am still the same person. I still like the same things (and more things!). It's absolutely amazing how God can change a person SO much, and still keep them that same special person He made them to be. Jessica is still here. People who knew me years ago and those who know me now would think I'm a totally different person...but it's really that, now, I try to let them see more of Christ and who I have been all along.
God has used me in many ways. Not only to be there for other people, but He has brought many, many people into my life that I so needed. They broke my walls down, popped my bubbles, helped me see who "Jessica" really was. They helped me become the person I was meant to be. They encouraged me, they told me to not think of myself as a mistake. They helped boost my self-esteem to a point where I am more confidant in myself, but more importantly, in God. I know He didn't accidentally make me. And I know He has some kind of plan for my life, even if I can't see the whole picture right now.
So, to those who have blessed me, been there for me, heard my pity parties, let me cry on their shoulder, listened when I was angry, helped me when I was sad, encouraged me when I was going down, lifted me up when I was too weak to do so myself, showed me how much I can accomplish if I believe I CAN do something (instead of simply not trying). To those special people God put in my life that will forever be a part of me...I thank you from the bottom of my heart. For helping me when I had no desire to help myself. For being there even when I was a pain and made some of the worst mistakes...It's meant the world to me.
These walls you helped me break down will not be put back up. I will keep relying on God to help me grow. I will try to remember it's not about what other people think about me, but what God thinks. I will be *me*...who God created me to be..no matter what others want me to be.
The bible tells us that God made each of us. That means a thought went into each and every person here on this earth. No two people are exactly alike (thank goodness, I don't think even *I* could handle another Jessica) and each and every one of us has a special purpose. One person might be called to be a missionary, while another is called to stay right where they are and minister to homeless people. Another might have a totally different plan...helping those who nobody thinks about. Someone might be called to be wealthy, so there can be one to reach those who aren't around the same class as those who don't have as much.
"I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. " -Psalm 139:14-16
"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." -Ephesians 2:10
So in encouragement to you, dear readers. Never give up on life. Never give up that you are special, that you are loved and thought about. Never forget you have a purpose in life, and never forget the love which God has shown you when you felt alone and unloved. The things we go through make us who we are. We go through trials and hardships, yes, but they can make such huge openings into other people's lives that otherwise wouldn't have had someone to talk. We don't just go through hard times because God wants to punish us. I truly believe with all my heart that we go through things to grow, and in time, be able to help others through similar circumstances.
Do not be discouraged. This is my prayer for you:
"Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." -2 Thessalonians 1:11-12
are just glass on the outside.
So let 'em fall down. There's freedom waiting in the sound. When you let your walls fall to the ground, we're here now.
This is where the healing begins. This is where the healing starts. When you come to where you're broken within, the light meets the dark.
Afraid to let your secrets out. Everything that you hide can come crashing through the door now. But too scared to face all your fear, so you hide but you find that the shame won't disappear.
So let it fall down, there's freedom waiting in the sound. When you let your walls fall to the ground we're here now.
This is where the healing begins. This is where the healing starts. When you come to where you're broken within, the light meets the dark.
Sparks will fly as grace collides. With the dark inside of us, so please don't fight
this coming light. Let this blood come cover us, His blood can cover us."
("Healing Begins" Tenth Avenue North)
You know, no matter how much I try to be good, all the works and things I can do on my own to try and make a difference...none of it will do any good. Apart from Christ, I cannot do "good." I've built up so many walls through the years...trying to hide myself from those around me so they can't see where my weaknesses lie, so they can't see my faults, so I can't be rejected for the mistakes I make. Over the past two years I've had so many people come break my walls down... People think I've changed, that I'm not who I once was. The truth is that I am the same person I have always been. Yes, I've grown and found out more about myself that I myself never knew, but I am the same Jessica I have always been. Once I let walls fall down that I'd built up, I simply let others see how human I am and that I, too, am sinful and make many many mistakes. When I was always quiet, I couldn't really get in trouble that often...the more I do and the more I say, the more I'll make mistakes, but it also means I will be growing and learning more.
I care about people more, because I can see hurts. When I didn't want to be around anyone, I couldn't see how people around me were struggling. The walls were not only hurting me, and holding me back from being who God created me to be, but they were also keeping other people from having someone to listen to them, pray for their needs, and just be a friend who was there. Yes, I am totally different than who I used to be...but I am still the same person. I still like the same things (and more things!). It's absolutely amazing how God can change a person SO much, and still keep them that same special person He made them to be. Jessica is still here. People who knew me years ago and those who know me now would think I'm a totally different person...but it's really that, now, I try to let them see more of Christ and who I have been all along.
God has used me in many ways. Not only to be there for other people, but He has brought many, many people into my life that I so needed. They broke my walls down, popped my bubbles, helped me see who "Jessica" really was. They helped me become the person I was meant to be. They encouraged me, they told me to not think of myself as a mistake. They helped boost my self-esteem to a point where I am more confidant in myself, but more importantly, in God. I know He didn't accidentally make me. And I know He has some kind of plan for my life, even if I can't see the whole picture right now.
So, to those who have blessed me, been there for me, heard my pity parties, let me cry on their shoulder, listened when I was angry, helped me when I was sad, encouraged me when I was going down, lifted me up when I was too weak to do so myself, showed me how much I can accomplish if I believe I CAN do something (instead of simply not trying). To those special people God put in my life that will forever be a part of me...I thank you from the bottom of my heart. For helping me when I had no desire to help myself. For being there even when I was a pain and made some of the worst mistakes...It's meant the world to me.
These walls you helped me break down will not be put back up. I will keep relying on God to help me grow. I will try to remember it's not about what other people think about me, but what God thinks. I will be *me*...who God created me to be..no matter what others want me to be.
The bible tells us that God made each of us. That means a thought went into each and every person here on this earth. No two people are exactly alike (thank goodness, I don't think even *I* could handle another Jessica) and each and every one of us has a special purpose. One person might be called to be a missionary, while another is called to stay right where they are and minister to homeless people. Another might have a totally different plan...helping those who nobody thinks about. Someone might be called to be wealthy, so there can be one to reach those who aren't around the same class as those who don't have as much.
"I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. " -Psalm 139:14-16
"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." -Ephesians 2:10
So in encouragement to you, dear readers. Never give up on life. Never give up that you are special, that you are loved and thought about. Never forget you have a purpose in life, and never forget the love which God has shown you when you felt alone and unloved. The things we go through make us who we are. We go through trials and hardships, yes, but they can make such huge openings into other people's lives that otherwise wouldn't have had someone to talk. We don't just go through hard times because God wants to punish us. I truly believe with all my heart that we go through things to grow, and in time, be able to help others through similar circumstances.
Do not be discouraged. This is my prayer for you:
"Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." -2 Thessalonians 1:11-12
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Singing Psalms
"To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in You; let me not be ashamed; let not my enemies triumph over me. Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause. Show me Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day. Remember, O LORD, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, for they are from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; according to Your mercy remember me, for Your goodness’ sake, O LORD." -Psalm 21:1-7
I must stop and think...when was the last time I lifted my soul up to the Lord? When was the last time I stopped my crazy life and just poured out myself and everything in me to Him and thought of nothing else as I did it? No thoughts of prayer for things I wanted...but prayed a selfless prayer admitting how much I needed HIM?
When was the last time I had all my trust, wholly and completely, in Jesus Christ? Was I ashamed to mention His name to others, or simply shine Him around those who don't know Him?
Even with being mostly around other Christians, life still sends it's enemies. I'm not perfect, and there are some people that don't like me. What does it say about our enemies though...to curse them? No. David asks God to not let his enemies triumph over him. He doesn't say "I curse them, Lord. Pour Your wrath on them."
Even our enemies deserve prayer and love. Jesus said in Matthew "But I say to you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which spitefully use you, and persecute you..." It's pretty clear.
Those who wait on the Lord won't be ashamed. "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as Eagles. They shall run and not be weary they shall walk, and not faint." So long as we're putting our faith and trust in Him, He will show us the right way to go. The more we wait on the Lord, the more His plan for our life will be fulfilled...and not our own desires.
I love going through Psalms. It's just amazing to see how much praise David sends up to His Lord. He wasn't ashamed of praising Him, admitting when he had made mistakes...it's a huge reminder of how my relationship with Christ should be.
I must stop and think...when was the last time I lifted my soul up to the Lord? When was the last time I stopped my crazy life and just poured out myself and everything in me to Him and thought of nothing else as I did it? No thoughts of prayer for things I wanted...but prayed a selfless prayer admitting how much I needed HIM?
When was the last time I had all my trust, wholly and completely, in Jesus Christ? Was I ashamed to mention His name to others, or simply shine Him around those who don't know Him?
Even with being mostly around other Christians, life still sends it's enemies. I'm not perfect, and there are some people that don't like me. What does it say about our enemies though...to curse them? No. David asks God to not let his enemies triumph over him. He doesn't say "I curse them, Lord. Pour Your wrath on them."
Even our enemies deserve prayer and love. Jesus said in Matthew "But I say to you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which spitefully use you, and persecute you..." It's pretty clear.
Those who wait on the Lord won't be ashamed. "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as Eagles. They shall run and not be weary they shall walk, and not faint." So long as we're putting our faith and trust in Him, He will show us the right way to go. The more we wait on the Lord, the more His plan for our life will be fulfilled...and not our own desires.
I love going through Psalms. It's just amazing to see how much praise David sends up to His Lord. He wasn't ashamed of praising Him, admitting when he had made mistakes...it's a huge reminder of how my relationship with Christ should be.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Serve one Master in this world
"We are, we are, we're caught in the in between of who we already are and who we are yet to be. And we're looking for love but finding we're still in need. It's only what we have lost will we be allowed to keep.
And we're waiting but our eyes are wandering to all this earth holds dear.
Look at all the pretty things that steal my heart away. I can feel I'm fading.
'Cause Lord I love so many things, that keep me from Your face. Come and save me." (Tenth Avenue North "All The Pretty Things")
This world certainly seems to have a lot to offer, doesn't it? If you have money, it seems you can have anything your heart desires. Friends, cars, mansion homes, clothes and accessories galore, you can eat out whenever and wherever you want, you can have any new electronic device that come out...it seems all so perfect, right?
Then why do we constantly want more? Aside from the fact that humans are just greedy and dissatisfied most of the time, if you don't have Christ and His love then you'll never feel filled. You can buy all you want. Get all the "friends" you wish to have. You can get any new thing out there on the market...but you won't ever be satisfied until you're life is filled with Christ.
"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." -Matthew 6:24
The whole point in "marketing" is to make people think they need the item that's being sold. Their job is to reel you in and tell you how much you need the item and how good of a deal they can get you. It's really a brilliant idea...if you're the seller. Just think what people could do for Christ if they put their marketing skills into telling people how much they need God...now there's an idea.
"We run, we run to finally be set free. But we're fighting, fighting for what we've already received. So we're waiting but our eyes are wandering to all this earth holds dear.
Look at all the pretty things that steal my heart away. I can feel I'm fading.
'Cause Lord I love so many things that keep me from Your face. Come and save me." (Tenth Avenue North "All The Pretty Things" verse 2)
I fight everything within me to get more out of life. I search for fulfillment every single day. I make lists, do jobs, run errands, go see people...and yet I still don't have that feeling of fulfillment. Why, I ask myself? Because I don't make time and spend it with Jesus. The more time I spend with Him, the more time I spend emptying out myself and putting Him in my life, the more I can say "no" to the things of the world. The more I will be satisfied with what I have.
This whole world is a temptation. Even churches nowadays are temptations in my life with so many things going on. I can hang out with friends, I can participate in many different activities...but will that really fill me up? Not unless it's all spent thinking of Christ or doing it for Him.
The movie "Facing The Giants" made a very good point. Just because we're Christians it doesn't mean we have to give up things we like doing. Whether it be football, soccer, tennis, shopping, crafts, seeing friends...just as long as we do it all for the glory of God. As long as we have an attitude that will glorify Him no matter what happens as we're doing these things. Sports, we honor Him in our attitude on the field/court. We can be kind and gracious to those who are playing with us or against us.
We can make sure our attitude is always pleasing to Christ.
If we're shopping or working on hobbies or crafts...we can still glorify God in those things. We can watch how we spend our money or time, making sure we're not putting those things before God in our life. We can even use those times to talk to God or bless other people through our love of those things. We need to take any chance we can to glorify God in all that we do.
Every day, we need to find a new way to use the things in our life to glorify God and spend time with Him. God did give us this life to live. And that doesn't mean we can't have fun! God gave us the love we have for the different things in our life. But it's up to us to use those things for HIS glory.
And we're waiting but our eyes are wandering to all this earth holds dear.
Look at all the pretty things that steal my heart away. I can feel I'm fading.
'Cause Lord I love so many things, that keep me from Your face. Come and save me." (Tenth Avenue North "All The Pretty Things")
This world certainly seems to have a lot to offer, doesn't it? If you have money, it seems you can have anything your heart desires. Friends, cars, mansion homes, clothes and accessories galore, you can eat out whenever and wherever you want, you can have any new electronic device that come out...it seems all so perfect, right?
Then why do we constantly want more? Aside from the fact that humans are just greedy and dissatisfied most of the time, if you don't have Christ and His love then you'll never feel filled. You can buy all you want. Get all the "friends" you wish to have. You can get any new thing out there on the market...but you won't ever be satisfied until you're life is filled with Christ.
"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." -Matthew 6:24
The whole point in "marketing" is to make people think they need the item that's being sold. Their job is to reel you in and tell you how much you need the item and how good of a deal they can get you. It's really a brilliant idea...if you're the seller. Just think what people could do for Christ if they put their marketing skills into telling people how much they need God...now there's an idea.
"We run, we run to finally be set free. But we're fighting, fighting for what we've already received. So we're waiting but our eyes are wandering to all this earth holds dear.
Look at all the pretty things that steal my heart away. I can feel I'm fading.
'Cause Lord I love so many things that keep me from Your face. Come and save me." (Tenth Avenue North "All The Pretty Things" verse 2)
I fight everything within me to get more out of life. I search for fulfillment every single day. I make lists, do jobs, run errands, go see people...and yet I still don't have that feeling of fulfillment. Why, I ask myself? Because I don't make time and spend it with Jesus. The more time I spend with Him, the more time I spend emptying out myself and putting Him in my life, the more I can say "no" to the things of the world. The more I will be satisfied with what I have.
This whole world is a temptation. Even churches nowadays are temptations in my life with so many things going on. I can hang out with friends, I can participate in many different activities...but will that really fill me up? Not unless it's all spent thinking of Christ or doing it for Him.
The movie "Facing The Giants" made a very good point. Just because we're Christians it doesn't mean we have to give up things we like doing. Whether it be football, soccer, tennis, shopping, crafts, seeing friends...just as long as we do it all for the glory of God. As long as we have an attitude that will glorify Him no matter what happens as we're doing these things. Sports, we honor Him in our attitude on the field/court. We can be kind and gracious to those who are playing with us or against us.
We can make sure our attitude is always pleasing to Christ.
If we're shopping or working on hobbies or crafts...we can still glorify God in those things. We can watch how we spend our money or time, making sure we're not putting those things before God in our life. We can even use those times to talk to God or bless other people through our love of those things. We need to take any chance we can to glorify God in all that we do.
Every day, we need to find a new way to use the things in our life to glorify God and spend time with Him. God did give us this life to live. And that doesn't mean we can't have fun! God gave us the love we have for the different things in our life. But it's up to us to use those things for HIS glory.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Will dreams really come true?
You know, humans have dreams and goals from the time they're tiny little toddlers until they die. I think a lot of the time my dreams come from my own selfish desires...ones that I think will make me get noticed by others instead of doing things to show God to those around me. Sometimes it is very hard to let dreams go. We have planned our whole life around them, then they start breaking into pieces and we get lost; we don't know what our life could even BE like without that one dream being a part of it. It was, what we thought, was our future.
One thing God has been working in my heart lately is letting all of my dreams and goals go. Not giving them up in a certain sense, but giving them over to God and not trying to hold onto them myself. Goodness, let me tell you...when you've given God all of those things you hold so dear and worry so much about...you become free and are able to actually "live" your life instead of just getting by day by day. I've gotten a new drive for Christ without all the other things crowding Him out, and now God can work those dreams out in His own way with HIS will and plans. He then might tell me to let some of them go. That is the hardest part, especially since I tend to hang on to things in my life with such a tight grip and try to not "bother" God with my problems. But, aren't they really all His anyway?
"I've got voices in my head and they are so strong. I'm getting sick of this, oh Lord, how long will I be haunted by the fear that I believe? My hands like locks on cages of these dreams I can't set free.
But if I let these dreams die, If I lay down all my wounded pride. If I let these dreams die, will I find that letting go lets me come alive.
So empty my hands, fill up my heart, capture my mind with you.
These voices speak instead and what's right is wrong. And I'm giving into them, please Lord, how long will I be held captive by the lies that I believe. My heart's in constant chaos and it keeps me so deceived.
But if I let these dreams die, If I could just lay down my dark desire.
If I let these dreams die, will I find You brought me back to life?
So empty my hands, fill up my heart, capture my mind with you.
'Cause my mind is like a building burning down. I need your grace to keep me, keep me from the ground. And my heart is just a prisoner of war, a slave to what it wants and to what I'm fighting for.
So won't you empty my hands, fill up my heart, capture my mind with You.
Empty my hands, fill up my heart, capture my mind with You, with You. I need You now." ("Empty My Hands" by Tenth Avenue North)
Whether we want to believe it or not, our life isn't about us. It isn't about living a full, fun filled life always having adventures to give us a thrill. We will definitely have adventures, we will have fun, and we will have thrilling experiences...but they all need to be done for God. That's really the only time we will ever have peace about our life and where it's headed anyway.
So today, Lord, I hand over all dreams, goals and hopes for my future. I give my life, my desires and prayers all over to You. They're Yours to do with as You please; whether it is to bless them or take them from me. Give me peace through everything You work through me. Give me trust and faith in You so I will not give in to being discontent or depressed when my life starts changing. I pray that everything I do will have the soul root of glorifying YOU, Lord. I pray that you give me the strength I need to constantly give over everything in my life, including myself. Amen.
One thing God has been working in my heart lately is letting all of my dreams and goals go. Not giving them up in a certain sense, but giving them over to God and not trying to hold onto them myself. Goodness, let me tell you...when you've given God all of those things you hold so dear and worry so much about...you become free and are able to actually "live" your life instead of just getting by day by day. I've gotten a new drive for Christ without all the other things crowding Him out, and now God can work those dreams out in His own way with HIS will and plans. He then might tell me to let some of them go. That is the hardest part, especially since I tend to hang on to things in my life with such a tight grip and try to not "bother" God with my problems. But, aren't they really all His anyway?
"I've got voices in my head and they are so strong. I'm getting sick of this, oh Lord, how long will I be haunted by the fear that I believe? My hands like locks on cages of these dreams I can't set free.
But if I let these dreams die, If I lay down all my wounded pride. If I let these dreams die, will I find that letting go lets me come alive.
So empty my hands, fill up my heart, capture my mind with you.
These voices speak instead and what's right is wrong. And I'm giving into them, please Lord, how long will I be held captive by the lies that I believe. My heart's in constant chaos and it keeps me so deceived.
But if I let these dreams die, If I could just lay down my dark desire.
If I let these dreams die, will I find You brought me back to life?
So empty my hands, fill up my heart, capture my mind with you.
'Cause my mind is like a building burning down. I need your grace to keep me, keep me from the ground. And my heart is just a prisoner of war, a slave to what it wants and to what I'm fighting for.
So won't you empty my hands, fill up my heart, capture my mind with You.
Empty my hands, fill up my heart, capture my mind with You, with You. I need You now." ("Empty My Hands" by Tenth Avenue North)
Whether we want to believe it or not, our life isn't about us. It isn't about living a full, fun filled life always having adventures to give us a thrill. We will definitely have adventures, we will have fun, and we will have thrilling experiences...but they all need to be done for God. That's really the only time we will ever have peace about our life and where it's headed anyway.
So today, Lord, I hand over all dreams, goals and hopes for my future. I give my life, my desires and prayers all over to You. They're Yours to do with as You please; whether it is to bless them or take them from me. Give me peace through everything You work through me. Give me trust and faith in You so I will not give in to being discontent or depressed when my life starts changing. I pray that everything I do will have the soul root of glorifying YOU, Lord. I pray that you give me the strength I need to constantly give over everything in my life, including myself. Amen.
Treasured above all things
I was searching for lyrics the other day to put on my iTouch so I'd be able to sing the correct words with my songs; just now, as I was listening to one, I looked down at the lyrics and they weren't the correct one's for the song; as a matter of fact, they weren't even the same group. I was curious, so I sat and read through them and was just astonished at how perfect they were for things I've been going through lately.
Read the lyrics carefully through and you'll see what I mean...
"When no one wants to know you, wants to claim you or look deep in your eyes.
When those you love give you up, hurt you so bad you can't stand to fight.
Well, I've known that darkest hour, that's where I found true love. Jesus lifted me from the dead of night, and He'll never give me up.
I'm his beloved and He's mine. Nothing can separate, no space, no time. No death, no life, no person, no power. So strong is the love of my Heavenly Father, I'm His beloved.
There are days when I look away, for a moment I stray. But He's always there waiting. There are times I look in His eyes with tears filling mine, and He reaches to hold me. Through the constant pounding on my door, from this age and its deceit.
I will cry to God from my heart of hearts, He is all the strength I need.
I'm his beloved and He's mine. Nothing can separate, no space, no time. No death, no life, no person, no power. So strong is the love of my Heavenly Father.
Well, I can't make sense of it, but it's my security. Nothing can separate the love,
the love He has for me."
("Beloved" by Lara Landon)
It's so easy to forget how much we ARE loved when the world says it will only love us if we do certain things or look a certain way. See, this is where I tend to get lost. Satan always throws at me that when I do wrong, God doesn't love me as much as He once did (even though God's word says the opposite). So I try to please the world by fitting in and blending in to the crowd thinking I have people's love. This is very backwards. You see, the world will love you only if you follow by their rules; if you stray even slightly, they leave. So it's really more of a fake "acceptance" than any kind of love at all. Whereas Jesus loves us no matter what we have done, what we do, or what we look like. Once we have Him in our heart, He is there for eternity and will never leave no matter what we do.
We *are* loved by Jesus Christ. We *are* special and treasured in His eyes.
People will fail us. They will leave us. They will hurt us. They will say we are nothing. They will trade us in for something "better". They will give us false hope and loyalty.
But God will never fail us. Never leave us. He will never hurt us. He says we are treasured. He will keep us set apart and never give us away. He gives only true hope and is loyal to the ends of the earth.
Satan will do all he can to try and bring us astray from God's love. He will send lies to our hearts and fill our head with falsities to keep our mind from Christ's soft voice saying we are HIS alone.
We often forget that the gentle voices are the true comforts. Loud and boisterous voices confuse and cause pain. We need to remember that those loud voices are not of God. We must stop and concentrate on listening to the Lord, "for He will give you rest." "He is our help in trouble," "the calm in the storm." Rely on HIM, and Him alone.
" 'Cause You came to break the chains apart, to wake the dead and the sleeping of our hearts."
We all need to open our hearts to the truth of God.
Read the lyrics carefully through and you'll see what I mean...
"When no one wants to know you, wants to claim you or look deep in your eyes.
When those you love give you up, hurt you so bad you can't stand to fight.
Well, I've known that darkest hour, that's where I found true love. Jesus lifted me from the dead of night, and He'll never give me up.
I'm his beloved and He's mine. Nothing can separate, no space, no time. No death, no life, no person, no power. So strong is the love of my Heavenly Father, I'm His beloved.
There are days when I look away, for a moment I stray. But He's always there waiting. There are times I look in His eyes with tears filling mine, and He reaches to hold me. Through the constant pounding on my door, from this age and its deceit.
I will cry to God from my heart of hearts, He is all the strength I need.
I'm his beloved and He's mine. Nothing can separate, no space, no time. No death, no life, no person, no power. So strong is the love of my Heavenly Father.
Well, I can't make sense of it, but it's my security. Nothing can separate the love,
the love He has for me."
("Beloved" by Lara Landon)
It's so easy to forget how much we ARE loved when the world says it will only love us if we do certain things or look a certain way. See, this is where I tend to get lost. Satan always throws at me that when I do wrong, God doesn't love me as much as He once did (even though God's word says the opposite). So I try to please the world by fitting in and blending in to the crowd thinking I have people's love. This is very backwards. You see, the world will love you only if you follow by their rules; if you stray even slightly, they leave. So it's really more of a fake "acceptance" than any kind of love at all. Whereas Jesus loves us no matter what we have done, what we do, or what we look like. Once we have Him in our heart, He is there for eternity and will never leave no matter what we do.
We *are* loved by Jesus Christ. We *are* special and treasured in His eyes.
People will fail us. They will leave us. They will hurt us. They will say we are nothing. They will trade us in for something "better". They will give us false hope and loyalty.
But God will never fail us. Never leave us. He will never hurt us. He says we are treasured. He will keep us set apart and never give us away. He gives only true hope and is loyal to the ends of the earth.
Satan will do all he can to try and bring us astray from God's love. He will send lies to our hearts and fill our head with falsities to keep our mind from Christ's soft voice saying we are HIS alone.
We often forget that the gentle voices are the true comforts. Loud and boisterous voices confuse and cause pain. We need to remember that those loud voices are not of God. We must stop and concentrate on listening to the Lord, "for He will give you rest." "He is our help in trouble," "the calm in the storm." Rely on HIM, and Him alone.
" 'Cause You came to break the chains apart, to wake the dead and the sleeping of our hearts."
We all need to open our hearts to the truth of God.
Faith, Trust, Belief.
"What are you going to do when your time has come, and your life is done and there's nothing you can stand on? What will you have to say at the judgment throne?
There's nothing I can do on my own to find forgiveness, It's by His grace alone I trust in Jesus, trust in Jesus." ("Trust in Jesus" by: Casting Crowns)
Nothing we do on our own can get us to heaven. Not even trying to be a "good" person. It's just that simple. Because we are part of this fallen world, we sin...it's our nature. We NEED Christ. Period.
Going against the flow, trusting in someone we've never seen, some people might call us freaks, a little crazy, or possibly out of our mind. But think about this. Everything you see has a creator. A building had to have an architect to design it, and a builder to build it. A cell phone had to have someone deign and build it, same as a car, road, clothes, etc, etc, etc. Now look at the world. The stars, planets, trees...humans. There's not even a slight possibility it could have been an accident for all of this to come into being. It was *created*. We were specifically designed by God, for God, in the image of God. He spoke a single word and the trees came into being. He said "let there be light" and the sun appeared. People who believe in evolution simply put their faith in the scientists and what they say (which in my opinion is even more difficult to believe since they never have any facts, just talk in circles) just as we put our faith in God. Both of these beliefs require faith yet people choose to believe they were just an accident. People would rather believe that something exploded than to believe that someone actually created them on PURPOSE...and I just don't understand that; I suppose I never will.
Wouldn't you like to know you were designed by someone who loves you, given life and breath by someone who is so powerful He could speak a word and the earth was here? It sure gives me a lot of peace. We must TRUST, have FAITH, and BELIEVE all Jesus said He did. If you don't already beleive on Him, then you're life has no meaning. You will always be empty, trying everything you can to fill a void in your life...but until you have received Christ, you will never know the true meaning of "love", "peace", "hope" and "mercy". You will never feel like you are good enough, no matter what kind of show you put on. You will never have a true purpose in life without Christ. He is there for the taking...all you have to do is believe.
So today, those of us who already have Christ, let us again trust God with everything in our life. Things we have been hanging onto trying to fix on our own, things we've been worrying about, situations we feel are out of control...if you believe in God, you MUST believe He can do anything He wants. He can and will work miracles.
People, prayer is an AMAZING tool! It's a direct line to Jesus Christ that we can use every single day. We can come to Him any time we need Him or have a problem, and He is there for us.
- When a believing person prays great things happen. -- James 5: 16
There's nothing I can do on my own to find forgiveness, It's by His grace alone I trust in Jesus, trust in Jesus." ("Trust in Jesus" by: Casting Crowns)
Nothing we do on our own can get us to heaven. Not even trying to be a "good" person. It's just that simple. Because we are part of this fallen world, we sin...it's our nature. We NEED Christ. Period.
Going against the flow, trusting in someone we've never seen, some people might call us freaks, a little crazy, or possibly out of our mind. But think about this. Everything you see has a creator. A building had to have an architect to design it, and a builder to build it. A cell phone had to have someone deign and build it, same as a car, road, clothes, etc, etc, etc. Now look at the world. The stars, planets, trees...humans. There's not even a slight possibility it could have been an accident for all of this to come into being. It was *created*. We were specifically designed by God, for God, in the image of God. He spoke a single word and the trees came into being. He said "let there be light" and the sun appeared. People who believe in evolution simply put their faith in the scientists and what they say (which in my opinion is even more difficult to believe since they never have any facts, just talk in circles) just as we put our faith in God. Both of these beliefs require faith yet people choose to believe they were just an accident. People would rather believe that something exploded than to believe that someone actually created them on PURPOSE...and I just don't understand that; I suppose I never will.
Wouldn't you like to know you were designed by someone who loves you, given life and breath by someone who is so powerful He could speak a word and the earth was here? It sure gives me a lot of peace. We must TRUST, have FAITH, and BELIEVE all Jesus said He did. If you don't already beleive on Him, then you're life has no meaning. You will always be empty, trying everything you can to fill a void in your life...but until you have received Christ, you will never know the true meaning of "love", "peace", "hope" and "mercy". You will never feel like you are good enough, no matter what kind of show you put on. You will never have a true purpose in life without Christ. He is there for the taking...all you have to do is believe.
So today, those of us who already have Christ, let us again trust God with everything in our life. Things we have been hanging onto trying to fix on our own, things we've been worrying about, situations we feel are out of control...if you believe in God, you MUST believe He can do anything He wants. He can and will work miracles.
People, prayer is an AMAZING tool! It's a direct line to Jesus Christ that we can use every single day. We can come to Him any time we need Him or have a problem, and He is there for us.
- When a believing person prays great things happen. -- James 5: 16
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
"Blessings in disguise"
I think everyone should learn the song "Blessings" by Laura Story. It's absolutely amazing...and really helps you remember God DOES have a plan for everything He sends our way.
Here are the lyrics:
"We pray for blessings, we pray for peace.
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep.
We pray for healing, for prosperity.
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering.
All the while, You hear each spoken need,
yet love us way too much to give us lesser things.
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?
What if Your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near?
What if trials of this life
Are Your mercies in disguise?
We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear.
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near.
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love,
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough.
And all the while You hear each desperate plea,
And long that we'd have faith to believe.
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?
What if Your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near?
When friends betray us, when darkness seems to win.
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It's not our home
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears?
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near?
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the achings of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst
This world can’t satisfy?
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise?" ("Blessings" by Laura Story)
We can't see the future. We don't know why we suffer through some situations. We don't know why God removes certain people from our life, or why our friends "betray" or turn on us. We can't see the bigger picture and so often think it's all for nothing; that God is just torturing us with hardships and trials. I have been there time and time again; then I'm reminded of all of His amazing promises. He loves us, and everything He does is for our best interest. To fulfill His ultimate plan. We can't see why certain things happened to us, but down the road, whether here on earth or in heaven someday, we will see the outcome of that one thing and suddenly realize it made perfect sense. Sometimes we must go through the fire simply to be a witness for someone else. Maybe God knows we will be able to encourage someone we will meet one day because of a certain circumstance we went through...one we wouldn't have touched otherwise.
Like my mom says, "If we could see what God can see in the future, we'd slap ourselves and say duh. That makes perfect sense!" But the truth is, we can't. That is why we have our faith. We must wholly and completely trust that God will protect us and not give us anything we can't handle. We are so much stronger than we let ourselves believe...because unlike the world, we have God on our side. He will always win, always prevail, always make things right. He will never leave us, even when we leave Him for a time.
Things I've seen, done and have happened to me in my life (though I am still young) I can see now why some of those things happened...and it has made me a stronger person because of it. I've been able to encourage people that I wouldn't have been able to be there for if I hadn't gone through those things.
Even looking back on my friends and how I saw the situation back then...I see now that so many friendships didn't work not because of the other person, but because I was trying to take control of the situation and left God out of it; of course it was going to all crash down on me! I can look back and see those kinds of things and I realize now when I am with friends or talking to them, I need to let God speak through me and not try to show "Jessica" to them but show "Christ" to them and be there, love them and encourage them as God has done so many times for me.
I have to say this; most of my blessings in my life HAVE been disguised...things I thought were awful at the time I see now were things to help me grow in Christ and become who He has planned for me to be. And I thank Him for all of those fire treatments.
"What if my greatest disappointments, or the achings of this life, are the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy? And what if trials of this life...the rain, the storms, the hardest nights...Are Your mercies in disguise?"
Here are the lyrics:
"We pray for blessings, we pray for peace.
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep.
We pray for healing, for prosperity.
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering.
All the while, You hear each spoken need,
yet love us way too much to give us lesser things.
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?
What if Your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near?
What if trials of this life
Are Your mercies in disguise?
We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear.
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near.
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love,
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough.
And all the while You hear each desperate plea,
And long that we'd have faith to believe.
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?
What if Your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near?
When friends betray us, when darkness seems to win.
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It's not our home
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears?
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near?
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the achings of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst
This world can’t satisfy?
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise?" ("Blessings" by Laura Story)
We can't see the future. We don't know why we suffer through some situations. We don't know why God removes certain people from our life, or why our friends "betray" or turn on us. We can't see the bigger picture and so often think it's all for nothing; that God is just torturing us with hardships and trials. I have been there time and time again; then I'm reminded of all of His amazing promises. He loves us, and everything He does is for our best interest. To fulfill His ultimate plan. We can't see why certain things happened to us, but down the road, whether here on earth or in heaven someday, we will see the outcome of that one thing and suddenly realize it made perfect sense. Sometimes we must go through the fire simply to be a witness for someone else. Maybe God knows we will be able to encourage someone we will meet one day because of a certain circumstance we went through...one we wouldn't have touched otherwise.
Like my mom says, "If we could see what God can see in the future, we'd slap ourselves and say duh. That makes perfect sense!" But the truth is, we can't. That is why we have our faith. We must wholly and completely trust that God will protect us and not give us anything we can't handle. We are so much stronger than we let ourselves believe...because unlike the world, we have God on our side. He will always win, always prevail, always make things right. He will never leave us, even when we leave Him for a time.
Things I've seen, done and have happened to me in my life (though I am still young) I can see now why some of those things happened...and it has made me a stronger person because of it. I've been able to encourage people that I wouldn't have been able to be there for if I hadn't gone through those things.
Even looking back on my friends and how I saw the situation back then...I see now that so many friendships didn't work not because of the other person, but because I was trying to take control of the situation and left God out of it; of course it was going to all crash down on me! I can look back and see those kinds of things and I realize now when I am with friends or talking to them, I need to let God speak through me and not try to show "Jessica" to them but show "Christ" to them and be there, love them and encourage them as God has done so many times for me.
I have to say this; most of my blessings in my life HAVE been disguised...things I thought were awful at the time I see now were things to help me grow in Christ and become who He has planned for me to be. And I thank Him for all of those fire treatments.
"What if my greatest disappointments, or the achings of this life, are the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy? And what if trials of this life...the rain, the storms, the hardest nights...Are Your mercies in disguise?"
Monday, July 11, 2011
It's a new life.
"Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."
All my life, Satan has kept lies roaming through my head. He has told me I'm not worth loving, that I am nothing, that nobody will ever want me, that he has the power over my emotions and can do what he pleases. The verse above is very plainly stated though, isn't it?
Submit to God, not only every now and then, but each and every day; every minute of every day. When you submit to God, it will soon be easier to resist the devil and his lies, because you are in the presence of God constantly. You will have God demonstrating His love for you, and that will drown out Satans lies.
Satan tells me I'm not worth loving. He tells me nobody could ever want someone like me. He tells me I am nothing in the site of those around me. He tells me the people who say they're my friends will go behind my back and leave me stranded. These things are all lies. God tells me I am treasured in His eyes among many other precious things.
"I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works and my soul knows it very well." -Psalm 139:14
Because He is so amazing, we SHOULD rejoice in Him, and His never ending love!
"Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; let those who love Your salvation say continually, “The LORD be magnified!” " -Psalm 40:16
"But let all who take refuge in You be glad, let them ever sing for joy; and may You shelter them, that those who love Your name may exult in You. For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O LORD, You surround him with favor as with a shield." Psalm 5:11-12
A song by Tenth Avenue North called "You Are More" has amazing lyrics. They're so encouraging! Read them closely, they just might touch you, too.
"There's a girl in the corner,
with tear stains on her eyes.
From the places she's wandered,
and the shame she can't hide.
She says, "How did I get here?
I'm not who I once was.
And I'm crippled by the fear,
that I've fallen too far to love.
But don't you know who you are,
What's been done for you?
Yeah don't you know who you are?
Well she tries to believe it,
that she's been given new life.
But she can't shake the feeling,
that it's not true tonight.
She knows all the answers,
and she's rehearsed all the lines.
And so she'll try to do better,
but then she's too weak to try.
But don't you know who you are?
You are more than the choices that you've made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create, You've been remade.
'Cause this is not about what you've done,
but what's been done for you.
This is not about where you've been,
but where your brokenness brings you to.
This is not about what you feel,
but what He felt to forgive you,
and what He felt to make you loved.
You are more than the choices that you've made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create,
You've been remade."
God gave us a gift and we did not do anything to deserve it, yet He gave it freely knowing full well we would make mistakes and mess up our life. Satan can try to get us down, but once we've accepted that gift of forgiveness from Christ, we no longer have to hold onto guilt and sadness, because it has been forgiven and forgotten by God Himself. We have a new life every day.
All my life, Satan has kept lies roaming through my head. He has told me I'm not worth loving, that I am nothing, that nobody will ever want me, that he has the power over my emotions and can do what he pleases. The verse above is very plainly stated though, isn't it?
Submit to God, not only every now and then, but each and every day; every minute of every day. When you submit to God, it will soon be easier to resist the devil and his lies, because you are in the presence of God constantly. You will have God demonstrating His love for you, and that will drown out Satans lies.
Satan tells me I'm not worth loving. He tells me nobody could ever want someone like me. He tells me I am nothing in the site of those around me. He tells me the people who say they're my friends will go behind my back and leave me stranded. These things are all lies. God tells me I am treasured in His eyes among many other precious things.
"I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works and my soul knows it very well." -Psalm 139:14
Because He is so amazing, we SHOULD rejoice in Him, and His never ending love!
"Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; let those who love Your salvation say continually, “The LORD be magnified!” " -Psalm 40:16
"But let all who take refuge in You be glad, let them ever sing for joy; and may You shelter them, that those who love Your name may exult in You. For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O LORD, You surround him with favor as with a shield." Psalm 5:11-12
A song by Tenth Avenue North called "You Are More" has amazing lyrics. They're so encouraging! Read them closely, they just might touch you, too.
"There's a girl in the corner,
with tear stains on her eyes.
From the places she's wandered,
and the shame she can't hide.
She says, "How did I get here?
I'm not who I once was.
And I'm crippled by the fear,
that I've fallen too far to love.
But don't you know who you are,
What's been done for you?
Yeah don't you know who you are?
Well she tries to believe it,
that she's been given new life.
But she can't shake the feeling,
that it's not true tonight.
She knows all the answers,
and she's rehearsed all the lines.
And so she'll try to do better,
but then she's too weak to try.
But don't you know who you are?
You are more than the choices that you've made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create, You've been remade.
'Cause this is not about what you've done,
but what's been done for you.
This is not about where you've been,
but where your brokenness brings you to.
This is not about what you feel,
but what He felt to forgive you,
and what He felt to make you loved.
You are more than the choices that you've made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create,
You've been remade."
God gave us a gift and we did not do anything to deserve it, yet He gave it freely knowing full well we would make mistakes and mess up our life. Satan can try to get us down, but once we've accepted that gift of forgiveness from Christ, we no longer have to hold onto guilt and sadness, because it has been forgiven and forgotten by God Himself. We have a new life every day.
"The Prideful will fall"
I was reading Psalms...and came across these verses.
"Truly God is good to Israel, to such as are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pangs of their death, but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men nor are they plagued like other men. Therefore pride serves as their necklace; violence covers them like a garment. Their eyes bulge with abundance; they have more than heart could wish. They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression; they speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walks through the earth. Therefore his people return here, and waters of a full cup are drained by them. And they say, "How does God know? and is there knowledge in the Most High?" Behold, these are the ungodly, who are always at ease; they increase in riches. Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence. For all day long I have been plagued, and chastened every morning. If I had said, “I will speak thus,” Behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children. When I thought how to understand this, It was too painful for me— Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end. Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awakes, so, Lord, when You awake, You shall despise their image. Thus my heart was grieved, and I was vexed in my mind. I was so foolish and ignorant; I was like a beast before You. Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish; You have destroyed all those who desert You for harlotry. But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all Your works." Psalm 73
Now I know it's a little bit long, but please read the whole chapter, it won't take but a minute. It made me think of the times I've seen people prosper with their life. They have just about anything they want, their life seems so care free and amazing! A closer look reveals pride, violence (whether it be physical or verbal,) and a habit of looking down on those "lesser" than they are. Now, I'm not saying all who are wealthy in some way or another fit into this category...but I'm sure at some point in all of our lives, we've envied those who would fit this. We see more material things than our heart could handle...and we start wishing we could trade places with them. The one thing we don't look at, though, is the fact that we are so far over them in wealth...we tend to forget all that God has promised us, because the "wealth" He has for us won't be on this earth (at least the kind that will satisfy us.) We have been given a promise of living for eternity, we already HAVE the most amazing thing in the world...in the entire creation of anything out there! Jesus Christ!
It's intriguing to read how many times the bible talks about pride. How much it can destroy us and take over us.
Here are a few verses:
"Though the Lord is on high, yet He regards the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar." -Psalm 138:6
"The Lord will destroy the house of the proud..." -Proverbs 15:25
"Everyone proud in hear is an abomination to the Lord; though they join forces, none will go unpunished." -Proverbs 16:5
"Pride foes before destruction, and a haughtily spirit before a fall. Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil of the proud." -Proverbs 16:18-19
"A haughty look, a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked are sin." -Proverbs 21:4
"A proud and haughty man- "Scoffer" is his name; he acts with arrogant pride." -Proverbs 21:24
"He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, but he who trusts in the Lord will be prospered." -Proverbs 28:25
"I will punish the world for it's evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible." -Isaiah 13:11
"Hear and give ear: do not be proud, for the Lord has spoken." -Jeremiah 13:15
"There they cry out, but He does not answer, because of the pride of evil men." -Job 35:12
God talks about it over and over and over. We must assume, then, that it is of some importance to us, wouldn't you think?
Goodness, the times I've compared myself to others with a haughty heart saying how much better I am than them.
Examples:
"Well, *I* don't wear shorts that short."
"*I* don't watch TV very often"
"I can't believe they have tattoos"
"If it were *ME* raising that child, he would be so much better behaved!"
"That person has two holes in their ear, I'm glad I'm not that sinful"
"I'm home-schooled, which automatically makes me a better person than all those "public schooled" kids"
"Well, I might wear ____ but at least it not like *that*"
"I may only read my bible several times a week...but I bet they don't read theirs nearly as often"
"I cannot BELIEVE the kind of music they listen to! What kind of Christian would open their ears to that?"
You get the point...judging, then showing myself how much better *I* am than them by the standards of "Jessica". That is not Christ-like, and that is certainly not loving. God can and will use anyone for any means He wishes, and just because I don't agree with something does *not* mean I can't fellowship or do God's work with another person.
"For through the grace given to me I saw to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgement, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in one body and all members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly; if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good." -Romans 12:3-9
We each have our own convictions, some are more conservative than others, some are more liberal than others...but as long as we are brothers and sisters in Christ, we must love one another. This doesn't mean you have to lower/raise the standards you've been convicted of, it simply means we shouldn't be prideful of the things we do.
If I am to compare myself to anyone at all, it should be Christ. I need to look in the mirror...do I see *me* or do I see Jesus? If I am so full of myself that all I see in that mirror is myself, then I must get rid of things in my heart/life until all that's left is Jesus. Here's a video that has a good way of putting this.
I must remember that God loves a humble servant. If I am trying to be Christ like, then I have to remember how He humbled Himself to be a man on this earth, became a servant to others...and if I'm not humbling myself to do for others instead of myself, then I am wrong.
In Isaiah 14:13-14 is talks of the people saying "*I* will ascend into heaven," "*I* will exalt my throne above the stars of God." The moment we start using the words "I," "Me," or "us" instead of "God," "Him," or "Christ" then God will quickly cut us down to nothing. Viewing myself above everyone else *is* pride. And it *is* wrong.
Something my dad said I thought was very interesting. The words "pride" and "sin" both have the letter "I" right in the middle. Something to think about....
We are not "Super Christians" because we are more _____ than other people.
I serve a perfect God. One who has not even made one single mistake or sinned a single time. He is Holy, He is all-powerful, He is sovereign, He is all-knowing; He has no blemish or spot. I compare myself to others for a good feeling of how wonderful I am...now, the instant I compare myself to God, the Lord of Lords and King of kings...I find myself falling very, very short of anything at all. Why would someone so perfect give His life for someone like me, who has done nothing worthy of praise in my life? I've sinned against Him since the day I was born, I've had anger towards Him and other people. I think quite highly of myself, instead of thinking of my LORD as the only high one. The bible says God died for me because He LOVED me. A love so deep that He was willing to be mocked, ridiculed, spat upon, beaten then hung on a cross (which happens to be the most painful way of being killed.) He did all of this for *me* (us) He died for *me* (us) because of His never ending love for me. Even though I crucified Him with my sin. Then, He made a way for me be with Him in paradise someday. All I have to do is admit of being an unworthy sinner, and believe wholly and completely on Him and what He did for me. I don't have to do a list of things up until I die to deserve His gift like the worlds made up gods, I don't have to complete a survey or bow to a statue every day. I simply have to have faith in my Creator.
"Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He instructs the sinners in the way. He leads the humble in justice, and He teaches the humble His way." -Psalm 25:8-9
"Truly God is good to Israel, to such as are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pangs of their death, but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men nor are they plagued like other men. Therefore pride serves as their necklace; violence covers them like a garment. Their eyes bulge with abundance; they have more than heart could wish. They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression; they speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walks through the earth. Therefore his people return here, and waters of a full cup are drained by them. And they say, "How does God know? and is there knowledge in the Most High?" Behold, these are the ungodly, who are always at ease; they increase in riches. Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence. For all day long I have been plagued, and chastened every morning. If I had said, “I will speak thus,” Behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children. When I thought how to understand this, It was too painful for me— Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end. Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awakes, so, Lord, when You awake, You shall despise their image. Thus my heart was grieved, and I was vexed in my mind. I was so foolish and ignorant; I was like a beast before You. Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish; You have destroyed all those who desert You for harlotry. But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all Your works." Psalm 73
Now I know it's a little bit long, but please read the whole chapter, it won't take but a minute. It made me think of the times I've seen people prosper with their life. They have just about anything they want, their life seems so care free and amazing! A closer look reveals pride, violence (whether it be physical or verbal,) and a habit of looking down on those "lesser" than they are. Now, I'm not saying all who are wealthy in some way or another fit into this category...but I'm sure at some point in all of our lives, we've envied those who would fit this. We see more material things than our heart could handle...and we start wishing we could trade places with them. The one thing we don't look at, though, is the fact that we are so far over them in wealth...we tend to forget all that God has promised us, because the "wealth" He has for us won't be on this earth (at least the kind that will satisfy us.) We have been given a promise of living for eternity, we already HAVE the most amazing thing in the world...in the entire creation of anything out there! Jesus Christ!
It's intriguing to read how many times the bible talks about pride. How much it can destroy us and take over us.
Here are a few verses:
"Though the Lord is on high, yet He regards the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar." -Psalm 138:6
"The Lord will destroy the house of the proud..." -Proverbs 15:25
"Everyone proud in hear is an abomination to the Lord; though they join forces, none will go unpunished." -Proverbs 16:5
"Pride foes before destruction, and a haughtily spirit before a fall. Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil of the proud." -Proverbs 16:18-19
"A haughty look, a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked are sin." -Proverbs 21:4
"A proud and haughty man- "Scoffer" is his name; he acts with arrogant pride." -Proverbs 21:24
"He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, but he who trusts in the Lord will be prospered." -Proverbs 28:25
"I will punish the world for it's evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible." -Isaiah 13:11
"Hear and give ear: do not be proud, for the Lord has spoken." -Jeremiah 13:15
"There they cry out, but He does not answer, because of the pride of evil men." -Job 35:12
God talks about it over and over and over. We must assume, then, that it is of some importance to us, wouldn't you think?
Goodness, the times I've compared myself to others with a haughty heart saying how much better I am than them.
Examples:
"Well, *I* don't wear shorts that short."
"*I* don't watch TV very often"
"I can't believe they have tattoos"
"If it were *ME* raising that child, he would be so much better behaved!"
"That person has two holes in their ear, I'm glad I'm not that sinful"
"I'm home-schooled, which automatically makes me a better person than all those "public schooled" kids"
"Well, I might wear ____ but at least it not like *that*"
"I may only read my bible several times a week...but I bet they don't read theirs nearly as often"
"I cannot BELIEVE the kind of music they listen to! What kind of Christian would open their ears to that?"
You get the point...judging, then showing myself how much better *I* am than them by the standards of "Jessica". That is not Christ-like, and that is certainly not loving. God can and will use anyone for any means He wishes, and just because I don't agree with something does *not* mean I can't fellowship or do God's work with another person.
"For through the grace given to me I saw to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgement, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in one body and all members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly; if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good." -Romans 12:3-9
We each have our own convictions, some are more conservative than others, some are more liberal than others...but as long as we are brothers and sisters in Christ, we must love one another. This doesn't mean you have to lower/raise the standards you've been convicted of, it simply means we shouldn't be prideful of the things we do.
If I am to compare myself to anyone at all, it should be Christ. I need to look in the mirror...do I see *me* or do I see Jesus? If I am so full of myself that all I see in that mirror is myself, then I must get rid of things in my heart/life until all that's left is Jesus. Here's a video that has a good way of putting this.
I must remember that God loves a humble servant. If I am trying to be Christ like, then I have to remember how He humbled Himself to be a man on this earth, became a servant to others...and if I'm not humbling myself to do for others instead of myself, then I am wrong.
In Isaiah 14:13-14 is talks of the people saying "*I* will ascend into heaven," "*I* will exalt my throne above the stars of God." The moment we start using the words "I," "Me," or "us" instead of "God," "Him," or "Christ" then God will quickly cut us down to nothing. Viewing myself above everyone else *is* pride. And it *is* wrong.
Something my dad said I thought was very interesting. The words "pride" and "sin" both have the letter "I" right in the middle. Something to think about....
We are not "Super Christians" because we are more _____ than other people.
I serve a perfect God. One who has not even made one single mistake or sinned a single time. He is Holy, He is all-powerful, He is sovereign, He is all-knowing; He has no blemish or spot. I compare myself to others for a good feeling of how wonderful I am...now, the instant I compare myself to God, the Lord of Lords and King of kings...I find myself falling very, very short of anything at all. Why would someone so perfect give His life for someone like me, who has done nothing worthy of praise in my life? I've sinned against Him since the day I was born, I've had anger towards Him and other people. I think quite highly of myself, instead of thinking of my LORD as the only high one. The bible says God died for me because He LOVED me. A love so deep that He was willing to be mocked, ridiculed, spat upon, beaten then hung on a cross (which happens to be the most painful way of being killed.) He did all of this for *me* (us) He died for *me* (us) because of His never ending love for me. Even though I crucified Him with my sin. Then, He made a way for me be with Him in paradise someday. All I have to do is admit of being an unworthy sinner, and believe wholly and completely on Him and what He did for me. I don't have to do a list of things up until I die to deserve His gift like the worlds made up gods, I don't have to complete a survey or bow to a statue every day. I simply have to have faith in my Creator.
"Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He instructs the sinners in the way. He leads the humble in justice, and He teaches the humble His way." -Psalm 25:8-9
Saturday, July 9, 2011
God is showing
There's a man who I've been following on Twitter, and his Tweets and love for the Lord and His will amaze me. Here's a post from his blog if you'd like to check it out! His posts have been very encouraging to me.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Encouragement in a new direction
This is written as if it were Jesus talking to us.
"Come to Me for understanding, since I know you far better than you know yourself. I comprehend you in all your complexity; no detail of your life is hidden from Me. I view you through eyes of grace, so don't be afraid of My intimate awareness. Allow the Light of My healing Presence to shine into the deepest recesses of your being-- cleansing, healing, refreshing, and renewing you. Trust Me enough to accept the FULL forgiveness that I offer you continually. This great gift, which cost Me My Life, is YOURS for all eternity. Forgiveness is at the very core of My abiding Presence. I will never leave you or forsake you.
When no one else seems to understand you, simply draw closer to Me. Rejoice in the One who understands you completely and loves you perfectly. As I fill you with My Love, you become a reservoir of love, overflowing into the lives of other people."
By: Sarah Young in Jesus Calling
God is more than enough for us. We do not deserve Him yet He calls us His own. We fail, He easily forgives. We do wrong, He corrects in love and kindness. We stray, He waits with open arms. We fear, He sends peace. We worry, He comforts us.
He is there through everything we go through...even when we try to push Him away. We cannot stretch too far or over use the statement "my God is an awesome God" because He IS! He is the Creator of everything you see. The complexity of the human race is what He created, what He breathed life into to make capable of living.
The one thing that really got me to thinking, was when it said "I know you FAR better than you know yourself." Wow. He really does. He knows what we will do years down the road from now. He knows every decision we make or ever will make. He knows what's in our hearts before we even do. He knows the root behind our thoughts even if we don't really understand it. He gave each of us the gift of being "unique." Nobody else on this earth is just like "me" or "you." Nobody else will know how we feel in certain situations, will know how we will react to different circumstances...nobody but God.
And you know what? That is so comforting. Especially for me. I confuse myself to pieces sometimes, and to know there's at least ONE who can decipher me is incredibly reassuring.
Our Creator may bring us through some big fires sometimes, but it is all part of His plan. Everything in life we go through has a purpose, and the soul purpose of our life anyway is to bring glory to God. If the only way He can get that is by sending us through trials, then He will do just that. I should praise Him for finding me even the least bit "worthy" (I do not like that word, because I am not worthy, I just can't think of another one at the moment) of giving me trials. To know He trusts I will not deny His name or curse Him no matter what comes my way...I am so thankful.
"Come to Me for understanding, since I know you far better than you know yourself. I comprehend you in all your complexity; no detail of your life is hidden from Me. I view you through eyes of grace, so don't be afraid of My intimate awareness. Allow the Light of My healing Presence to shine into the deepest recesses of your being-- cleansing, healing, refreshing, and renewing you. Trust Me enough to accept the FULL forgiveness that I offer you continually. This great gift, which cost Me My Life, is YOURS for all eternity. Forgiveness is at the very core of My abiding Presence. I will never leave you or forsake you.
When no one else seems to understand you, simply draw closer to Me. Rejoice in the One who understands you completely and loves you perfectly. As I fill you with My Love, you become a reservoir of love, overflowing into the lives of other people."
By: Sarah Young in Jesus Calling
God is more than enough for us. We do not deserve Him yet He calls us His own. We fail, He easily forgives. We do wrong, He corrects in love and kindness. We stray, He waits with open arms. We fear, He sends peace. We worry, He comforts us.
He is there through everything we go through...even when we try to push Him away. We cannot stretch too far or over use the statement "my God is an awesome God" because He IS! He is the Creator of everything you see. The complexity of the human race is what He created, what He breathed life into to make capable of living.
The one thing that really got me to thinking, was when it said "I know you FAR better than you know yourself." Wow. He really does. He knows what we will do years down the road from now. He knows every decision we make or ever will make. He knows what's in our hearts before we even do. He knows the root behind our thoughts even if we don't really understand it. He gave each of us the gift of being "unique." Nobody else on this earth is just like "me" or "you." Nobody else will know how we feel in certain situations, will know how we will react to different circumstances...nobody but God.
And you know what? That is so comforting. Especially for me. I confuse myself to pieces sometimes, and to know there's at least ONE who can decipher me is incredibly reassuring.
Our Creator may bring us through some big fires sometimes, but it is all part of His plan. Everything in life we go through has a purpose, and the soul purpose of our life anyway is to bring glory to God. If the only way He can get that is by sending us through trials, then He will do just that. I should praise Him for finding me even the least bit "worthy" (I do not like that word, because I am not worthy, I just can't think of another one at the moment) of giving me trials. To know He trusts I will not deny His name or curse Him no matter what comes my way...I am so thankful.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Life's constantly moving
"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful." -Colossians 3:15
I was talking with a friend of mine the other day about my night and how I was up worrying and thinking until well after 1. As I told her all I was thinking of while I sat awake, she said some very encouraging things to me. One of my worst habits is sitting awake at night and thinking "worst case scenarios" through my head, and worrying about anything Satan throws at me. It's pretty depressing.
She said,
"Even though you've made mistakes and done things that were wrong, you are forgiven. It is so easy to focus on what we've done wrong and not what Christ did to forgive us. Not saying you shouldn't think about the things you've done wrong, because God uses those times to teach us for the future. But we CAN'T forget that Jesus took upon Himself the guilt and shame that we feel. You have no need to feel condemned for what has happened, because all of that has literally been taken from you by the Creator of the universe. The One who created you took your shame and your grave because He loves you with an incomprehensible and unfathomable love."
You see, when I received Jesus a long time ago He forgave everything I've ever done. Now when I do wrong or sin against Him, all I have to do is ask His forgiveness and it's given. No questions, no guilt; He forgives what I have done and forgets it. In His mind, it is as if it never happened. As humans it is very hard, sometimes even impossible, for us to forget a wrong done/said against us. But I pray so hard that God will teach me the kind of forgiveness He gives to us. I know I won't be able to be just like Him in this area, but I can definitely improve and, with time, I can get better and start relying on HIM to help me forgive hurts towards me, and love those who haven't loved me.
Not to say I have all these people who have hurt me or anything. But God has shown me that bitterness is a big problem in my life.
"Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice." -Ephesians 4:31
Bitterness in the heart will rot me away to nothing, and I will live a very lonely life if I let it take hold of me. Many, many things God has opened up to me, and though Satan tells me I won't ever overcome these things, God tells me that with His strength, I can.
Isn't that always the case though? With Satan, it's always "you CAN'T." With God, it's "you CAN."
I was talking with a friend of mine the other day about my night and how I was up worrying and thinking until well after 1. As I told her all I was thinking of while I sat awake, she said some very encouraging things to me. One of my worst habits is sitting awake at night and thinking "worst case scenarios" through my head, and worrying about anything Satan throws at me. It's pretty depressing.
She said,
"Even though you've made mistakes and done things that were wrong, you are forgiven. It is so easy to focus on what we've done wrong and not what Christ did to forgive us. Not saying you shouldn't think about the things you've done wrong, because God uses those times to teach us for the future. But we CAN'T forget that Jesus took upon Himself the guilt and shame that we feel. You have no need to feel condemned for what has happened, because all of that has literally been taken from you by the Creator of the universe. The One who created you took your shame and your grave because He loves you with an incomprehensible and unfathomable love."
You see, when I received Jesus a long time ago He forgave everything I've ever done. Now when I do wrong or sin against Him, all I have to do is ask His forgiveness and it's given. No questions, no guilt; He forgives what I have done and forgets it. In His mind, it is as if it never happened. As humans it is very hard, sometimes even impossible, for us to forget a wrong done/said against us. But I pray so hard that God will teach me the kind of forgiveness He gives to us. I know I won't be able to be just like Him in this area, but I can definitely improve and, with time, I can get better and start relying on HIM to help me forgive hurts towards me, and love those who haven't loved me.
Not to say I have all these people who have hurt me or anything. But God has shown me that bitterness is a big problem in my life.
"Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice." -Ephesians 4:31
Bitterness in the heart will rot me away to nothing, and I will live a very lonely life if I let it take hold of me. Many, many things God has opened up to me, and though Satan tells me I won't ever overcome these things, God tells me that with His strength, I can.
Isn't that always the case though? With Satan, it's always "you CAN'T." With God, it's "you CAN."
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Loving is a lifestyle
It's shocking to see so many churches where those who make up the church get along worse than teens in a high school. Everyone has the right to their own opinions, but that doesn't mean if everyone doesn't believe exactly what you believe that we can't fellowship with them, or go out and help others together. My dad always says, "if everyone were just like me ("us") we would still argue and have disagreements." We won't ever get along perfectly until we get to heaven anyway...we will have to spend eternity with each other then...why make ourselves miserable by quarreling while we have this short time on earth?
We were placed here to show the love of God to others....but most of the time we stay in our own little clique and stick our nose up to anyone who is "less" of a Christian than ourselves. People who dress differently, watch things we don't watch, read book series we don't read, go places we don't go...not saying there isn't a line to who you hang around...but if we only hang around those who we call "righteous" then who is going to get to those who need Jesus, who AREN'T "good enough"?
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."
-1 John 4:7-11
Pretty straight to the point, isn't it? Just as we are to forgive as Christ forgave us, we are to love one another as we have been loved. Agape love, the one that loves without thought of anything in return; that loves even when nobody has given a reason to love.
Nobody is perfect, but we should try to make sure our lives are being mirrored images of Christ. Not the world, not those we call "great Christian leaders", not "inspirational authors," and not men of the past who made a huge difference. The second you put man on a pedestal, they will fail you. If each of us followed after someone we thought was amazing/perfect, soon person after person would be watered down.
It's like taking a pattern and cutting your shape out with a piece of paper, and, instead of using the pattern again, you use the paper you cut out of it. Because that paper was off just slightly, all of your other papers will get smaller/larger/wider...and eventually you will have tons of mismatched papers, because you didn't cut them all out from the pattern that had the perfect shape.
There is no such thing as a perfect Christian. Not a one of us knows everything or the right way to handle every situation in life. God is the only one who can be perfect, and He has answers for all of our questions. Most of them are pretty clear, too! We just automatically assume something He's said can't be that simple, and we try to expound on it more and eventually lose the meaning Jesus had.
"If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love."
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
That right there pretty much sums up the Christian walk. Everything we should do, in every situation. Love. Love. Love. Love.
"By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
-John 13:35
"And above all things have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins."
- 1 Peter 4:8
"No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us His spirit."
1 John 4:12-13
"Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing."
1 Peter 3:8-9
God tells us we must love one another if we are to follow after Him, but we not only need to love others for His sake, but for our sake. If our life is spent with bitterness, judging others, or full of anger, it will eat at us and wear us down...giving the opposite affect we wanted by not loving the other person.
I'm afraid I have failed most of my life with showing Christ-like love to those around me. I have hid from the world, instead of shining the light of Christ...but the closer I get to Him, the more I realize loving Him means loving others. I have to love Jesus and those around me more than myself... I have to be willing to be mocked and ridiculed for standing up for my Savior... My life is full of mistakes, but I thank God He has given me the grace I don't deserve, and has helped me see at least some of my mistakes.
Let us take a hint from God's word with how many times He told us to love. It is vital to Christianity.
We were placed here to show the love of God to others....but most of the time we stay in our own little clique and stick our nose up to anyone who is "less" of a Christian than ourselves. People who dress differently, watch things we don't watch, read book series we don't read, go places we don't go...not saying there isn't a line to who you hang around...but if we only hang around those who we call "righteous" then who is going to get to those who need Jesus, who AREN'T "good enough"?
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."
-1 John 4:7-11
Pretty straight to the point, isn't it? Just as we are to forgive as Christ forgave us, we are to love one another as we have been loved. Agape love, the one that loves without thought of anything in return; that loves even when nobody has given a reason to love.
Nobody is perfect, but we should try to make sure our lives are being mirrored images of Christ. Not the world, not those we call "great Christian leaders", not "inspirational authors," and not men of the past who made a huge difference. The second you put man on a pedestal, they will fail you. If each of us followed after someone we thought was amazing/perfect, soon person after person would be watered down.
It's like taking a pattern and cutting your shape out with a piece of paper, and, instead of using the pattern again, you use the paper you cut out of it. Because that paper was off just slightly, all of your other papers will get smaller/larger/wider...and eventually you will have tons of mismatched papers, because you didn't cut them all out from the pattern that had the perfect shape.
There is no such thing as a perfect Christian. Not a one of us knows everything or the right way to handle every situation in life. God is the only one who can be perfect, and He has answers for all of our questions. Most of them are pretty clear, too! We just automatically assume something He's said can't be that simple, and we try to expound on it more and eventually lose the meaning Jesus had.
"If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love."
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
That right there pretty much sums up the Christian walk. Everything we should do, in every situation. Love. Love. Love. Love.
"By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
-John 13:35
"And above all things have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins."
- 1 Peter 4:8
"No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us His spirit."
1 John 4:12-13
"Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing."
1 Peter 3:8-9
God tells us we must love one another if we are to follow after Him, but we not only need to love others for His sake, but for our sake. If our life is spent with bitterness, judging others, or full of anger, it will eat at us and wear us down...giving the opposite affect we wanted by not loving the other person.
I'm afraid I have failed most of my life with showing Christ-like love to those around me. I have hid from the world, instead of shining the light of Christ...but the closer I get to Him, the more I realize loving Him means loving others. I have to love Jesus and those around me more than myself... I have to be willing to be mocked and ridiculed for standing up for my Savior... My life is full of mistakes, but I thank God He has given me the grace I don't deserve, and has helped me see at least some of my mistakes.
Let us take a hint from God's word with how many times He told us to love. It is vital to Christianity.
Still A Caterpillar
The older I get, the more I look back on my life and see everything I've done with a more understanding view. My life has been a mess. I am very grateful for everything I've been blessed with, but I have made major mistakes, I have hurt and been hurt. The one thing I've learned; through it all God has loved me every second.
I remember from the time I was about 8 until I turned 18, I always thought I would die from some awful disease before my 18th birthday. Don't ask me why, I just always thought I was going to die. As years passed, because I put myself in the position as such a hermit, I prayed that God would LET me have some sort of disease if I hadn't died by 18 (or wasn't married by 20.)
It's funny how things can change, isn't it? All my prayers for God to make me sick or take me home have now become prayers of thanks for letting me live the life He has so graciously given me. Even when I was little and thought of taking my own life. Thinking back, it was very selfish. This life I live isn't mine to take... or any other persons for that matter. It's God's. The only way I will leave this earth now is if God decides it's time for me to go.
"for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:"
(Philippians 4:11)
"The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."
(Job 1:21)
No matter what we have or don't have, we should always be content because whatever we do have is a blessing from God. It is all His anyway, so if He chooses to take it from us He has the right to do so. Whether it be material things, friends or family. We won't always understand why things happen, but some day we will be able to look back and realize there was a greater plan for it all.
I have learned many a lesson over a few years as a late teen. There have been things I was upset about and hurt by that people said to/about me that I later saw truth to. There can be a lot of beating up on oneself over things done poorly. I have said and done things that I am not proud of, and I would be in a pretty bad position had I not had the Lord there with me and forgiving me. He has helped me through it, cleaned my heart again and again...and most of all, forgiven me for my wrong doings. My heart is sinful, my flesh IS weak. The only way I can even show good in my life is through Christ Jesus shining through my life. Unfortunately, I don't always let Him shine. I dirty up my heart and cover His love with my own selfish thoughts and actions. My prayer is that He will always turn me back to Him and cleanse my heart of everything "Jessica" and make it all "Jesus." He is good all the time, and never anything but good even when I am unworthy.
I once thought I had finally turned into a butterfly...a long time coming since I've lived most of my life tucked away in a cocoon. But the more I see of my life, the more I see I am still just a caterpillar trying desperately to become a beautiful butterfly. I still have things to conquer, people to meet, and weeds to pull from my life. But let me tell you, when God breaks a person down to where there is nothing left but Him, it is a beautiful thing to see, and I pray He will continue to break me and chisel away anything in my life not living for Him.
So this is my prayer, of Lord. That You would keep my heart clean; that I would follow You wherever You lead me no matter how difficult. That You would shine forth from me and show the world Your love through one more person. That I would repent where I have done wrong, and praise You for what You do each and every day. No matter what people say about me or do to me, I would still show them Your love, and Yours alone, because You ARE worthy of everything I have.
I remember from the time I was about 8 until I turned 18, I always thought I would die from some awful disease before my 18th birthday. Don't ask me why, I just always thought I was going to die. As years passed, because I put myself in the position as such a hermit, I prayed that God would LET me have some sort of disease if I hadn't died by 18 (or wasn't married by 20.)
It's funny how things can change, isn't it? All my prayers for God to make me sick or take me home have now become prayers of thanks for letting me live the life He has so graciously given me. Even when I was little and thought of taking my own life. Thinking back, it was very selfish. This life I live isn't mine to take... or any other persons for that matter. It's God's. The only way I will leave this earth now is if God decides it's time for me to go.
"for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:"
(Philippians 4:11)
"The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."
(Job 1:21)
No matter what we have or don't have, we should always be content because whatever we do have is a blessing from God. It is all His anyway, so if He chooses to take it from us He has the right to do so. Whether it be material things, friends or family. We won't always understand why things happen, but some day we will be able to look back and realize there was a greater plan for it all.
I have learned many a lesson over a few years as a late teen. There have been things I was upset about and hurt by that people said to/about me that I later saw truth to. There can be a lot of beating up on oneself over things done poorly. I have said and done things that I am not proud of, and I would be in a pretty bad position had I not had the Lord there with me and forgiving me. He has helped me through it, cleaned my heart again and again...and most of all, forgiven me for my wrong doings. My heart is sinful, my flesh IS weak. The only way I can even show good in my life is through Christ Jesus shining through my life. Unfortunately, I don't always let Him shine. I dirty up my heart and cover His love with my own selfish thoughts and actions. My prayer is that He will always turn me back to Him and cleanse my heart of everything "Jessica" and make it all "Jesus." He is good all the time, and never anything but good even when I am unworthy.
I once thought I had finally turned into a butterfly...a long time coming since I've lived most of my life tucked away in a cocoon. But the more I see of my life, the more I see I am still just a caterpillar trying desperately to become a beautiful butterfly. I still have things to conquer, people to meet, and weeds to pull from my life. But let me tell you, when God breaks a person down to where there is nothing left but Him, it is a beautiful thing to see, and I pray He will continue to break me and chisel away anything in my life not living for Him.
So this is my prayer, of Lord. That You would keep my heart clean; that I would follow You wherever You lead me no matter how difficult. That You would shine forth from me and show the world Your love through one more person. That I would repent where I have done wrong, and praise You for what You do each and every day. No matter what people say about me or do to me, I would still show them Your love, and Yours alone, because You ARE worthy of everything I have.
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