I know it's been way too long since I've posted and I tell myself I'll be more consistent every time but that just never seems to be the case. Today's post it going to be a little short (okay, maybe not as short as I presumed) as it is already quite late.
Basally, to make things as short and sweet as possible, I'm just gonna talk about prayer and my recent written ones. Now, just as I am inconsistent in my blogging, along with a lot of other things, I also am at praying. I go through stages where I think I can handle things on my own for awhile then I finally become desperate and come to terms with the fact that Jesus is the only solution. It truly sickens me. I should constantly be pouring my heart out to Him (Pray without ceasing-1 Thessalonians 5:17). not just circumstantially! Not only does it glorify Him and give us continual communication with Him which draws us closer to Him, but it frees us from burden that He's always willing to take.
So with this first prayer, the song We Fall Down popped into my head so I decided to turn it into first person and to list out my specific "crowns." First though, are the lyrics to the song:
We fall down. We lay our crowns at the feet of Jesus. The greatness of mercy and love at the feet of Jesus. We cry holy, holy holy( x3) is the Lamb.
So my prayer is written out like so:
I fall down, I lay my (crowns)...
-fears -anxieties/worries
-pressures -pride
-comforts -doubts
-bad attitude -selfishness
...at the feet of Jesus.
Then I continued by writing out song lyrics that were the specific cries of my heart that night.
-"Take my life and let it be all for You and for Your glory. Take my life and let it be Yours."
-"Soften my heart, break me apart. I need You to pierce through the dark and cleanse every part of me. Give me faith to trust what You say, that You're Good and Your love is great. I may be weak, but Your Spirit's strong in me. My flesh my fail, but my God You never will!"
-My strength indeed is small. Lord, now indeed I find thy power in thine alone can change the leaper's spots and melt the heart of stone. Jesus paid it all!
Matthew 19:26-"with man, this is impossible, but with God all things are possible!"
And this second one was Pinterest-inspired. The first section of words I list are what I found online. They were inspired by Proverbs 22:6. "Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn away." So the picture was wall hangings with them all written out separately.
-Teach me to trust -Teach me to give -Teach me to obey
-Teach me to listen -Teach me to share -Teach me to serve
-Teach me to love -Teach me to care -Teach me to forgive
And these I added:
-repent -go -teach -die daily
-rely -pray -wait -dive into the Word
-abide -speak out -plead -yield
Yep. Those are my real prayers written in a cute little journal that my dear friend gave me. They are not to make me look more righteous but to simply show you God's goodness and hopefully encourage you.
I lay me down, I'm not my own. I belong to You alone. Letting go of my pride, giving up all my rights, take this life and let it shine. It will be my joy to say, 'Your Will, Your Way, always!'
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Thursday, August 29, 2013
"I'm Gonna Make This Place Your Home"
Well, I've officially been living on the campus of Illinois State University for two weeks and I am finally feeling at home. I may only be 30 minutes away from my original home, but change is change no matter what and it always takes some adjusting. Let me tell you one thing, the first four and a half days I was here before classes started it honestly felt like a vacation. There were always things going on around campus for welcome week so it was just a whole lot of fun and no work to do yet. During that period, on Saturday specifically, I went to a 24-hour diner close to campus right before midnight with my dear friend Rachel, who also goes to school here. As we sat in a booth right in front of the door splitting a plate of fries, we saw people coming in and out dressed in skimpy clothes and half intoxicated. Most of them were probably grabbing a bite to eat between parties or between their bar hopping. That night was very sobering to me. The entire time the main thing on my mind was Panama City Beach over spring break. I have spent my past two spring breaks there evangelizing to and serving my peers. It is the number one spring break spot in the nation. So it looked a lot like scenes there but not as crazy and not as many people. However, the thought that kept crossing my mind was, "This isn't just a spring break trip. This is how every weekend is going to look. This is my life now." My heart was breaking for these people. This was only weekend number one. Boy, do I have a lot to get used to. See, in the cases when I was in Panama City, I was only there for a week, I only got a glimpse of it then went home. Therefore, I've been in it but I've never lived in it...until now. Needless to say, it was a little hard for me to go to sleep that night.
That was eye opening experience number one. Okay actually, number two. Number one happened just earlier that evening. I had been so caught up in all the activities around campus and meeting new people that I never really took the chance to sit down and look at the big picture. There was an outdoor concert that night and as I was sitting there I just kinda looked around and something hit me. There are soooo many students here. So many lost students. And when I say lost I mean spiritually. So many of them are aimlessly living their lives on the road to hell, to be frank, whether they're purposely rebelling or haven't even been exposed to the Truth. In those few moments of letting it all sink in I was flooded with emotions. Sadness, because of the path they're headed down. Excitement, because of the opportunities there are for them to potentially be changed by the Gospel. And overwhelmed, because of the exhaustible amount of people there are to be reached. BUT, I am not alone. There are a lot of ministries and individuals willing to reach out to people. Phew. Go team Jesus! :)
Okay, so more eye-opening things. This next one occurred the following Monday. I was at one of the campus ministry sessions when the speaker said that sometime soon something would hit all of us. That realization was the fact that we will never be able to go home again. Sure, we will visit but it really never will be our home again. We've moved out. Now I'm not sure if I ever really thought about it that much. I feel as if me moving out all happened so quickly, even my decision to do so in general and which apartment I was going to be living in. Then, the one line from the song Home by Phillip Phillips popped into my head. "I'm gonna make this place your home." That is exactly what God's telling me and is doing right now! He's making Bloomington-Normal my home...for awhile anyways. He wants us to be completely invested in Him and His Kingdom wherever we are. He has plans and a great purpose for me while I'm here. I'm here for a reason. Oddly enough, that line gave me a bit of peace, along with this verse that I just love!:
Zephaniah 3:17-The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.
He is in my midst. He is always with me. He will save. He even rejoices over me with gladness and exults over me with loud singing. Man, that's some extreme, intense, marvelous love!
Anyways, I do have a bit of a fear though that with becoming too at home I become too comfortable. And that's actually one factor I'm considering while praying for what ministry to get involved in. I don't want to choose the one that I feel the most comfortable in, necessarily. I want to choose the one where I will learn the most and glorify God the most.
Lastly, just something about my battle in adjusting. Sunday night was, for lack of a better term, hard. I was stressed and frustrated with technology for a reading I needed to do, I was overwhelmed with how much work I knew was ahead of me in the long hall, and I was homesick. (Yep, I think that's when what was talked about Monday finally hit me) It was the night I wanted to be by myself the most and just happen to be the night the most amount of people we've ever had in our apartment thus far were there. I just wanted to go somewhere to be alone, spend some time with Jesus, write this blog actually, or even cry. That was when I really missed having my own room, my friends, and living in a quite town. I actually was able to get my crying out while in the shower. It wasn't necessarily planned, it just happened. It is private after all. And you better believe I enjoyed those 20 minutes of solitude. My tears were mostly triggered from stress, anxiety, and fear. Fear of the future/the unknown. But it's silly. Fear is not of God but of the Devil. We have nothing to fear because God is always with us, He knows what's ahead of us and His perfect love casts out fear. (1 John 4:18)
Well, that's pretty much been my past two weeks in terms of deep thoughts anyways. I've been learning/growing through it all and more and more I am reminded of how much I need God. Just earlier in the day of my shower breakdown the pastor at the church I went to said on a few occasions, "If anyone's in need of Jesus, it's us." All of us. Anyone. Everyone. Every hour. So true. I'm ready to make this place my home, because God has called me to it.
That was eye opening experience number one. Okay actually, number two. Number one happened just earlier that evening. I had been so caught up in all the activities around campus and meeting new people that I never really took the chance to sit down and look at the big picture. There was an outdoor concert that night and as I was sitting there I just kinda looked around and something hit me. There are soooo many students here. So many lost students. And when I say lost I mean spiritually. So many of them are aimlessly living their lives on the road to hell, to be frank, whether they're purposely rebelling or haven't even been exposed to the Truth. In those few moments of letting it all sink in I was flooded with emotions. Sadness, because of the path they're headed down. Excitement, because of the opportunities there are for them to potentially be changed by the Gospel. And overwhelmed, because of the exhaustible amount of people there are to be reached. BUT, I am not alone. There are a lot of ministries and individuals willing to reach out to people. Phew. Go team Jesus! :)
Okay, so more eye-opening things. This next one occurred the following Monday. I was at one of the campus ministry sessions when the speaker said that sometime soon something would hit all of us. That realization was the fact that we will never be able to go home again. Sure, we will visit but it really never will be our home again. We've moved out. Now I'm not sure if I ever really thought about it that much. I feel as if me moving out all happened so quickly, even my decision to do so in general and which apartment I was going to be living in. Then, the one line from the song Home by Phillip Phillips popped into my head. "I'm gonna make this place your home." That is exactly what God's telling me and is doing right now! He's making Bloomington-Normal my home...for awhile anyways. He wants us to be completely invested in Him and His Kingdom wherever we are. He has plans and a great purpose for me while I'm here. I'm here for a reason. Oddly enough, that line gave me a bit of peace, along with this verse that I just love!:
Zephaniah 3:17-The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.
He is in my midst. He is always with me. He will save. He even rejoices over me with gladness and exults over me with loud singing. Man, that's some extreme, intense, marvelous love!
Anyways, I do have a bit of a fear though that with becoming too at home I become too comfortable. And that's actually one factor I'm considering while praying for what ministry to get involved in. I don't want to choose the one that I feel the most comfortable in, necessarily. I want to choose the one where I will learn the most and glorify God the most.
Lastly, just something about my battle in adjusting. Sunday night was, for lack of a better term, hard. I was stressed and frustrated with technology for a reading I needed to do, I was overwhelmed with how much work I knew was ahead of me in the long hall, and I was homesick. (Yep, I think that's when what was talked about Monday finally hit me) It was the night I wanted to be by myself the most and just happen to be the night the most amount of people we've ever had in our apartment thus far were there. I just wanted to go somewhere to be alone, spend some time with Jesus, write this blog actually, or even cry. That was when I really missed having my own room, my friends, and living in a quite town. I actually was able to get my crying out while in the shower. It wasn't necessarily planned, it just happened. It is private after all. And you better believe I enjoyed those 20 minutes of solitude. My tears were mostly triggered from stress, anxiety, and fear. Fear of the future/the unknown. But it's silly. Fear is not of God but of the Devil. We have nothing to fear because God is always with us, He knows what's ahead of us and His perfect love casts out fear. (1 John 4:18)
Well, that's pretty much been my past two weeks in terms of deep thoughts anyways. I've been learning/growing through it all and more and more I am reminded of how much I need God. Just earlier in the day of my shower breakdown the pastor at the church I went to said on a few occasions, "If anyone's in need of Jesus, it's us." All of us. Anyone. Everyone. Every hour. So true. I'm ready to make this place my home, because God has called me to it.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Salvation-More Than Just Belief
This world, quite frankly, ticks me off! Must be one reason why I've decided to go into social work. Almost every aspect of it is disappointing. Sure, there are people out there trying to make it better and help those in need but a lot of the times that work is being done in vain anyways because they are lacking Jesus. So, it's confirmed that this world is rotten and full of sinners but I also want to talk about the part of the world that considers themselves to be living a Christian lifestyle. Don't get me wrong, there are people doing good things, following God's will, and serving him while furthering His Kingdom, and that's EXACTLY what I want to see more of! In fact that's what this world NEEDS...it's what we're CALLED to do! Living in America, statistically, the country is almost 80% Christian. My question though, is how many of them have true salvation and are truly following Christ?
Let me let you in on a basis of my testimony. I grew up going to church, I'm sure I knew the basis of the Gospel by a very young age. I memorized verses and participated in pretty much everything at church you could as a child. I like to say that I was soaking it all in like a sponge, which as a child is pretty much what you do with everything anyways. Then, my seventh grade year, at age 12, I went a winter retreat for a weekend at a camp in Michigan called Miracle Camp. That weekend is when the Gospel for some really finally sunk in. That was when I really believed that what I was being told all my life was actually true. Let me pause for a moment...most people probably think this is the end right? That's the completion of my story. Wrong! Notice how I said that's when I really BELIEVED. To me, and to have a true story of salvation, that is only step one. Continuing on, my life was great...for the rest of the weekend, or maybe even the week too. I finally understood who Jesus was and the power of what he actually did for me. Ok, cool. So it gave me something to reflect on every now and then. I've accepted His gift and am on track to an entry to heaven right? Wrong! He wants more from us than just to believe. Heck, even the demons believe (James 2:19) but we don't see them getting into heaven anytime soon! So my life continued on, back to the real world of being a middle school girl, which of course includes trying to fit in and all the details that fall under that category, which, by the way, is pretty much every aspect you can think of. So as you see, my life pretty much didn't change much at all. Is that what you'd call a Christian? If we don't act any different than we did before or than the world around us, how are people going to know that we're actually any different at all? Back then, I didn't have a clue! This went on for 2 1/2 more years of just calling myself a Christian but not letting Christ change my life. It was the summer before my freshman year when I got a wake-up call from a few of my friends. They taught me the importance of reading my bible more than just on Sundays and Wednesdays. If you want to learn and grow, you have to take time on your own to get into his Word. They taught me how to pray. Now, I know this sounds silly, but I really didn't know how to. I had never fallen on my knees and face and cried out in desperation for something huge like for God to save an entire family or our whole town. That is the kind of praying I learned to do. Big prayers. Prays of true faith, because we have a God that is capable of doing far more than we can ever even comprehend. (Ephesians 3:20) Ever since I learned how to do those things, following Jesus, and I mean truly following Him...being in communion with Him, serving under His name, spreading the Good News, has been a beautiful, hard, growing experience that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world! I have a RELATIONSHIP with Him, and that is what salvation really looks like.
Now this "Christian" world that I just so happen to live in has a lot of people who are still living life as the 12-14 year old me, just believing and accepting. When you accept Christ though, you are supposed accept His word to be true...all of it, and that includes a lot of specific instructions like not conforming to the normality of this world (Romans 12:2), loving Jesus way way more than your entire family and your own life (Luke 14:26), denying yourself and taking up your cross daily and following Him (Matthew 16:24), and making disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). When you live a life like this you will be eternally blessed and the more you read the bible the more you will learn about Jesus and become equipped to live more like Him, and the more in love with Him you'll fall! It's one thing to believe but being touched by His Spirit and having the God of the universe inside of you in Spirit form is simply incredible. That's what this world needs. So wake up America (and everywhere!!) and REALLY live your life for the One who was willing to die for you!!
Let me let you in on a basis of my testimony. I grew up going to church, I'm sure I knew the basis of the Gospel by a very young age. I memorized verses and participated in pretty much everything at church you could as a child. I like to say that I was soaking it all in like a sponge, which as a child is pretty much what you do with everything anyways. Then, my seventh grade year, at age 12, I went a winter retreat for a weekend at a camp in Michigan called Miracle Camp. That weekend is when the Gospel for some really finally sunk in. That was when I really believed that what I was being told all my life was actually true. Let me pause for a moment...most people probably think this is the end right? That's the completion of my story. Wrong! Notice how I said that's when I really BELIEVED. To me, and to have a true story of salvation, that is only step one. Continuing on, my life was great...for the rest of the weekend, or maybe even the week too. I finally understood who Jesus was and the power of what he actually did for me. Ok, cool. So it gave me something to reflect on every now and then. I've accepted His gift and am on track to an entry to heaven right? Wrong! He wants more from us than just to believe. Heck, even the demons believe (James 2:19) but we don't see them getting into heaven anytime soon! So my life continued on, back to the real world of being a middle school girl, which of course includes trying to fit in and all the details that fall under that category, which, by the way, is pretty much every aspect you can think of. So as you see, my life pretty much didn't change much at all. Is that what you'd call a Christian? If we don't act any different than we did before or than the world around us, how are people going to know that we're actually any different at all? Back then, I didn't have a clue! This went on for 2 1/2 more years of just calling myself a Christian but not letting Christ change my life. It was the summer before my freshman year when I got a wake-up call from a few of my friends. They taught me the importance of reading my bible more than just on Sundays and Wednesdays. If you want to learn and grow, you have to take time on your own to get into his Word. They taught me how to pray. Now, I know this sounds silly, but I really didn't know how to. I had never fallen on my knees and face and cried out in desperation for something huge like for God to save an entire family or our whole town. That is the kind of praying I learned to do. Big prayers. Prays of true faith, because we have a God that is capable of doing far more than we can ever even comprehend. (Ephesians 3:20) Ever since I learned how to do those things, following Jesus, and I mean truly following Him...being in communion with Him, serving under His name, spreading the Good News, has been a beautiful, hard, growing experience that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world! I have a RELATIONSHIP with Him, and that is what salvation really looks like.
Now this "Christian" world that I just so happen to live in has a lot of people who are still living life as the 12-14 year old me, just believing and accepting. When you accept Christ though, you are supposed accept His word to be true...all of it, and that includes a lot of specific instructions like not conforming to the normality of this world (Romans 12:2), loving Jesus way way more than your entire family and your own life (Luke 14:26), denying yourself and taking up your cross daily and following Him (Matthew 16:24), and making disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). When you live a life like this you will be eternally blessed and the more you read the bible the more you will learn about Jesus and become equipped to live more like Him, and the more in love with Him you'll fall! It's one thing to believe but being touched by His Spirit and having the God of the universe inside of you in Spirit form is simply incredible. That's what this world needs. So wake up America (and everywhere!!) and REALLY live your life for the One who was willing to die for you!!
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
"The Good" That Makes "The Bad" and "The Ugly" Something Beautiful
I'm just going to be very frank at this point. The thing that inspired this post was ugliness. Straight up ugliness. More specifically though, I am referring to myself. Now, don't jump to conclusions and freak out here. I'm not one stare at a mirror and look down on myself and tell myself how ugly I am. I am created in God's image and am fearfully and wonderfully made. In me, however, is an ugly that goes way way beyond the surface, beyond what's skin deep. This is a heart issue. A flesh issue. Or more so, simply, a lack of Jesus issue.
I was pondering/reflecting on my own character and although I've always known I was a sinner, my sin began to become more and more apparent to me. ("Your mom's a parent." Haha, little inside joke, hopefully I have at least one of you insiders reading this.) It was one afternoon in a coffee shop that I was sitting with my discipler discussing our bible study that had really hit me when reading it just earlier that morning. It touched on areas of my life where I had really been struggling and they were brought to my attention then brought into the light with her. It was the combination of that and a time earlier that week when I was sitting outside reading the book One Thousand Gifts, just as I am now, that I regained that mindset. The chapter I was reading was talking about how Jesus transfigures all things and turns them into something beautiful. As I sat on a lawn chair in my backyard, I looked around and saw the beauty of the nature that was surrounding me. It ALL comes from Jesus. I see His creation and rant about how beautiful it all is. That is just a small reflection of who God is though. How much more beautiful must the creator Himself be? I may be an ugly, wretched sinner but there is joy in all of this. Jesus makes all things beautiful and He is the only beauty that is in anything. He is the only true good in anything, including myself.
"Yes, Father, You long to transfigure all, no matter how long it takes. You long to transfigure all."
"That which is perceived as ugly transfigures into beautiful."
These lines from the book show who Jesus is and His ability to make all things beautiful. Even He himself became ugly. That is the Gospel. He came to this ugly world to save us ugly sinners, giving us a chance to become something beautiful, if we choose to let him live in/through us.
John 4:4-"Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."
Isaiah 53:2-"...he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him."
"Isn't this the crux of the gospel? The good news that all those living in the land of shadow of death have been birthed into new life, that the transfiguration of a suffering world has already begun. That suffering nourishes grace, and pain and joy are arteries of the same heart-and mourning and dancing are but movements in His unfinished symphony of beauty. Can I believe the gospel, that God is patiently transfiguring all the notes of my life into the song of His Son?...God is always good and I am always loved."-Ann Voskamp, author.
There you have it. Jesus longs to make all things lovely and he will...with time. He will take the darkest, ugliest areas of the deepest part of our hearts and eventually make it into something beautiful. Why? I don't believe there is any other explanation besides the fact that He loves unconditionally and without any real reason. We don't deserve even an ounce of it yet his love reaches far far beyond our comprehension! The more I see my sin the more I realize just how much I need a Savior and the more I fall in love with him. He is "The Good One" and he takes the bad and ugly like me, you, and our brother's uncle and makes us something beautiful. There is hope. And his name is Jesus.
I was pondering/reflecting on my own character and although I've always known I was a sinner, my sin began to become more and more apparent to me. ("Your mom's a parent." Haha, little inside joke, hopefully I have at least one of you insiders reading this.) It was one afternoon in a coffee shop that I was sitting with my discipler discussing our bible study that had really hit me when reading it just earlier that morning. It touched on areas of my life where I had really been struggling and they were brought to my attention then brought into the light with her. It was the combination of that and a time earlier that week when I was sitting outside reading the book One Thousand Gifts, just as I am now, that I regained that mindset. The chapter I was reading was talking about how Jesus transfigures all things and turns them into something beautiful. As I sat on a lawn chair in my backyard, I looked around and saw the beauty of the nature that was surrounding me. It ALL comes from Jesus. I see His creation and rant about how beautiful it all is. That is just a small reflection of who God is though. How much more beautiful must the creator Himself be? I may be an ugly, wretched sinner but there is joy in all of this. Jesus makes all things beautiful and He is the only beauty that is in anything. He is the only true good in anything, including myself.
"Yes, Father, You long to transfigure all, no matter how long it takes. You long to transfigure all."
"That which is perceived as ugly transfigures into beautiful."
These lines from the book show who Jesus is and His ability to make all things beautiful. Even He himself became ugly. That is the Gospel. He came to this ugly world to save us ugly sinners, giving us a chance to become something beautiful, if we choose to let him live in/through us.
John 4:4-"Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."
Isaiah 53:2-"...he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him."
"Isn't this the crux of the gospel? The good news that all those living in the land of shadow of death have been birthed into new life, that the transfiguration of a suffering world has already begun. That suffering nourishes grace, and pain and joy are arteries of the same heart-and mourning and dancing are but movements in His unfinished symphony of beauty. Can I believe the gospel, that God is patiently transfiguring all the notes of my life into the song of His Son?...God is always good and I am always loved."-Ann Voskamp, author.
There you have it. Jesus longs to make all things lovely and he will...with time. He will take the darkest, ugliest areas of the deepest part of our hearts and eventually make it into something beautiful. Why? I don't believe there is any other explanation besides the fact that He loves unconditionally and without any real reason. We don't deserve even an ounce of it yet his love reaches far far beyond our comprehension! The more I see my sin the more I realize just how much I need a Savior and the more I fall in love with him. He is "The Good One" and he takes the bad and ugly like me, you, and our brother's uncle and makes us something beautiful. There is hope. And his name is Jesus.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Life Lesson #539-Slander
I heard a great short sermon on Moody Radio (WBNH-88.5) this morning! The timing of it could not have been more perfect. Nothing's ever a coincidence because God's timing is always perfect. There was a snow storm last night so this morning before school I went out and started my car a little earlier. By the time I was ready, I walked out to my, now, warm car. I usually just stick my iPod in the tape jack right away and take off. But this morning, before even sitting in the drivers seat, I heard the speaker say "Now let's open to James chapter 4." This caught my attention. I love the book of James! Hmm, ok, I might as well give it a listen. The speaker actually only covered 2 verses and I may only have a 20 minute commute but it was probably the best 20 minute car trip I've had in a long time!
James 4:11&12-Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you-who are you to judge your neighbor?
From this, he went on to talk about the 3 different degrees of slander, committed by Christians on a regular basis. The first degree, which is very easily overlooked, is the casual things we may say about something or even just a situation. "I didn't really like that last song we sang, I don't know what made the team pick it." or "Someone should really tell Kathy that blue is not her color!" or "Did you see the way she tried talking to him? Doesn't she knows she doesn't have a chance?" These are examples of some ways that we slander one another on the first degree level. Just a simple comment made to someone else that seems somewhat harmless but so easily slips off of our tongues. As innocent as it may seem, it's still putting the individual that we are talking about down and influences the opinion(s) of who we are talking to.
The second degree of slander is little more interesting. Something I, personally, had never really thought of. This one comes out with prayer requests. "I probably shouldn't say anything but, we should pray for Bob and Nancy. They're having troubles in their marriage." Something very specific that the speaker said about this point, is that if you ever hear someone say, "I probably shouldn't say anything but..." then sure enough they shouldn't and you should tell them not to say anything. We try to justify our actions but telling ourselves that we're helping them by asking for prayer on their behalf. The only way doing this is right is if they specifically give you permission to pass it on. Otherwise, if it was shared with you, it's probably better just to keep it to yourself. After all, they did trust you with it. If what's said in any way gives someone else a negative view, then it is slander.
Finally, there's the third degree of slander. This one is probably the most obvious one and is more clearly defined as straight-up gossip. (Even though all of the above are considered to be gossip as well) These examples usually seem much more blunt and may come out of anger, bitterness or quite frankly just judgement. "What the heck!? I cannot believe he said that to you! Oh my gosh, he is seriously being such a jerk! I would slap him, if I were you!" This may sound like a conversation between two middle school girls but sadly, this is very similar to a conversation I had just yesterday.
Here's a little background information, also why this sermon hit me so hard this morning:
In the morning (yesterday) I decided to text one of my friends a somewhat serious question. A couple minutes later, I saw that he/she (let's call this individual Jordan...it's gender mutual and it keeps things confidential) had responded. Expecting a serious answer in response, I receive a random text that had nothing to do what what I had asked. It was quite frustrating and out of my frustration, I began to text 2 of my close girl friends about it. "I'm gonna stinkin throw *Jordan. I asked a serious question and I didn't even get a serious answer!!" Yep, those were pretty much my exact words. I kept talking with these girls about it and how it's been this way for at least a few weeks by now. You see? I used to be able to get in serious conversations with *Jordan all the time but something is just different now and I feel as if I'm not being treated properly by him/her. I was going to respond right away but I figured I should let my frustrations dwindle so I waited until after I came home from class, when I had time to cool off and think about it. I texted *Jordan back saying how I was feeling and all that. I will admit that maybe the words I said weren't as nice as they should have been but I was trying to be as kind yet honest as possible. The conversation kept going with some awkwardness that's for sure and it definitely didn't end as I had wished, but I said what I wanted to say. I felt as if *Jordan had called me out for doing things that I didn't even think I did, and I was a little upset about it but then again, I was the one stepping on toes here so I didn't really have the right to be upset. It was pretty much a humble smack-down! I still feel bad for calling *Jordan out. Maybe my intentions were selfish. After all, I was confronting *Jordan because I didn't think I was being treated properly. Whether I want to believe it or not, I'm sure I have some blame in this whole situation too.
To make matters worse, I ended up telling my 2 friends about the entire conversation I had with *Jordan. What!? Why!? Bad Jessica! It goes back to that whole trust thing. Even though I was a part of the situation, I still had no right telling them because I'm sure *Jordan wouldn't want me telling other people. (Sorry *Jordan!...You know who you are) It's no one else's business. Like the sermon speaker had said, the reason we go and tell people about things like this is usually because we want others to take our side. I'm completely admitting that that's what I did here and have for sure done in the past before as well. In fact, one of the girls was even being encouraging and I didn't even wanna read what she was telling me because she was in a sense trying to defend *Jordan. Wow! That's terrible! Emotions are up and down all the time, so we shouldn't rely on them so much. So girls, (again....you know who you are.) I'm sorry for venting, gossiping, and bringing on negative views about *Jordan to you. And again, *Jordan, I'm sorry that I confronted you in that manner and put you down. Thank-you for sharing your thoughts with me and for unintentionally humbling me.
Anyways, readers, this is a very valuable lesson that I only hope and pray sticks with me and you guys as well, because I KNOW it's something we all deal with. Like I said, 20 minute ride....hard truth and conviction.
Father, help us not to let slander, gossip and judgment slip off of our tongues! (Or even enter our minds) Allow us to be slow to speak, quick to listen, and slow to anger. May we not look at the speck in our neighbor's eye when we ourselves have a plank.
James 4:11&12-Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you-who are you to judge your neighbor?
From this, he went on to talk about the 3 different degrees of slander, committed by Christians on a regular basis. The first degree, which is very easily overlooked, is the casual things we may say about something or even just a situation. "I didn't really like that last song we sang, I don't know what made the team pick it." or "Someone should really tell Kathy that blue is not her color!" or "Did you see the way she tried talking to him? Doesn't she knows she doesn't have a chance?" These are examples of some ways that we slander one another on the first degree level. Just a simple comment made to someone else that seems somewhat harmless but so easily slips off of our tongues. As innocent as it may seem, it's still putting the individual that we are talking about down and influences the opinion(s) of who we are talking to.
The second degree of slander is little more interesting. Something I, personally, had never really thought of. This one comes out with prayer requests. "I probably shouldn't say anything but, we should pray for Bob and Nancy. They're having troubles in their marriage." Something very specific that the speaker said about this point, is that if you ever hear someone say, "I probably shouldn't say anything but..." then sure enough they shouldn't and you should tell them not to say anything. We try to justify our actions but telling ourselves that we're helping them by asking for prayer on their behalf. The only way doing this is right is if they specifically give you permission to pass it on. Otherwise, if it was shared with you, it's probably better just to keep it to yourself. After all, they did trust you with it. If what's said in any way gives someone else a negative view, then it is slander.
Finally, there's the third degree of slander. This one is probably the most obvious one and is more clearly defined as straight-up gossip. (Even though all of the above are considered to be gossip as well) These examples usually seem much more blunt and may come out of anger, bitterness or quite frankly just judgement. "What the heck!? I cannot believe he said that to you! Oh my gosh, he is seriously being such a jerk! I would slap him, if I were you!" This may sound like a conversation between two middle school girls but sadly, this is very similar to a conversation I had just yesterday.
Here's a little background information, also why this sermon hit me so hard this morning:
In the morning (yesterday) I decided to text one of my friends a somewhat serious question. A couple minutes later, I saw that he/she (let's call this individual Jordan...it's gender mutual and it keeps things confidential) had responded. Expecting a serious answer in response, I receive a random text that had nothing to do what what I had asked. It was quite frustrating and out of my frustration, I began to text 2 of my close girl friends about it. "I'm gonna stinkin throw *Jordan. I asked a serious question and I didn't even get a serious answer!!" Yep, those were pretty much my exact words. I kept talking with these girls about it and how it's been this way for at least a few weeks by now. You see? I used to be able to get in serious conversations with *Jordan all the time but something is just different now and I feel as if I'm not being treated properly by him/her. I was going to respond right away but I figured I should let my frustrations dwindle so I waited until after I came home from class, when I had time to cool off and think about it. I texted *Jordan back saying how I was feeling and all that. I will admit that maybe the words I said weren't as nice as they should have been but I was trying to be as kind yet honest as possible. The conversation kept going with some awkwardness that's for sure and it definitely didn't end as I had wished, but I said what I wanted to say. I felt as if *Jordan had called me out for doing things that I didn't even think I did, and I was a little upset about it but then again, I was the one stepping on toes here so I didn't really have the right to be upset. It was pretty much a humble smack-down! I still feel bad for calling *Jordan out. Maybe my intentions were selfish. After all, I was confronting *Jordan because I didn't think I was being treated properly. Whether I want to believe it or not, I'm sure I have some blame in this whole situation too.
To make matters worse, I ended up telling my 2 friends about the entire conversation I had with *Jordan. What!? Why!? Bad Jessica! It goes back to that whole trust thing. Even though I was a part of the situation, I still had no right telling them because I'm sure *Jordan wouldn't want me telling other people. (Sorry *Jordan!...You know who you are) It's no one else's business. Like the sermon speaker had said, the reason we go and tell people about things like this is usually because we want others to take our side. I'm completely admitting that that's what I did here and have for sure done in the past before as well. In fact, one of the girls was even being encouraging and I didn't even wanna read what she was telling me because she was in a sense trying to defend *Jordan. Wow! That's terrible! Emotions are up and down all the time, so we shouldn't rely on them so much. So girls, (again....you know who you are.) I'm sorry for venting, gossiping, and bringing on negative views about *Jordan to you. And again, *Jordan, I'm sorry that I confronted you in that manner and put you down. Thank-you for sharing your thoughts with me and for unintentionally humbling me.
Anyways, readers, this is a very valuable lesson that I only hope and pray sticks with me and you guys as well, because I KNOW it's something we all deal with. Like I said, 20 minute ride....hard truth and conviction.
Father, help us not to let slander, gossip and judgment slip off of our tongues! (Or even enter our minds) Allow us to be slow to speak, quick to listen, and slow to anger. May we not look at the speck in our neighbor's eye when we ourselves have a plank.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
The Dangerous Realness of Idolatry
Idolatry. Root word: idol. I looked up the definition of an idol but quite frankly didn't like the definitions given haha. But really. And the reason I say that is because it is far more than just an object. So I will improvise. An idol is any NOUN (person, place, thing or idea) in which worship is given. Also according to 1 Corinthians 8:4 "an idol has no real existence." Now then, let me define idolatry, in the Christian perspective that is. It is putting anything else in the place of God. A synonym of this is to covet. To covet is to desire wrongfully or excessively.
Since an idol is anything that is worshiped so let me define worship. Worship: adoring reverence or regard. So now that we know what an idol, idolatry and worship are, what does it all mean? Why am I writing about this? Well, I have become aware of some (or at least one main specific one) idols in my life. I have committed idolatry.
We see examples of idolatry and idols all throughout the bible. The first coming from Isaiah 44. Verse 9-All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. Vs 15-...also he makes a god and worships its; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. Vs 17-And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, "Deliver me, for you are my god!"
1 Corinthians 10 clearly tells us not to commit idolatry. Vs 7-Do not be idolaters as some of them were...
Then verse 14 simply says: Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
Another straight-forward message comes from 1 John 5:21-Little children, keep yourself from idols.
In Galatians 5:16-25, we are called to walk by the Spirit. 17-21: For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries dissensions, divisions, envy, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and thing like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
It is clear from this passage that idolatry is a work of the flesh. If we do not flee from it we will not inherit the kingdom of god, being heaven. That is pretty intense! I think the point here is that once we become new creations in Christ, we are to live by the Spirit, desiring what the Spirit desires. We are to flee from the things of our flesh and cling to things of the Spirit. Another passage that reiterates this same topic is in Colossians.
Colossians 3:5-7. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you:sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these things the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. If we do not put to death the things listed, God's wrath will be put upon us. Notice also how it says that we once walked in them, when we were living in them. That is a state of the past. We are not supposed to anymore. We are called to put them away. Later in Galatians 5 the fruit of the Spirit is listed.
Galatians 5:22-26-But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
This passage basically tells us how to live as Christ-followers. What sticks out to me is the fact that we are to crucify our flesh AND its passions and desires. Like I said earlier, coveting is to desire wrongfully or deceitfully. These are the kinds of desires we are to put to death. Now don't get me wrong, Psalm 37:4 says-Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you desires of your heart. But the desires here are in God's Will, His perfect plan. These desires are to bring God glory, honor and praise.
Now what does all of this mean for me? First, I'd just like to say that all of what I just wrote was me telling myself. But I only hope that it hits at least one of you reading this hard! :) I needed to read all of that and remind myself of it. I mentioned earlier that I had become aware of some idols in my life, one being very specific. My main idol, as of recent at least, is people. Now, there is nothing wrong with people. People are great! They are fellow creations of God. They encourage. They teach. They share. And as a part of the body of Christ, we need each other. BUT, my problem has been putting them before God. When I meet someone new that I really hit it off with, it's especially tempting because, well, they're so new and fun. In cases like these, I not only sometimes notice myself neglecting my relationship with Christ (with is by far the most important) but also my relationship with some of my close friends. If I am hurting them in anyway by this, it can be harmful, especially if they are of the household of God. I often long for people's acceptance. I notice if I newly post something on facebook, intragram, whatever, I check it much more frequently than any other time..just to keep up on the 'likes'...so silly! All these problems dealing with people can just get overwhelming and take away my attention from the One true and only thing I deserve to be worshiping Remember? That's the exact definition I gave of what an idol is...putting anything in the place of God. The first commandment, listed in Exodus 20:3, says: You shall have no other gods before me. Also, Mark 20:30 reads: Love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. When I put things before God I am obviously not loving Him with all my heart, soul, mind and strength.
I did a devotional this past Saturday, part of my 7 hours of alone time! :), and let me tell you, it was just what I needed! It was talking about why we are created and how we are created in God's image. Then, because God of course knows just what I need to be taught, it brushed on idolatry. Here are a few things that specifically stuck out to me in accordance to that subject:
-God ALONE deserve to receive ALL glory!
-If we attempt to work for 2 different masters, we are sure to give satisfaction to neither.We cannot serve God and the world at the same time. It is VAIN to attempt and CANNOT be done!
-God must be king over our hearts, His law, and His Will. And his precepts must receive our FIRST attention.
-We want to think in such a way, live in such a way, act and speak in such a way that we draw attention to the manifold perfections of God. In order to do this, we must be totally satisfied in those perfections of His.
-We look at Him, we treasure Him, we love Him, and in that we are being shaped into His image.
Are our chiefest affections of thing in earth or in Heaven?
-If our eyes do not see distinctly, we cannot walk without stumbling and falling.
When talking about the Glory of God...
1. We should desire it first.
2. It is the purpose for which the world was made.
3. Saints are called and converted by/for it.
4. It is the chief thing we should seek. (Matthew 6:33-Seek first the Kingdom of God...)
One more thing here before I go into a prayer. James 4:17-So whoever knows the right thing to do, and fails to do it, for him it is sin. There it is, like so many things in the bible (especially in the book of James) and like many included here, clear as day. If you know what is right and you don't do it, it is sin. On the contrast then, if you know what is wrong and do it anyways, it is also sin. Plain and simple. Simple? Eh, not so much but it's always a working progress.
Dear gracious Savior,
I come to you tonight with complete gratitude and humility. Thank-you for the learning experience that life is. Continue to humble me to show me that I do need change. I can't do anything on my own! I pray that these passages would really truly mean something to me. Changing me. Molding me. Piercing my heart. Your word is sharpen than a two-edged sword and will not return void! (Hebrews 4:12) I am confident that You who began a good work in me, will continue to do so until the day of Your return. (Philippians 1:6) I am ever so thankful that you are always helping me to become more and more like You. I need You. I long for You. Help me to put aside my earthly desires and passions...my worthless gadgets and thoughts and to come to You broken and on my knees to worship the Holy Lamb who was slain. May I be sick to my stomach because of my sin. Returning to my sins over and over again is pure foolishness, like a dog returning to it's vomit. (Proverbs 26:11) That's straight up disgusting! As is my sin. Beautiful One, give me Your eyes. Give me Your heart. Allow me to let go. Let go of the desire to feel accepted and included all the time. You're all I need! Let go of the jealousy, anger, and bitterness over petty things. You are the one jealous for me! You're screaming, "Jessica, I miss you! I love you. Come spend time with me. Don't worry about everyone else. I am all you really need." Help me to hear Your voice. May I take more time to be still and listen. Quiet my soul. Free me from bondage. Create in my a clean and pure heart. (Psalm 51:10) You bring restoration, sweet Jesus. So come and restore my Spirit. Keep having me reflect upon my heart and my life. Dig into the deepest darkest parts of me, riding my old fruit and cut and prune so that I may grow new, abundant fruit. I ask that I not abuse the gift that people are, but I do thank you so so much for the blessing that they are and for those intentionally investing into my life. You are so good. Your love never fails. You make all things work together for my good. For. My. Good. Thank-you, thank-you, Jesus! In the powerful, precious name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
To those of you who made it this far-1. I'm very impressed...wow! :) 2. Thank-you so so much for reading and I hope you were incredibly encouraged/challenged.
Eres amada<3 (You are loved) :)
Since an idol is anything that is worshiped so let me define worship. Worship: adoring reverence or regard. So now that we know what an idol, idolatry and worship are, what does it all mean? Why am I writing about this? Well, I have become aware of some (or at least one main specific one) idols in my life. I have committed idolatry.
We see examples of idolatry and idols all throughout the bible. The first coming from Isaiah 44. Verse 9-All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. Vs 15-...also he makes a god and worships its; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. Vs 17-And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, "Deliver me, for you are my god!"
1 Corinthians 10 clearly tells us not to commit idolatry. Vs 7-Do not be idolaters as some of them were...
Then verse 14 simply says: Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
Another straight-forward message comes from 1 John 5:21-Little children, keep yourself from idols.
In Galatians 5:16-25, we are called to walk by the Spirit. 17-21: For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries dissensions, divisions, envy, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and thing like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
It is clear from this passage that idolatry is a work of the flesh. If we do not flee from it we will not inherit the kingdom of god, being heaven. That is pretty intense! I think the point here is that once we become new creations in Christ, we are to live by the Spirit, desiring what the Spirit desires. We are to flee from the things of our flesh and cling to things of the Spirit. Another passage that reiterates this same topic is in Colossians.
Colossians 3:5-7. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you:sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these things the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. If we do not put to death the things listed, God's wrath will be put upon us. Notice also how it says that we once walked in them, when we were living in them. That is a state of the past. We are not supposed to anymore. We are called to put them away. Later in Galatians 5 the fruit of the Spirit is listed.
Galatians 5:22-26-But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
This passage basically tells us how to live as Christ-followers. What sticks out to me is the fact that we are to crucify our flesh AND its passions and desires. Like I said earlier, coveting is to desire wrongfully or deceitfully. These are the kinds of desires we are to put to death. Now don't get me wrong, Psalm 37:4 says-Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you desires of your heart. But the desires here are in God's Will, His perfect plan. These desires are to bring God glory, honor and praise.
Now what does all of this mean for me? First, I'd just like to say that all of what I just wrote was me telling myself. But I only hope that it hits at least one of you reading this hard! :) I needed to read all of that and remind myself of it. I mentioned earlier that I had become aware of some idols in my life, one being very specific. My main idol, as of recent at least, is people. Now, there is nothing wrong with people. People are great! They are fellow creations of God. They encourage. They teach. They share. And as a part of the body of Christ, we need each other. BUT, my problem has been putting them before God. When I meet someone new that I really hit it off with, it's especially tempting because, well, they're so new and fun. In cases like these, I not only sometimes notice myself neglecting my relationship with Christ (with is by far the most important) but also my relationship with some of my close friends. If I am hurting them in anyway by this, it can be harmful, especially if they are of the household of God. I often long for people's acceptance. I notice if I newly post something on facebook, intragram, whatever, I check it much more frequently than any other time..just to keep up on the 'likes'...so silly! All these problems dealing with people can just get overwhelming and take away my attention from the One true and only thing I deserve to be worshiping Remember? That's the exact definition I gave of what an idol is...putting anything in the place of God. The first commandment, listed in Exodus 20:3, says: You shall have no other gods before me. Also, Mark 20:30 reads: Love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. When I put things before God I am obviously not loving Him with all my heart, soul, mind and strength.
I did a devotional this past Saturday, part of my 7 hours of alone time! :), and let me tell you, it was just what I needed! It was talking about why we are created and how we are created in God's image. Then, because God of course knows just what I need to be taught, it brushed on idolatry. Here are a few things that specifically stuck out to me in accordance to that subject:
-God ALONE deserve to receive ALL glory!
-If we attempt to work for 2 different masters, we are sure to give satisfaction to neither.We cannot serve God and the world at the same time. It is VAIN to attempt and CANNOT be done!
-God must be king over our hearts, His law, and His Will. And his precepts must receive our FIRST attention.
-We want to think in such a way, live in such a way, act and speak in such a way that we draw attention to the manifold perfections of God. In order to do this, we must be totally satisfied in those perfections of His.
-We look at Him, we treasure Him, we love Him, and in that we are being shaped into His image.
Are our chiefest affections of thing in earth or in Heaven?
-If our eyes do not see distinctly, we cannot walk without stumbling and falling.
When talking about the Glory of God...
1. We should desire it first.
2. It is the purpose for which the world was made.
3. Saints are called and converted by/for it.
4. It is the chief thing we should seek. (Matthew 6:33-Seek first the Kingdom of God...)
One more thing here before I go into a prayer. James 4:17-So whoever knows the right thing to do, and fails to do it, for him it is sin. There it is, like so many things in the bible (especially in the book of James) and like many included here, clear as day. If you know what is right and you don't do it, it is sin. On the contrast then, if you know what is wrong and do it anyways, it is also sin. Plain and simple. Simple? Eh, not so much but it's always a working progress.
Dear gracious Savior,
I come to you tonight with complete gratitude and humility. Thank-you for the learning experience that life is. Continue to humble me to show me that I do need change. I can't do anything on my own! I pray that these passages would really truly mean something to me. Changing me. Molding me. Piercing my heart. Your word is sharpen than a two-edged sword and will not return void! (Hebrews 4:12) I am confident that You who began a good work in me, will continue to do so until the day of Your return. (Philippians 1:6) I am ever so thankful that you are always helping me to become more and more like You. I need You. I long for You. Help me to put aside my earthly desires and passions...my worthless gadgets and thoughts and to come to You broken and on my knees to worship the Holy Lamb who was slain. May I be sick to my stomach because of my sin. Returning to my sins over and over again is pure foolishness, like a dog returning to it's vomit. (Proverbs 26:11) That's straight up disgusting! As is my sin. Beautiful One, give me Your eyes. Give me Your heart. Allow me to let go. Let go of the desire to feel accepted and included all the time. You're all I need! Let go of the jealousy, anger, and bitterness over petty things. You are the one jealous for me! You're screaming, "Jessica, I miss you! I love you. Come spend time with me. Don't worry about everyone else. I am all you really need." Help me to hear Your voice. May I take more time to be still and listen. Quiet my soul. Free me from bondage. Create in my a clean and pure heart. (Psalm 51:10) You bring restoration, sweet Jesus. So come and restore my Spirit. Keep having me reflect upon my heart and my life. Dig into the deepest darkest parts of me, riding my old fruit and cut and prune so that I may grow new, abundant fruit. I ask that I not abuse the gift that people are, but I do thank you so so much for the blessing that they are and for those intentionally investing into my life. You are so good. Your love never fails. You make all things work together for my good. For. My. Good. Thank-you, thank-you, Jesus! In the powerful, precious name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
To those of you who made it this far-1. I'm very impressed...wow! :) 2. Thank-you so so much for reading and I hope you were incredibly encouraged/challenged.
Eres amada<3 (You are loved) :)
Sunday, January 6, 2013
The Start of Something New
As you can tell, this is the start of something new. What is this something that I'm speaking of? Well, obviously, this being my first post, this whole blogging thing in itself is new to me. What else is new? The year! We're officially six days into the year 2013. I'm not exactly sure what I have planned for this here blog, but I told myself I'd make one this year, so here goes nothing! :)
You know what else is new? Me. I became a new creation the day I accepted Jesus Christ into my life. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." I'm no longer my own, I was bought with a price. (See 1 Corinthians 6:19-20) There's something beautiful about newness. Think of a newborn baby or newly fallen snow. A new flower sprouting up for the first time during the spring or hey, even making a new friend. The most beautiful thing of all though is the newness that only Jesus can provide. He can make ALL things new! It reminds me of a song by Gungor called "Beautiful Things." Here are a few of its lyrics:
You know what else is new? Me. I became a new creation the day I accepted Jesus Christ into my life. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." I'm no longer my own, I was bought with a price. (See 1 Corinthians 6:19-20) There's something beautiful about newness. Think of a newborn baby or newly fallen snow. A new flower sprouting up for the first time during the spring or hey, even making a new friend. The most beautiful thing of all though is the newness that only Jesus can provide. He can make ALL things new! It reminds me of a song by Gungor called "Beautiful Things." Here are a few of its lyrics:
You make me new, You are making me new
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us
He makes beautiful things. Yes, it's true. Since I'm still going on the theme of newness. I'm gonna talk a bit about New Years Resolutions. Now, I'll be honest, I'm not usually one for making them...or more so keeping them, but last week I was asked by my friend/mentor what things I want to see change in my relationship with Christ this year. She told me she wants to be more consistent. I haven't answered her yet, mostly because I wanted to think and pray over it a little and come up with some specifics. Sure, I could say "I wanna grow closer to God this year" or "I want to become more Christ-like" but that should be happening everyday and that's how it should always be for us...closer to God and more like Christ than we were last year, last month, or even just last week.
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