Truth Seekers

Obsessed Much

2011-05-26T14:53:00.001-05:00

The definition of obsessed is: to have the mind excessively preoccupied with a single emotion or topic, to dominate or preoccupy the thoughts, feelings, or desires of.

What do you think about when you hear that someone is obsessed with Jesus? Do you think that they are a little different or off? Do you think that they are weird or stand offish?

My question is, what should we really look like? When the Holy Spirit is so alive and active in our lives we cannot help but to be as Christ put it, “the city one the hill.” In other words we shine so much with the glory of God that everyone around see’s it whether we like it or not!

This subject of obsessed with Christ came up while I was sitting in on a Bible study with some friends on a chapter in the book “Crazy Love” by Francis Chan titled “Profile of the Obsessed.”

The first section that he spoke about in the chapter was “Lovers.” Not what you think when you hear this word!! Chan brings up that fact we all too often believe that by being a NICE person people will see that and then want to know more about Jesus. This is not how it happens says Chan. We do all know people that are nice but they are not even close to believers!

Our real call to love is in Luke 6:32-36 2“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

How challenging is this really. If I am going to love someone that hates me I must first love them as Christ loves them and not with my own understanding. The question comes up in the chapter, “Can you love someone after they have hurt you?” I can say that my answer is yes but when I think about some of the things that the people of this world do and live I really am unsure sometimes! I do recognize that with this concept in mind I have to sit down and ask Jesus to help me see people as He sees them! This is the only way that I feel that I can truly love those that have/will hurt me!

Now why do we love and serve the way we do if we are true followers of Christ. Luke 14:12-14: 12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

What is this telling us? First that we are to love and serve others without thoughts of being repaid, Jesus said in Mark 2:17; Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” We have to understand that the things that we have are not our own. What we have been given are from God and should be used for whatever ministry we can. That does not mean that we should always have our homes open to have people to but if we do see that someone is in need and we are able that we step up in love those people and show them Christ!

The section that really stood out to me what the section about being risk takers! As Francis Chan put it we have all prayed from safety during travel and that no one gets hurt on this trip and bring us back safely. Why can we not pray, “God bring me closer to you during this trip, whatever it takes! We are all too often worried about what is going to happen to us that we then become blinded to the will of God in our lives. I can often forget what it means to be uncomfortable here and set in the kingdom! Sometimes pain and/or distress are going to come with the things of this world, especially if we are walking a life that is Obsessed with Christ!
We have to have a heart that is going to minister and want to minister to people that don’t know Jesus. We are called to a witness to the light as it says in John 1:7a, “7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light.” The definition of witness is to see, hear, or know by personal presence and perception and then this is the important part, to bear witness to; testify to; give or afford evidence of. Just of this definition alone if we are called to be a witness to the light which is Jesus should be self explanatory!

The final thought that I have is directly out of the book. Remember our definition of obsessed The definition of obsessed is: to have the mind excessively preoccupied with a single emotion or topic, to dominate or preoccupy the thoughts, feelings, or desires of.

Christians Obsessed with Christ are more concerned with obeying God than doing what is expected or fulfilling the status quo. A person who is obsessed with Jesus will do things that don’t always make sense in terms of success or wealth on this earth.

Live by the truth and Come into the Light!

2011-05-24T09:13:00.002-05:00

Psalm 32:5 says, “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.

What is confession? To confess our sin is to agree with God, acknowledging that he is right to declare what we have done as sinful, and that we are wrong to desire or to do it. It is to affirm our intention of abandoning that sin in order to follow him more faithfully.

I had a close friend from college call me Sunday after our study. He was driving to the hospital in Madison hospital. He suddenly broke down in crying and said, “One of my good friends from college is dying tonight! He has had some swelling of the brain that started a couple weeks ago and doctors had to do surgery and open up his skull to relieve pressure. They told us that he was doing better! Then I just got a call today saying that things have taken a turn for the worse and he is not going to make it through the night!! Russ he is only 1 year younger than me (24), how can this be happening? Why is this happening? He’s too young to die!

This is not an easy thing for anyone to deal with. It does make me think instantly about the gospel! I had to ask, “Does he know Jesus as Lord and Savior?” Was this life a testimony to who God was in this young man’s life? and how to I use this situation to bring to light the truth of the gospel?

It’s interesting how and what we think about when we are faced with death, either our own or someone that is close to us. We suddenly have a realization that we are not invincible and that everything in this world is dying. We are struck with fear of potential unknowns and anger toward people or God.

After talking with my friend and praying for him and everyone in the situation, I almost feel that there is a sense of urgency to stand on the truth even more than I do! My devotions Monday morning was reading John chapter 3.

To start this chapter, Christ is talking with a Pharisee named Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a man of high stature and a member of the Jewish ruling council. He had come to Christ with the question in verse 4, “How can someone be born again when they are old?” Stop here for a second and think of what it means to be born. When I think of being born, I think of something new to the world around them. Their eyes are just opening they are hearing for the first time, and they are held in the arms of their parents and shown unconditional love. If we think of being born again, we should see that we are suddenly new in a world that we don’t understand. We need a parent to guide and teach us. We need Jesus Christ to show us His unconditional love!
Christ responded to Nicodemus’s question by saying in verse 5, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.” Jesus then goes on saying in verse 8, “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” I believe the Jesus is saying that we can’t see the wind; we can only see its effect. Similarly, we can’t see any physical change in a person born of the Spirit, but we can see the effect of the Spirit at work in someone. We may not understand how the Spirit works, but the effect of the Spirit in the lives of believers is evidence of God at work.

I think to capitalize on the fact that there should be evidence of the working of Christ in our lives. In verse 21 Jesus capitalizes on this point! “But whoever lives by truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”

How awesome is this to think about, “But whoever.” The word whoever is defined as, whatever person, or anyone or no matter who. So there is not getting out of this aspect of our faith in Christ! He is saying WHOEVER, everyone who “lives by truth comes into the light.” So once again truth is an actual statement of fact or reality, and Jesus says in John 14:6a, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” So we know that Christ is truth and now if you live by that truth, it says that you “come into the light.” John 1:1-5 says “1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Now we are not only believing that Christ is truth, but we are living in light that is Jesus Christ. One we are living by truth and have come into the light(Jesus) now we have no option but to allow, “it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.” Now we are to the point that everything we do is in the light of Christ and that those things will be seen plainly by those around you that it is God who is at work in you!

So back to my starting point of a different devotion, Psalm 32:5 says, “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.
What is confession? To confess our sin is to agree with God, acknowledging that he is right to declare what we have done as sinful, and that we are wrong to desire or to do it. It is to affirm our intention of abandoning that sin in order to follow him more faithfully

If we confess our sins before God and we then come into the light of truth and our lives should show that God is at work in us!

My challenge to you! Do you believe in the truth of the gospel of Christ in such a way that the light of Christ is shinning out of you so much, that everyone around you sees that it is God that is at work in your lives?

We do not live but for a millisecond in the realm of eternity, and I cannot explain why someone is dying at 23 years old, except for we live in a dying world that has not hope without Jesus. If I can say for even that millisecond I am alive, that I strived to see God glorified and I strived to live a life worthy of the cause. Then God can say as he does in Matthew 25:23, “'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

2011-05-19T19:59:00.001-05:00

The Harvest

2011-05-18T10:08:00.004-05:00

Psalm 19:2-4 says, “2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 3 They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. 4 Yet their voice[a] goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.”

This is a quote from my devotion this morning, “The apostle Paul referred to this psalm when he explained that everyone knows about God because nature proclaims God's existence and power. This does not cancel the need for missions because the message of God's salvation found in his Word, the Bible, must still be told to the ends of the earth. While nature points to the existence of God, the Bible tells us about salvation. God's people must explain to others how they can have a relationship with God. Although people everywhere should already believe in a Creator by just looking at the evidence of nature around them, God needs us to explain his love, mercy, and grace. What are you doing to take God's message to the world?”

We again see this statement that God is known by all in Romans 2:8. “8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil.” Then we move onto see that God again has said that He has made himself known. Romans 1:19-23, “19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.”

I feel that this is a call that we should all really take hold of. What is this garbage that we keep replacing God with? We say that we are ok and that we are walking a good life with Christ but we really know what is going on. There are idols in our lives that have replaced the one TRUTH!

Because of the truth of Christ the following is what we should really be doing. God has called us to explain his love, mercy, and grace to people that do not know understand the salvation message of the gospel. What are you doing to take God's message to the world?”

There are people out there that live in such a fear of death that they do now know or understand the message of salvation of Christ. We have people that are trying to predict the end of the world and there are some that are saying it is soon. But we are not to live like that. As a friend pointed out to me, Jesus tells a story in Luke 19 that speaks of him and his return in v13, he says “engage in business until I come” when he returns, we are to be found with our hand on the plow, not sitting on a hilltop waiting around.

We tend to look at the now and worry about how things will end or how we should live but Jesus tells us that we do not need to know and that only God the Father knows when Christ will return, Matthew 24:36 and Mark 13:32 both times Jesus says "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." Now we look in Acts where Christ is raised from the dead and is addressing the disciples again after the disciples had asked Jesus, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6) Jesus responds in verses 7 and 8, “7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Christ not only shows us that we are not to be concerned with when the end will come but then, “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” Mark 1:17. After we have dedicated out lives to following Christ he then says in Luke 10:2, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Not only are we called to follow Jesus but now he is telling us that there are few people out there that can help spread the gospel “the workers are few” and that we should be asking the Lord to send out His workers because the harvest is plentiful and God has made himself know to everyone.

When we think about going out to witness because that is what this is telling us to do here, “Go and witness to all mankind” but he speaks on John 4:35 about how we truly feel about going out witness to the gospel, “Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” I feel like this is our true response to the call of being “fishers of people.” Basically we are not trusting in God to help with the harvest that he is calling us to be working for. We get such a fear in us (failure, embarrassment, etc.) that we say to God, “it is still four more months until the harvest” in our words, “I am not ready to be out there Lord, I don’t know enough scripture to be challenged” or “ I am scared of what people will think of me or do to me.”

This is Gods response to our petty wimping out. Acts 18:9-10 “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” The call to trust and follow God and as it says about John the Baptist, John 1:6-8; “6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.” We also are not to be or try to be the light but as it says be a witness to testify to the light! What is this light, John 1:9-14; “9The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

My final challenge to myself and to everyone who follows Christ as Lord and Savior is this. Can we be a witness to the light that is Jesus Christ to the world that has replaced the truth of God with a lie? Are we so confident in God that we can be that witness knowing that God has called us not to be silent, not to be afraid and trust that he will speak through us. The harvest is plenty, the harvest is ripe, it is not 4 months away, and it is now!

Pray! Pray! Pray!

2011-05-10T17:00:00.001-05:00

From Idolatry to LOVE!

2011-05-09T10:25:00.011-05:00

Idolatry, it was a challenging subject to address! Last night in our Young Adults study, we really got challenged as to what the idols are in our lives. A definition was shared, "anything that takes the place of God in your heart!" With this they listed of so many different things that can be an idol and most I had never thought of. When we look at these idols that are in our lives we really must come to reality and not let selfishness get in the way or there will be no truth behind what you are looking at. We must get to the root of the problem and not just talk about it and say we have addressed it. If we are doing that we are just putting this issue on a back burner and never really seeing what the root cause of the problem is. We have to take this things to Jesus and let him help us see how to replace the lie we have embedded in our hearts with the truth of the gospel!

This video is one that was posted on the blog before but worth posting again. It is of Mark Driscoll (Pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle) speaking and ABC news about this same subject "Idolatry" which I though was good to watch!

This morning while getting ready for work and making breakfast I was overly joyed to hear music in the background! I felt the joy of the Lord instantly! Then I stopped and looked at my bible and it was open to Galatians 5:1 that says, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and don not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." How awesome of a message is this to get in the morning! After last nights study I was weighed down a little by the strength that we often pull with idols in our lives! I can feel the burden on my heart of effects that idols can have on us! As i read on jumping to Galatians 5:6b, "the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." What does this mean i think to myself all morning? What does faith do for us? The Bible says that we are saved through faith! (Gal 2:15-16, Rom 3:22, Eph 2:8-9). This saving faith is a living faith in a living Savior and thus is the expression of love-motivated deeds. Talk about love, what is that word mean, John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." I can't even fathom that concept. Is true love is giving up everything for those have nothing? What is it?

True love is what Christ did for us First we have to look at who we are in this mess of a world! Titus 3:3, "At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and ency, being hated and hating one another." This is who we really are. Also in Rom 1:21-25, as we have talked about before, we are a wicked people who have suppressed and replaced the truth of God for a lie!

Now we go back to Titus to again understand what this love is. Titus 3:4-8, "But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, who he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal live. This is a trustworthy saying.

What a picture of this love that God has for us! As it says and Titus and I fell that we should emphasize the love of God appeared first then HE saved us and again not because of our righteousness but because of his MERCY. How did he save us? as it goes on the say, "through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit." Again think about what a baby is covered with when first born. They are covered with blood and yuk from the birthing process. so the be saved through a washing of rebirth, God comes to us and cleans the yuk off so that when he looks at us we are seen and clean and a new creation in Christ Jesus. Sometimes this is symbolic through baptism of believers who have committed their lives to Christ! Then comes the renewal by the Holy Spirit, which is a leading, or a conviction, and consistent imparting of divine life to believers as they surrender their lives to God (Rom 2:2).

Now that we have been saved through faith in Christ alone, and washed clean, and renewed by the Holy Spirit, we have been been justified by His grace so that we might have eternal life! Paul goes on to finish this bold statement but saying, "This is a trustworthy saying." in other words we can trust in the fact that through faith in Christ alone are we saved and can have hope and a life in eternity in heaven with our Lord and Savior Jesus!

“The Parable of the Lost Sheep and The Parable of the Lost Coin.”

2011-05-05T11:02:00.002-05:00

Can you picture it…Jesus has been reaching out to your grandma for 80 years with no response. One day while you and grandma were having a cup of coffee she collapsed of a heart attack. She was rushed to the hospital and there they brought her back to life. Grandma then started to share with you how her brother had become a Christian and had been preaching the Gospel to her and praying for her until his death 13 years ago. But she had never really listed to him and thought that she was ok just the way she was. She then goes on to say that now after almost dying she can see that there is more to what her brother was saying, there is more to this Jesus then a mere man that people perceive as a god. She now understands that Jesus is real that there is life and hope after death! Hope that can only be found in Him. Two days after this conversation grandma dies! But she leaves a letter for you that says the following,
“I was a lost sheep and a lost coin. I was the sheep that wandered off to be alone and see what the world had to offer because I did not see a need to have help from anyone! I lived a life of drinking and promiscuity, and gambling. I had no understanding of right from wrong and my morals where nonexistent. My brother for as long as I can remember tried to get me to hear the gospel message of Jesus and I refused thinking in my own regard that I have no need for someone like him, my life is great. Now that time is coming to an end, this heart attack has nearly killed me. I think that I understand why he preached for so long on the faithfulness of Christ. Before he passed 13 years ago he asked me to read Luke 15:1-10! I can see now that Jesus does not give up on anyone! When we are lost he will leave to come and find us! He will search and search until we are found. Then once we are found He will rejoice with the angles and all of heaven when we are saved! I pray now as I am on my last hours here on Earth before I meet our father in heaven that you forgive me for not accepting this gift of salvation earlier so that I could also share this good news with you! I love you, now go and as my brother told me go my dear and read Luke 15:1-10 and find the heart of Christ!
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While listening to a sermon yesterday during my workout Mark Driscoll was teaching on two parables out of the Gospel of Luke. The teaching of parables by Christ has the primary focus is the coming of the kingdom of God and the resulting discipleship that is required. This is why it is so important for us to follow and learn from to them today.
It was Luke 15:1-10 “The Parable of the Lost Sheep and The Parable of the Lost Coin.”
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
What do we think of when we read this passage? All that I can think of is why if you have 99 sheep left are you looking for that 1 that got lost? Then I realize that this is probably the most selfish thing that I could do! Just because I have 99 left that are just as good as the 1 that I lost does not mean that I should not care for them all and leave the 1 to die alone!
God has a different plan that often exceeds our understanding and way of doing things. Jesus is speaking of himself here and when there is 1 of us that have wondered off that He will come looking for us because it is not the righteous person who needs to be found but the wayward sinner who has wondered into the wild. Then there is a rejoicing that is done because the 1 has been found!
At the time that we are found and Christ has saved us from our sins it says in verse 7, “in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents.” Picture how happy you are when you find something that has been missing and it was something important to you and your family. This rejoicing is only a fraction of what the rejoicing in heaven is like when just one of us commits our life to Christ!
Then we look at Luke 15:8-10: The Parable of the Lost Coin
8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
How much of a bigger picture is this of the rejoicing that goes on in heaven. Not only are the angels and heaven rejoicing but it appears that God himself is rejoicing! When I heard this I was intrigued so I looked up the Greek for, “in the presence” I found the meaning and word in Greek for “in the presence” is “enopion” {en-o'-pee-on} and the meaning: 1) in the presence of, before 1a) of occupied place: in that place which is before, or over against, opposite, any one and towards which another turns his eyes.
Can you see it, do you understand now why it is so important for us to not just live our lives in a Christian bubble surrounded by Christian friends and family. We have to be out there living a life that glorifies and honors Jesus with everything that we do! There needs to be an emphasis on our lives and a priority to spread the Gospel to all who do not know it!
There are so many different forms of evangelism that we could be using to minister to people. The one that I most recently read was a section from Timothy Keller in his book, “Gospel in Life”. He called it “Oikos” Evangelism, “household” evangelism. When we are begin to look at this form of evangelism we see that: 1. Our lives are under observation by those who don’t believe. 2. Your life is the attractor and evidence for the truth of the faith. People should get a carry good view of how Christianity works in a life. 3. The other person is “in the driver’s seat.” they get to raise questions and determine the speed of the process, and 4. The humbling nature of the gospel leads us to approach people without superiority and with deep respect.
Is your life showing the Gospel of Christ to those around you when they are watching and you do not know it? Can you say that you are the image of Christ? What can we do to change if we are not that Holy image that God has called us to be?

A Change of Kingdoms

2011-05-03T11:36:00.000-05:00

Romans 6:6-7 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

Again for devotions I have started to read “The Pursuit of Holiness.” Talk about a book that makes you think. As so many of us desire to live the Holy life that models Christ even at the basic level to many of us have concluded that we cannot do it. Although we are not living in massive amounts of gross since we have settled in a life of moral mediocrity of which neither God nor ourselves are pleased.

The question that comes to mind was from my reading yesterday. Directly from the book, “Are we truly willing to scrutinize all our activities, all our goals and plans, and all of our impulsive actions in the light of this statement: “I am doing this to please God.””

At this point if we are truly living a life that is pleasing to God then we will not have this dilemma of living in moral mediocrity. But if any of you are like me…human. Then we can all have times like this of moral weakness and allow Satan to confuse us on the issue of what God has done for us and what we must do ourselves!

God has indeed made provision for us to live a holy life. Romans 6:12 says; “Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.” This is clearly a call to something that WE have to do. We are responsible for disciplining ourselves in holiness so that “sin does not reign!”

The key word in verse 12 is “therefore.” so we must conclude that something prior to vs.12 must give us some leading as to why we should not let sin reign.

Romans 6:1-11: 1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

A couple things to point out as we read in vs.2 “We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” We can see first that our dying to sin is the result of our salvation in Christ! The second fact as stated in the book, “out dying to sin is a fact whether we realize it or not. Because Christ died to sin, all who are united with Him died to sin.” We have to come to the realizations that if we are one with Christ then our sins are gone, they have been forgiven and we are no longer under the kingdom of darkness as we once where. Paul said it best, “we followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air(the devil)” Eph. 2:2. We were under the power of Satan (Acts 26:18), and the dominion of darkness (Colossians 1:13)

BUT through our union with Christ through SALVATION in Christ we have died to this realm of sin, and we are delivered into the kingdom of God and the realm of righteousness! We have been set free from sin (Rom. 6:18, rescued from the dominion of darkness (Col 1:13), and turned from the power of Satan to the power of God (Acts 26:18).

Lesson 8: How to Make Much of Christ From 8 to 5

2010-05-22T13:28:00.000-05:00

Jesus Says: "I don't ask that you [God] take them out of the world but you keep them from evil."

The temptation through reading this book is to begin to get a picture that unless we are all pastors or missionaries or involved specifically in a form of ministry we are wasting our lives. But the Bible makes it clear that this is not the case. God's will is for his people to be scattered like light and salt among the whole range of secular vocations.

"The sleep of a laborer is sweet,
whether he eats little or much,
but the abundance of a rich man
permits him no sleep." Ecc. 5:12

"Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive." Titus 2: 9-10

"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life,
to mind your own business and to work with your hands,
just as we told you. For even when we were with you,
we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

"We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat." 2 Thessalonians 3: 10-12

My fingers that I type with, my hands that I hold with, my legs that I run with, my eyes that I see with, my mind that I think with; these are all parts of a body that was created. What does it mean to "create"? 1. To cause to exist 2. To give rise to; produce 3. To invest with an office or title 4. To produce through artistic or imaginative effort.

God "created" us and the world. He caused us into existence, He produced and gave rise to our bodies, He invested us by placing us in dominion over His creation, and out of His great imagination and creativity we have being. Work was not meant to be something dreaded...we were created in God's image to be creative, to maintain, and to cause things to exist just as He has!

So as we may find ourselves in various secular locations or with other responsibilities, how do we do what Piper has been reminding us to do (Living to make much of Christ) especially if we do not have the ability to speak freely about the Lord while we are at work?

1. Fellowship with God throughout the day
2. Industry- (even the beavers and bees make amazing things and can not verbalize their praise to the Lord... How are we different than them?)
3. Adorning the doctrine of God
4. Earning
5. Giving

We need to recognize that God's design for us is to work. He has designed us to create and to be His image bearers. Being an image bearer of the Lord is more than just standing in a display case, it's bringing to life the image that God has created us for! We may not be called to specific mission work to an un-reached people group, but we are able to be God's hands and feet by removing stumbling blocks for our co-workers by working hard! We can have joy in what we do as we focus on the benefit our product or service brings to society!

Making much of Christ from 8 to 5 is all about living life abundantly. It is recognizing the gifts and talents we have and bringing glory to the Lord by working at these things with all our hearts.

An encouraging song :)

2010-05-13T09:00:00.000-05:00

A 'Weightless' God?- Lesson 7- "Living to Prove He is More Precious than Life"

2010-05-11T11:22:00.000-05:00

Leading Question to start us out:

1. "If someone who did not know that you were a Christian observed the way you spend your money, the kind of clothes you wear, the way you spend your free time, and how you raised your family, would they notice a significant difference between you and the world? What differences would they notice?"

I still remember clearly the day I was sitting on my dorm bed at college and deeply affected by this verse in Matthew, "While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick. But go and learn what this means; "I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners."

Seriously, that hit me SO hard. It is not the healthy. In light of where God has you right now, would you consider yourself 'healthy'? or 'sick'? Are you in need of His mercy or are you sacrificing worthless items to walk a path of deeper 'righteousness'?

We are clearly called as followers of Jesus to be holy: 1 Peter 1:15-16 "But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." [cross reference is Lev. 11:44,45] And so walking in a deeper righteousness is essential, however at the same time we are called to "live according to God in regard to the spirit." (1 Pet. 4:6) As he continues to speak about this, he says, "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms."

We do this all in the power and strength that God provides us through His Spirit, and it is not contingent upon what the people we serve look like, smell like, what they say, or where they came from.

Christ's call was one to compassion, one that stores up treasures in heaven, and one that receives the kingdom of God by making much of Christ rather than making much of one's self. [Mk 10:21; Lk 6:20,24; Lk 18:25]

2. Take a look at those verses in brackets above and underline the theme of each verse. Consider how you are seeking to obey these texts in your life

In chapter 7 living to prove he is more precious than life, Piper reminds followers of Jesus that magnifying Christ through generosity and mercy is more satisfying than selfishness. The question which is uses to probe our consciences is this; 'Is Christ our "all satisfying treasure"?' This question reminds us of John 4 where Christ is talking with the Samaritan woman at the well. The Jews and Samaritan's were at odds with each other because the Samaritans were Jews that had inter-married with the Gentiles (which was against Jewish law) and so when Jesus opened his mouth and directly addressed the woman, she was incredibly shocked. Not only was this experience odd because of the culture surrounding it, but what seems to even me as being odd is Jesus offering her water living water that will satisfy her in such a way that all other things are not needed. Maybe I have been disillusioned in ways, but I do find it difficult to think that all I EVER need is just Jesus.
"Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

Christ is to be our all-satisfying treasure. Piper challenges Christ followers to live lives of faith-filled risk and challenges us to use our money and our lifestyles to impact the kingdom of God. If this is not the case, it could very well be that we have created a "weightless God."
"It is one of the defining marks of Our time that God is now weightless. He has become unimportant. He rests upon the world so inconsequentially as not to be noticeable. He has lost his saliency for human life." (Piper, 121)

Will the things of our life point to a God who is all powerful? Do our clothes or our lifestyles, how we spend our evenings magnify Christ? Do they point to Christ as the treasure of our lives?
These are questions to think on, and things we will be discussing next week at study.

My Search for A Single Passion to Live By: Lesson 2

2010-04-10T11:41:00.000-05:00

I love stories. Stories have a way of painting beautiful pictures and coordinating thoughts in a way that weave us through the pain and hardships to a conclusion that often brings resolution to the main conflicts in a tale. Somewhere during my college experience I began to love to hear people's life stories. Being a part of a touring group while in college exposed me many different places and homes and we were required to spend a good amount of time getting to know who we were staying with. These experiences have actually brought me to all sorts of different people's homes in Alberta, British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon. Each person had a unique story of how they got to where they are today and what kinds of events caused them to get to where they are today.

Now, you may be reading this thinking, this is all pretty logical but it has been my experience that we rarely take the time to sit back and reflect on our lives. Instead I hear many people caught up in the moments they find themselves in crying out for help or just looking to vent their frustrations with other people or God to someone who will listen. I'm not downplaying the need to vent or to work out your emotions, but what I am advocating for is that we do not live our lives blindly.

When Paul, while in prison for preaching the gospel of Christ, writes to the Philippians, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain....Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ." He is preaching a message that reminds us that in everything we do we should be working towards an eternal treasure that will last. So let's put our lives in perspective... what are we living for? What is the purpose to all we do? In the end, when all is stripped away will it matter if I ran the full half marathon or if I walked some? Or if I looked like a fool trying to make someone smile? Or will it be my attitudes and motives that are brought under judgement?

At any rate, this week in Don't Waste Your Life, John Piper shares his story where he grappled with the idea of what it meant to not waste his life. One of his wake up moments came from a sermon illustration that his dad presented at his church growing up about a man he was visiting in the hospital weeping over the fact that he was nearing the end of his life and just now realizing that he had wasted it.

He brings up the point of differing world-views that people tend to view life through. One of them being existentialism. Basically existentialism is a philosophy that basically states, "The only 'essence' or 'truth' that exists is the kind that we create." In this line of thinking, we have the ability to define our own purpose and meaning in life. Everything we do is contingent upon the values that we individually uphold.

Genesis 1:1 combats this world-view right from the very beginning saying, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." John 1:1-3 also backs this up by saying, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made." Existentialists argue that man has the ability to create his/her own truth, but the Bible declares that nothing that has been made has been created without God's signature attached. Thus we are subject to the objective truths that God has created.

The next thing that Piper points out is that while the world likes to make excuses and exclusive statements about people; such that you are either logical or rational or you are emotional and playful, the bible portrays that God calls all of our being to love Him and obey Him. (See Mat. 22:35-38) We are called to worship in spirit and in truth which encompasses both the rational and emotional parts of our being. God is not mutually exclusive. "He [God] combined things that almost everybody today assumes are mutually exclusive: rationalism and poetry, cool logic and warm feeling, disciplined prose and free imagination." (Piper, 19).

God is the ultimate reality, and until we submit our whole being to Him, we will be wasting our lives. Take a moment to reflect with these questions:

1. How is it that you got to where you are today?

2. Read Exodus 3:13-14. According to this passage, God's name is "I AM WHO I AM." How does this verse respond to those who say that there is no Reality (Meaning, Essence, Purpose) until we create it? Where is Ultimate Reality found?

3. Read Romans 1:18-23. Is there "Truth" (with a capital T) in the world? Are men ignorant of Truth, or do they suppress it?

Don't Waste Your Life

2010-03-30T09:46:00.000-05:00

"Standing on the side of the road; I lifted up my foot and realized I had somehow landed upright after being thrown out of the car that was still rolling down the embankment. A dent was left in the ground where my feet landed and I was in shock. I turned to look for the girl that had also been thrown out of the car and found her; not responding...with paramedics circled around her. Life flashed before my eyes as one daunting question invaded my mind, "Why are you still alive? What have you done so far to deserve to still be standing here? You have been wasting your life."

[this is a paraphrase from Heath Budden who shared his testimony last week]

We are starting a new study and are going through the book, Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper. For those of you who are not a regular part of the study but are interested.... know that at any point you'd be able to join us Sunday nights as we will be going through questions and Bible passages brought up in the study guide each week over each chapter. I will be using this blog as a place to provide a short summary of the material we will be going over and post videos and other provoking materials to get you thinking and being challenged to live our lives purposefully for Christ.

[excerpt from study guide]
"It is our conviction that God did indeed create us for more than the American Dream. Nevertheless, millions of people waste their lives in pursuit of the vain trappings of this world because they never discover the simple, obvious, glorious, biblical reality that "[God's] steadfast love is better than life" (Psalm 63:3) They are never gripped by thte truth that "to live is Christ, and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21). The awesome biblical promise that "the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea" (Habakkuk 2:14) has never landed on them by the power of the Holy Spirit and awakened them to a passion for God's supremacy in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ."

So this is the challenge placed before us, to take a moment to think about our existence on this earth and to consider why were created. What, in your mind is the difference between a wasted life and an un-wasted life? Will the plans that you have made for your life be of any value to God?

Acts 20:24 says, "But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God."

If it is true that only what is done for Christ will last (check out 1 Cor. 3:10-13) then what kind of changes do you think might be necessary in your life?

On My Own Strength....

2010-02-16T15:11:00.000-06:00

John 5:30
[Jesus]-
“I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.”

cf. : 5:19 “So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.”
cf. ; 8:28 “So Jesus said to them, “when you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.”

This is Jesus speaking here. I want you think about whether or not you could say the same thing; “I can do nothing on my own.” Jesus was God and yet He says that He can do nothing apart from the Father. Now it seems like it would be a bit easier for Jesus because He and the Father are one; but Jesus was also fully human and as such he did battle with the human nature. Satan tempted him just as he tempts us.

Matthew 4 gives us this account:
Scripture tells us that Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. The Spirit which is being referred to here is the third person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit. He is co-eternal with God and so it is God that led Jesus to be tempted.

Now, I don't know if that raises any questions in your mind, but right there a little flag went up in my mind; “God led Jesus to be tempted!? Does this mean God leads me to be tempted?

To answer this I went to 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 which states; “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

God does not do the tempting; but as we remember in Job, Satan was allowed to tempt Job; “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So again we see that God, in His Sovereignty allowed for Satan to test and push Job towards unrighteousness, but Job was not given any more than he could handle, for God still sustained him.

And this is the key point that I want to draw out; it is impossible without God to stand on our own. Even Christ could do nothing apart from the Father. Likewise without the grace of God we can do nothing good. In answer to that first question, “I can do nothing on my own;” we can do nothing good our own. Unless it is through the Holy Spirit and His power in us, nothing we do has eternal value and thus is not good.

Ephesians 2:8-10 says; “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before hand, that we should walk in them.”

If you are anything like me, it can be easy to get caught up my day to day works that I don't stop to think about my choices. Ultimately our choices either point to eternity or they point inwardly to our own works. How futile! It is possible for me to be doing “good” things, but instead of being profitable for eternity they are only profitable for this world and time. When I think back to the idea of Satan and how he has le-way to tempt us we truly must have our guards up! Go back to Matthew 4 and read the temptation of Jesus again. Satan is a deceiver. He is not obvious. He used Scripture to try and convince Christ to take a short-cut for people to see His glory. If Jesus would have followed, he would have been disobeying the Father's will for Him. Christ knew the full Word of God and was able to discern that this was what Satan was trying to do. I don't know if I would be wise enough to discern this, for I am not in the Word of God consistently enough to see if what I am hearing is fully backed up in Scripture. Satan used this verse, “ If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'” Those were words in Scripture, but used out of context for the very next verses speak about Satan and stepping on him. Convenient that he didn't use that part, eh?

For the past few weeks it has been coming up more and more the importance of being in Scripture. Will we attend to this call? God allows for temptation to occur, so will we prepare ourselves for the battle? Or will we continue in our own works which without Christ at the center ultimately lead to death?

Be Encouraged by this:!
Hebrews 2: 18
“For because He himself was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.”

What do you Live For?- From Mars Hill Church Blog

2010-02-16T10:37:00.001-06:00

What Do You Live For?–Part Two
Diagnosing Your Worship

If all of life is worship and we find that our lives are broken in some way, then change must begin with changed worship in the heart. The following questions from Dr. Tim Keller can help you diagnose your worship:

• What do I live for?
• What would I die without?
What do you live for?

Related questions to explore what you live for include the following:

• What desires are in the depths of your heart?
• What desires shape the course of your life?
• What desires make you feel alive when they’re met, or leave you feeling furious, dead, or depressed when unmet?
• What desires are you willing to pay the price for and sacrifice to get?
• What desires get you out of bed in the morning and cause you to spring to action in hot pursuit?
• What desires lead you to blow up in rage against anyone who gets in your way?
• What desires lead you to keep your distance from other people for fear of what might happen—or what they might see—if you were close?
What would you die without?

Maybe you’re thinking you don’t have such intense desires as those suggested in the previous paragraph. They may strike you as dramatic. If so, then consider the possibility that your ultimate desires are already being met to some degree.

But what if they were threatened? For example, let’s say you have your spouse, kids, dream house, dream job, and great friends; your life is a picture that others only dream of. But what if those things were taken from you? Would you feel like dying?

You see, you always live for something. To not worship is to not live. It’s like a garden hose that can’t be turned off. You can aim it at the grass, the car, or the shrubs, but you cannot stop its flow.

In the same way, your heart is constantly pouring out in worship to see your deepest desires satisfied. Distorted, sinful, misdirected worship is referred to as “idolatry” in the Bible, and the object of such worship is called an “idol.”

Letter from a Delinquent Daughter-

2010-02-06T09:54:00.000-06:00

God;
It has been awhile since I have last really spent some quality time with you. I know that you have plans for our lives and that you do take special interest in each of us (Jer. 29:11). I know that you desire for everything that I do would bring you glory (1 Cor. 10:31). I know that faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of those things we don't see (Heb. 11:1). I know that if we commit our ways to you, you will give us the desires of our hearts (Ps. 37:4).

These promises are ones that I want to cling to; and yet I know that you see us for who we are. And for me I know that means that you see me as a prideful person who desires selfishly and wants control of her own; to know all things and who will not walk in confidence until I do know these things for sure. You see that I don't trust well, but at the same time you know that the depths of me desire to do these things better. You know that my heart is restless and waiting:

Closer to Me by Future of Forestry-

I wish I could feel all the strength of your peace
Inside me, building love endlessly
I wish I could fall in a sea of your light
While the brilliance around me, watch it chase away night

Closer to me
Oh, I want you to be
Even closer to me

I wish I could feel just the warmth of your breath
Around me as I lie on my bed
I wish I could taste of your sweet ruby wine
As you lift me to heaven, to the place where we shine

Closer to me
Oh, I want you to be
Just closer to me

For the day I await
'Cause my heart knows I've found you
And I'm still looking for you
Yeah, the day I await
'Cause my heart knows I've found
And I'm still looking for you

You call us to seek you with all of our hearts; you say, search me and you will know me...when you seek me you will find me when you seek with all your heart. Heb. 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” So I do know that I've found you and that I continue to seek you to draw closer to you... Forgive me for where I fall short and where my pride gets in the way. Forgive me for my lack of faith at times. Teach me every day to trust you more.

Ps. 25:2-5
“O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame;
let not my enemies exult over me.
Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame;
they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.
Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long.”

You have given me the work of my hands and have placed responsibilities before me. These things Lord, I seek to do before you with utmost honesty and truth. I know that I may never walk in complete faithfulness on this earth but I do love you and I do seek to learn more and more how to love you better and more completely.

Lover by Nevertheless-

I am a lover. I am a shame. I am appalled by the things that I fame.
I am a lover, but I've had my share of flirting with the darkest affairs.
And you can find me here, with my head against the wall, lost in my regrets and every time I fall you catch me in your hands.
You circle me like a wedding band. I have a lover, faithful and true.
He cares for me in all that I do.
I have a lover, my song He has sung with love on His lips and grace on His tongue.
And you can find me here with my head against the wall, lost in my regrets and every time I fall you catch me in your hands.
You circle me like a wedding band.
A promise from Heaven, a promise from You, a promise to love, I will hold on to.
God of new beginnings, to You I cry, Teach me how to love; teach me how to die.
In death there's forgiveness, and forgiveness calls on new life. So You can find me here with my head against the wall, lost in my regrets and every time I fall you catch me in your hands. You circle me like a wedding band. A promise from Heaven, a promise from You...

I commit myself to learn more and more about you. My desire is to serve you better each day with a more fervent heart. Place people in my life to challenge me in these areas.

A letter from a delinquent daughter,
Love.

“One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that I will seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple.” Psalm 27:4

2010-02-05T11:08:00.000-06:00

ABC interviews Mark Driscoll on Idols

2010-02-05T10:09:00.000-06:00

"Hell is inhabited by those who through thousands of little daily acts have elevated self above God." Clyde Kilby

2010-01-26T17:16:00.001-06:00

"Thus says the Lord:
'Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the Lord.
He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.
He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.'

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

'I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according the the fruit of his deeds."

Jeremiah 17:5-10

TRUST.

2010-01-22T10:43:00.000-06:00

Two weekends ago there was a huge youth convention in Green Bay, Wisconsin held at what used to be the Regency Suites and now called the Sierra Hotels. The convention is Districts and it is put together by the Evangelical Free Church of America. I had the lovely opportunity to be the room leader for a group of five 8th grade girls whose energy was exiting and their hormones were off the wall...which was much LESS exiting for me.

I was pretty pumped about the whole thing because they had specifically asked for me as a room leader. I liked to think that it was because i had had an impact on their lives and they wanted to draw closer to the Lord. I guess i can be a little nieve at times because it became apparent that although they did think I was cool, they thought they could get away with more with me as their room leader.

Now, I don't want to ever be considered the "room nazi" but I do want to be respected and want to be able to have a relationship with these girls where I feel like I can trust them and they can trust me. All of that shattered the first night when I told them that they could stay up as late as they wanted as long as they 1. did not disturb those who were sleeping, and 2. followed all the rules of the hotel. When I woke at 3 am to the door to the outside closing and three girls shuffling back into the room, I couldn't believe what I just witnessed. In fact, I laid there for a second or two to let the cobwebs clear and to figure out exactly how I was going to address the situation.

When I got up out of bed, it was obvious that they did not expect to get caught on this little adventure because they were on their second mission to make a break for the door again! A little infuriated, I waited for them to jump back on their beds and have a little confessional of sorts. A confessional is not what I got. Instead, I received silence. Nobody was going to fess up or talk about what just had happened. So the first thing I said was,
"Anybody know why I am awake right now?" silence.
"So we are just going to pretend like nothing happened?" silence.
"Can anybody tell me what trust is?" ....finally someone spoke up... ,"trust is something that you obey because you want the other person to feel good?..."

Feel free to chuckle about at this time, because I didn't understand at all what she said other than she clearly felt a little guilty about something. I was about to share the right definition of trust when I realized that it was 3 in the morning and my mind was not informing me of a good definition.

We did talk about how they disobeyed the rules and how it was going to be difficult for me to trust them the rest of this evening but also the next as well. I told them I wanted them to have a good time but that there are rules they needed to follow and disobeying these rules are only going to hurt them in the long run; as well as hurt others.

As I have reflected a bit more on this weekend, I have decided that I really would like to have a better picture and answer in my mind about what it means to "trust" someone or something. So I was sitting in Fazoli's one day and from my own thoughts came up with the following definitions:
1. to believe that what is being said or believing in something or someone.
2. a state of faith in something not in your own control.
-often times, when we are 'trusting' in something, it means that we are relinquishing control to something or someone else.

So then I began to think of different scriptures that spoke about trust, and the fist one that came to my attention was,
Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean NOT on your own understanding.
In all your ways; acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."

I cross-referenced this verse and came across the following;
Ps. 37: 3, 5
"Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him and He will do it."
Pr. 22:19
"So that your trust may be in the Lord, I have taught you today, even you."

Then I began to get verses that talked about not wearying ourselves to gain wealth but rather to delight ourselves in the Lord.

This tweaked my interest a bit. What areas of your life has God been asking you to trust Him in? Do you find it difficult to trust Him in the areas of finance in your life? I do. Listen to this verse;

Jer. 9:23

"Thus says the Lord, 'let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let the mighty man boast of his mihgt, let not the rich man boast in his riches; but let Him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness; justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things, declares the Lord."

Now I am beginning to get a bigger picture of what it means to trust the Lord. It seems to mean that we feed securely on Him. We feed on His faithfulness. It is about who God is.

Ps. 62:8
"Trust in Him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us."

So how do we trust?
Deut. 30:20
"by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to him; for this is your life and length of your days, that you may live in the Land which the lord swore to your Fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."

Rest in this;
Isaiah 40:11
"like a shepherd He will tend His flock, in His arm He will gather the lambs and carry them in his bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes."

Merriam-Webster defines trust this way;
Trust is an assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something; one in which confidence is placed.

I have been challenged to truly let go and trust the Lord. My financial and career situations may have me confused and I honestly don't know what the future is going to have in store for me, but I trust in the One of whom I can pour my heart out to. The One who gathers His flock and exercises loveingkindness, justice, and righteousness here on this earth.

So instead of worrying or fearing the future I will, "Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness." Ps. 37:3

Wait- God's encouragement for uncertain times: by Russell Kelfer

2010-01-05T09:37:00.000-06:00

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.

I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate...

and the Master so gently said, "Wait."

"Wait? you say wait?" my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!"
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word.

My future and all to which I relate
hangs in the balance, and you tell me to Wait?"

I'm needing a 'yes,' a go ahead sign. Or even a 'no,' to which I'll resign.

You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe, We need but to ask, and we shall receive.

Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry: I am weary of asking! I need a reply.

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate, as my Master replied again, "Wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut, and grumbled to God,
"So, I'm waiting.... for what?"

He seemed then to kneel, and his eyes met with mine... and he tenderly said
"I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.

I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.
You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.

You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint.
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.

You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there.
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
when darkness and silence are all you can see.

You'd never experience the fullness of love
when the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.

You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

The glow of My comfort late into the night,
the faith that i give
when you walk without sight.
The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask
From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

You'd never know should your pain quickly flee,
what it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.

Yes, your dearest of dreams overnight would come true,
but, oh, the loss, if you missed what I'm doing in you.

So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see
that the greatest of gifts is to truly know me.

And though oft My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still...
"Wait."

"This is what the Lord says: 'In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you.'" (Isaiah 49:8) Isn't this a wonderful promise? In no uncertain terms, God affirms that He will answer and will help his people. But notice carefully the time slot for His help and answers; "In the time of my favor...and in the day of salvation." God has a designated time when His promise will be fulfilled and the prayer will be answered. It is a "day" or moment that he knows is best for the help to arrive and the deliverance to be accomplished. His answer is absolutely sure for those who trust Him, but it is not yet.

Herein lies the battle of faith-
to hold on and keep believing God despite what our natural senses tell us. Our challenge is to wait in faith for the day of God's favor and salvation.
-Jim Cymbala

"God Said, 'No'."

2009-12-21T07:49:00.000-06:00

I found this poem the other day, and the author is unknown but the message is powerful-

God Said "No".

I asked God to take away my pride,
and God said 'no'.
He siad it was not for Him to take away, but for me to give up.

I asked God to grant me patience,
and God said 'no'.
He said patience is a by-product of tribulation. It is not granted, it is earned.

I asked God to give me happiness,
and God said 'no'.
He said He gives blessing, happiness is up to me.

I asked God to spare me pain,
and God said 'no'.
He said, "Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares, and closer to me."

I asked God to make my Spirit grow,
and God said, 'no'.
He said, I must grow on my own, but He will prune me to make it fruitful.

I asked God if He loved me,
and God said "yes".
He gave His only Son, who died for me, and I will be in heaven one day
Because... I believe.

I asked God to help me love others as much as He loves me,
and God said,
"Ah, finally you have the idea."

It takes sacrificing our BEST.

2009-12-10T09:06:00.000-06:00

Exerpt from "Recovery from the Fall" by Mike Brenininger-

"The fear of missing the will of God relates to a godly fear of having wasted our earthly lives because we do not fulfill the purpose that God has for us. I believe there will be a time for people when God will reveal all that He had planned for their lives. It will be a sad day for everyone because no one has completely fulfilled the plan of God for his life. We should especially think about the Christian who goes about his life with little consideration for the will of God. When that person stands before the Lord, instead of Jesus saying, "well done my good and faithful servant," He says, "I had all this for you, ubt you chose your own way."

"A revelation of the fear of God that brings a heightened awareness of His will always draws us to more obedience and service. So many Christians are concerned about how much of this world they can love and still be all right with God. What we should be asking is, "How much of God can we have while still in this world?" When we have a revelation of the fear of God, the question is no longer how much we can do and et away with, the question is, "How much am I missing out on that the Lord wants for me?" This revelation and impartation challenges us to always be asking, "Is this really what the Lord wants me to be doing?" There are many temptations that are trying to capture our attention and affections; however, when we have the fear of God, we will have a longing for His will, which is likely to make the temptations not very tempting."

I went for a walk with a person who means a lot to me. In some ways I see her as a second or third mom, but really I am able to see her as somewhat of a spiritual mentor. Yesterday we were dumped with a good amount of snow, and she and I (with the day off) went for a walk. Most hadn't gotten up to plow out the sidewalks yet, so we walked along the road; her in her boots and me in my 'soon to be wet' sneakers.

As we walked along we came across a couple. One was working hard to shovel out the heavy snowfall while the other was skirting from one angle to another taking pictures. On top of things, my aunt initiaited conversation with the couple. Turns out, they were first time home owners and this was their first winter in their new house; in fact it was the first time they would have to shovel the driveway in their new home so the wife had taken on the task of documenting this occurance. My aunt quickly found a connection with the couple as they were all teachers in the Wausau school district. It was fun to observe this friendly and comfortable first interaction, and to my surprise my aunt quickly asked if the couple had found a church home yet and invited them to take a look at the church we attend. As many first meetings can go (coupled on with a potentially intimidating proposition) this one lacked the akward slow back and forths between individuals who have first met.

We continued on our walk to be met with a strong wind as we turned the corner from the new homeowners, and our conversation took on talk of what it means to be bold in our presentation of what God has done for us. My aunt had recently been convicted by the Holy Spirit that her life has become so busy that she doesn't feel like she has the adequet time to invest in relationships that lead to a further commitment towards the Lord.

She began to tell me another story of how God had opened up the door for her to share the gospel with a woman who was going through rough time in her marriage and how God graciously helped her to share the gospel with this woman in a way that really seemed to open her eyes to the reality of what salvation really means.

You see- I think a lot of us can identify with saying, "How much of this world can I love and still be alright with God?" It's easy for us to have a stronger fear of man than a fear for God when we don't rightly understand who God is and how we truly look before Him. But this is what God'w word has to say about the issue;

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through wha has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened." Romans 1:18-21

That honestly frightens me. To think that God has revealed the truth to us and yet in my heart I desire things that are more about my own happiness then about what God wants to do through my life. I have inhibited him from acting through my life when I am more concerned about my own opinion or the opinion of others than about sharing His name and glory with others.

Until I see the depth of my sin before God, I will never understand the incredible sacrifice that His own death and resurrection means for mine. A picture of this is found in Exodus at the passover. The angel of death was the last plague and it hit both the Israelite and Egyptian settlements. The angel of death was to come and kill the firstborn of every family, but God made a covenant with His people and told them to take the best of their lambs and sacrifice it to use its blood to make as a protection for their household. They were to place that blood on the doorframes and the angel would see that blood and acknowlegde that a sacrifice had been made as an atonement for their sins. He would then pass by that home and their firstborne would be safe.

This is what God asks of us. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God, JESUS is eternal life in Him and through Him. There would be death on our part if it weren't for the blood of Christ covering that. But it takes sacrificing our best so that Christ can live.

Think on that, "It takes sacrificing our BEST so that Christ can LIVE."

I Set My Eyes on Things Above...

2009-12-04T09:34:00.000-06:00

Hebrews 12: 1-17

There are crowds of believers who have walked before us, who can strengthen our resolve because they have been faithful, and they have recieved God's promises and rewards.

1. Be strong and when you grow weary- KNOW YOUR FOUNDATION. Consider first Christ's sacrifice! And do not be discouraged; Christ walks even deeper in our crap than we do.. He sacrificed His life! His divinity!

2. He calls us 'sons'(and daughters)!
"My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by Him. For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He recieves." (vs. 5-6)

Ouch! Discipline hurts!! I think of the training I am beginning for my shoulder; and I really do NOT get any 'high' off of inflicting myself with pain. But this discipline I must endure. If I do not, my shoulder will only get weaker and pull out easier and more frequently as I get older.

But this pain and consistency are necessary. Sometimes it feels like there are a lot of things working against me. Take for instance even walking into the weight room- I can't shake the feeling that people might be watching and laughing at the amount of weight I am lifting or critiquing my form as I struggle through some of the weight sequences.

The truth is that I am not doing this workout for them; but I am doing it for me and my future. It is the same in our spiritual walks. Discipline can be a struggle...it sure doesn't come naturally to me, but it is necessary if I plan on growing in my walk with Christ.

"For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." (vs.11)

I desire to be a strong woman of faith and of God. "Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed." Making our walk straight takes discipline, time, and hard work. These things don't come over night, but our challenge is to lift those drooping hands and strengthen those weak knees.

This walk requires us to live according to the Spirit. Read Romans 8. The law (God's word) reveals our sin and depth of our lostness from God. All the world is accountable to God, because by the works for th law no flesh would be justified in His sight; for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. But "the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not able to do so; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God."

So let us set our eyes on Christ (the author and perfecter of our faith and lay aside the things that entangle us in this world and instead submit ourselves to the Lord; putting in place the proper disciplines that are going to encourage us to walk with perseverance in Christ (in his love) rather than in the love of the world and fear of man.

You Make all Things Work Together for My Good

2009-12-04T09:28:00.000-06:00

I Know (Kari)

2009-11-29T22:03:00.000-06:00

Err...Bethany, Are we all allowed to post on here? For some reason, it's letting me...so...um....here goes. (Love, Kari):

Lately I've been painfully challenged be obedient to God and take steps of faith that are really difficult to take...ones I'm scared to take and ones that I'm hurting over and that seem so "wrong" even though I know they are right.

I've been learning a lot about how unfulfilling life is when I live it based off of feelings and following my heart...and my mom always tells me that the heart is deceiving and will fail me every time...and it does. It makes me think of a book I read a while ago that said that said that you shouldn't follow your heart, you should lead it (in regards to living in obedience to Christ). I guess the heart can really wander, and if you follow your heart, you end up all over the place and everywhere except for where you need to be.

I can't claim to be a perfect Christian...and I am far, far from it to be perfectly honest...FAR. But I guess sometimes I wonder if I really needed a hard fall to realize exactly where my heart is, and how desperately I need God to fulfill those areas I sought to have fulfilled everywhere else (and only to bitter disappointment).

There are times where I question why God can't just bring me out of the mess quickly if my heart is in the right place and I really want to make changes, but I guess sometimes I have to look at is as that I walked into a dark, dark forest, and in the middle of it all, realized how lost and alone I was and realized only God could save me...and He is there, but I still have to walk through the other half of that forest to get out of it and it will still be hard and it will still hurt...but I am not alone. So as hard and scary as it is, I am really trying to learn how to trust that God really will lead me through this, and that even though it's incredibly painful now, when I'm through to the other side, there's something much greater waiting for me.

I guess the hard part now is continually trusting God, and not letting my faith be based on emotion, but obedience.

This song came to my head today...and I haven't heard it in years...but I cried for the better part of the afternoon listening to it over and over again...kind of my prayer right now:

I Know--Darrell Evans

Though I'm walling through the valley
Of the darkest hour I've known
Lord don't You leave me all alone

When I'm surrounded by the shadows
That seem to feed my fear
I will trust You
Though I may not feel You here

But I know that Your love is unfailing
Oh I know Your grace is so amazing
Oh I know even though my faith be shaken
Oh I still know I’ll never be forsaken
‘Cause You’re always faithful
I know

When my bed has been floating
On the flood of all my tears
Seems as though my joy has disappeared
Still I will not put my hope
In what I feel or see
I will cling to You
And Trust You’re holding me

Lord I don’t know where I’m walking
But I’ll take it day by day
And I’ll hold Your hand
And You will lead the way

And I know that Your love is unfailing
Oh I know Your grace is so amazing
Oh I know even though my faith be shaken
Oh I still know I’ll never be forsaken
‘Cause You’re always faithful
I know

Provider

2009-11-28T10:24:00.000-06:00

I have been worried these last couple months about finances. Part of a big step in being here in Wausau was going to Financial Peace University at the church. I have been being challenged to be faithful and wise with the finances that I have. But have you ever created a budget off of a part-time, minimum wage job? It can be difficult, especially in the holiday season.

What is interesting is that I have been convicted in the area of giving. I wish I could say that I considered myself a pretty 'giving' person, but when I look at the things I typically spend my money on, it seems rather obvious that this isn't the case. As I attmepted to create a budget off of my simple income, I was challenged to both give to the church regularly and allot an amount of money to be spent on other people.

The first month actually went pretty well, and I was fairly surprised with the ease at which I was able to sucessfully complete my budget. I felt blessed to be able to give back to others, and was kind of excited that I was able to even save some money that month. But then this next month came along, and the yearnings for getting closer to my goal of saving for student loans overcame me and it became more important to me to put money aside for myself than for others.

Funny thing is that I don't think God was too impressed with that move, and He gave me opportunity after opportunity to give to others. . . which I did; but usually it was with an ungrateful heart. Every time I decided to spend money on someone else to help a need of their's I found my grip getting tighter on the cash and my heart growing slightly colder towards those individuals.

Yesterday in particular I was challenged and that was when I began to realize that God has called me to give with a grateful heart, and more than that, He is the one whose money it really is. If I am unwilling to give to others, I am not fulfilling the commission that God has given me: to serve others.

This month has been a bit of a challenge for me, and like I said before, because I work a part-time minimum wage job I am pretty low on the income charts. So I began to apply again at different places, knowing full well that God has placed me where I am at for specific purposes. The whole waiting thing is something I just have never been good at, and I got an interview for a 30hr a week, temporary position for 6-8wks that I was really excited about.

When I went in for the interview I made them laugh, showed that I had obtained the proper skill sets to perform the position well, and yet I was informed the next day that I did not get the position. I closed my cell phone in frustration, and wanted to cry. I had already figured out how much I would have made, and it would have been enough to get me over the halfway mark towards my student loans.

I believe that God has a purpose for everything, and I know that He has been trying to get me to truly trust Him. He has already been providing me with free rent, basically free food, and minimal bills to worry about... and yet I have been trying to make more provisions for myself, when I know that God wants me to focus on other things right now. He will provide when the time is right, and so right now I have to be faithful in the little that He has given me.

Being faithful in the small things can be challenging when you are wanting the big things. The little things seem menial and unsubstantial. But God has shown Himself to be the provider and to be the master over everything. So again, I wait and humbly learn how to trust in the One who knows exactly what He is doing. ;)

Keep Walking!

My Light and My Salvation

2009-11-20T09:37:00.000-06:00

'Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
listen to my plea for grace.
In the day of my trouble I call upon you,
for you answer me...

Teach me your way, O Lord,
that I amy walk in your truth;
unite my heart to fear your name...

For great is your steadfast love toward me;
you have delivered my soul
from the depths of Sheol...

But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.'
Psalm 86 (portions of)ESV

Sometimes life can seem like walking through a cave. The cave entrance bears a sign saying, "Welcome! Enjoy the journey!" and then, in minuscule lettering near the bottom letters form to say, "whatever you do; keep walking forward."

At the start there is light illuminating the way and we can walk in confidence. But as we continue deeper into the cavern, light is few and far between. Darkness begins to engulf you and the light that had comforted your journey at the beginning is far out of reach. This is about the time when your steps are few and far between.

It becomes increasingly difficult to put your foot forward when you don't know where it will land. You stop moving altogether and stand there; in darkness. 'Do I dare move forward when I don't know where I am going?' Temptations come to do one of two things (usually)-
1. sit down and cry out for help from something, someone, anything to come help you;
2. begin shuffling back toward the known light where you had entered in at.
There is a third option, one which you shutter to consider:
3. step forward and continue to walk.
This was the charge to you in the beginning; a silent voice saying, 'whatever you do, keep walking forward.'

Your mind is reeling, "How in the world can I continue stepping forward?! I can't see a thing!" Panic and anxiety rise as your heart beats faster and you weigh out your options. Would it really be so bad if you just went back to where you started? It was much more comfortable and you knew where you were at all times. Or what would happen if I just tested out my lung strength and cried out until someone reached me?

A silent whisper says, 'no. trust me. walk forward.'

And so... you do. From every corner of your being you are frightened and it seems as though someone has grabbed your heart and is squeezing all the blood out of it.

You don't fall, and ground is still beneath you. It's a long, and slow journey at times as you wander through the darkness, but you begin to see a glimpse again....of light. At first you wonder if it is an illusion, and then your eyes fix on it. Your steps quicken and you begin to travel quicker to get closer to the light. The light does not disappoint you as you gain ground. Nothing has felt so reassuring as the light that is now before you.

No longer engulfed in darkness, you are surrounded by a warming and comforting light. Your heart is full of rest You relish every moment of the sun beaming on your face.

There are times in our lives when we embark on a new journey. The start is usually filled with a lot of anticipation and excitement for the future. So many goals and aspirations lay before us and you know it will take time, but you are confident; for the time being. But as you begin to embark on the journey, it takes you on dips and turns that you weren't expecting. It's not as easy as you anticipated and the goals that you had made seem virtually unreachable. You may have fallen on the way, and you don't even look like the same person who had started the journey... This is about the time where most of us begin to cry out for help. We are looking for a way to get out of the situation that we find ourselves in and our prayer life has never looked so good. Our lungs explode with the air we begin to cry out with...but it begins to dawn on us that at the beginning of the journey we were told one thing, 'keep walking forward.' We are tempted to start back at the beginning, but it seems redundant as we have already begun to feed on something stronger and deeper than before and if we go back to where we were, we are always going to feel that longing for something more.

So we begin to walk. The only thing we hang on to is that faith and trust in the sign at the beginning. It takes time, but there is hope. Over time and with perseverance God rewards our obedience and we experience more than what we could hope or imagine for. The fullness of this reward may not be felt until the end of our lives, but God is faithful in providing even the smallest encouragements along the way.

So continue to walk. Our God is merciful. His love is steadfast. It is loyal.

"For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you." Psalm 86:5

A New Morning

2009-11-19T10:03:00.001-06:00

The last post depicted a beautiful morning of glittering grass and crystalline water; but this morning was damp and lacking the rays of light that helps one get out of bed. You can't help but think that it's going to be a long day, and maybe even a long journey of life before you.

I was able to peel myself out of bed, but didn't have a great grand plan for the day and that makes me feel like I will end up wasting it away...I guess I have been looking at the fact that I have four years of college in me with not much to show for it and feel discouraged that I either wasted time and money, or am missing out on the mission that God has for me. Trying to sort through life in general just has me feeling like I am pushing tar with my two weak arms. It's all just so sticky and I feel as though I am walking down a road to nowhere.

How are we called to live this life? Some days the sun just doesn't shine, and life is hard. Maybe it's not just hard, it's down right shitty. It may be hard to put a smile on the face and you really have no desire to even try...

Yet, we have the charge to, "listen to what God the LORD will say; He promises peace to his people, his saints— but let them not return to folly." (Psalm 85:8)
This verse has me trying to put things in perspective. I have been going through the book of faith; Hebrews, and have been challenged by the depth of faith that the saints exercised.

Moses was blessed and had an opportunity to rule the land of Egypt, bu instead he walked int eh truth of the ONE God, and then became the leader of the Israelites, even despite his cries to God that he was not a capable leader.

I feel this way often, and yet I don't think I could have the faith that Moses exhibited when he walked through the Red Sea as if it were dry ground. I most definitely am more like a Sarah, who understands divine providence working within the normal course of life instead of by divine miracles. (thinking of God promising her a son even in her old age)

Every day I wake up just like the rest, and wonder what life has for me today, and more often than not I don't expect life to surprise me. I don't know if I should walk in this way, but I do pray that God would increase my faith, as weak as it seems at times.

I guess...Keep Walking....Keep Seeking...Keep Living. Have Faith- and Believe- it's a new morning.

You Won't Relent by Kim Walker and Chris Quilalaa

2009-11-16T10:14:00.000-06:00

A Challenge: Take a Hike.

2009-11-16T09:17:00.000-06:00

This morning I got up

and decided to go for a walk, and I was greeted by a beautiful view. The frost was glittering on the dry wheat grass and the river was glistening in the sun.

I had left my cell phone on the counter, and took the time to listen and pray. Sometimes we need to just take a step away from our normal routine and give God the time to speak to us in new ways. This morning I was praying and asked for God to deepen a conviction of Him in my life, I felt that during my walk God was saying, "See! I'm all around you...enjoy me!"

The lyrics to this song popped in my head, and I thought I'd share them with you:

It's hard to take the first step
when I don't know the way.
Each turn is so uncertain,
I'll learn to walk by faith...
Because you've given me a promise,
That you would never leave...
You would lead and guide me,
Lord I do BELIEVE!

May this song be our prayer:

Hebrews 11: The Hall of Faith

2009-11-12T09:31:00.000-06:00

Intimidated yet? "the hall of faith" is not supposed to be something that discourages us, but rather something that spurs us on to understand what faith really is and what God desires for His children. He WANTS to reward us. God's love is so great that even though we will prove to fall short in our lives, he has promised to reward those that seek Him and live a righteous life. If you look at some of the characters that are written about in this "Faith Hall", you will find that they all failed miserably in front of God....but they also did their best to please God with their lives too.

So what is this faith? What does it look like?

Heb. 11:1 says that faith is the ASSURANCE of things hoped for and the CONVICTION of things not seen. These people make up the "clouds of witnesses" which all speak testimony to God's Glory and help to remind us to persevere in our lives.

1. ABEL- I was actually surprised to see his name here because in my mind I simply saw him as the guy that died early on because of his jealous brother. The truth is that he is included in this list because of his righteousness and obedience. Abel sacrificed his best and was rewarded with death. But he "still speaks" because of his righteous act.

God desires our best. He rewards and commends us to live sacrificial lives so we can experience freedom in Him. [an eternity living with Him on a restored earth without sin]

2. ENOCH- He was simply known for "walking with God". And that's really all we know about him. He obtained a witness before death that pleased God and was rewarded. However, without faith, it is impossible to please Him. We must believe that God is a rewarder of those that seek Him because God promises to do so!

[Gen. 15:1; Dt. 4:29; 1 Ch. 28:9; Ps. 58:11; Is. 40:10]

3. NOAH- In reverence and without "seeing" the truth of God's claims, he built a HUGE ark on dry land without the slightest hint of rain, much less a flash flood. Noah's righteousness secured his faith. His faith was expressed in his obedience.

And that is exactly what God requires of us. FAITHFULNESS to him, and OBEDIENCE. It doesn't mean we won't screw up, but it does mean that we recognize the sacrifice He gave, His love shown through His Son's sacrifice, that we accept that gift and subsequently live in FAITH that God will reward us for being OBEDIENT to Him!

May God bless you as you are FAITHFUL. :)

God's Love

2009-11-07T16:28:00.000-06:00

God has radically adjusted himself for us. A love relationship is a relationship of mutual giving and taking. It means sacrificing the things that you hold dear for the benefit of someone else. God, like I said, radically has done this for us. His love for us is shown in that he sent his one and perfect Son to die for us! God became vulnerable and in human form to take on the ultimate suffering so that we would not have to feel that depth of pain or distance from God again!

Christ, for us has said, "I will adjust to you. I will change for you. I'll serve you though it means sacrifice for me." If he has done this for us, we can and should say the same to God and others.

"Love anything and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it up carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless-it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation."

Freedom, is not the absence of limitations and constraints but it is finding the right ones, those that fit our nature and liberate us.

2 Corinthians 5:14.

Inspired by Timothy Keller in A Reason for God.

2009-11-04T08:54:00.000-06:00

"Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near."

1. CONFIDENCE: because of Christ's work we can boldly enter into the presence of God.
2. THE VIEL, HIS FLESH: when Jesus' flesh was torn at His crucifixion, so was the temple veil that symbolically separated men from God's presence. When the High Priest on the Day of Atonement entered the Holy of Holies, the people waited outside for him to return. When Christ entered the heavenly temple He did not return. Instead, He opened the curtain and exposed the Holy of Holies so that we could follow Him. Here flesh is used as was body and blood to refer to the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus.
3. DRAW WITH A SINCERE HEART: drawing near to God with a genuine desire and no ulterior motive.
4. FULL ASSURANCE OF FAITH: having an utter confidence in the promises of God.

New Music by Switchfoot

2009-11-04T08:49:00.000-06:00

Expect Miracles

2009-10-28T09:39:00.001-05:00

We are currently living in a society that expects nothing to happen.

What happens happens becuase "we" told it to, or it was a result of something we humans have done. Satan is using this belief and our lack of faith to gain grounds in our culture and our personal lives.

Satan takes hold of our weaknesses and makes them his stronghold. He is gaining ground and movement because we no longer show through our lives or faith that we believe in an all-powerful God. If we did we would be reminded daily to expect miracles instead of merely "hoping" that they "might" happen.

We have stopped training our eyes to even see the miracles of God everyday because our little faith is slowly waning. Times of challenge arise and we begin to cry our to God to do something while fully believing in our hearts that He will not. That is a lack of faith.

James 5: 14-18;
"Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much."

Ephesians 6:10-20;
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel lf peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, whihc is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-22
"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully, hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil."

These verses encourage us how we are to live, and that is in full faith of God, praying for everything, holding fast to what we know to be true, equipping ourselves for the battle that Satan is waging, and abstaining from the sin that so easily entangles us.

Completely Just- and Mighty to Save.

2009-10-22T13:59:00.000-05:00

Zephaniah 3:17

The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing."

Jerusalem did not have the best of track records as far as faithfulness to God went. Early on in the book of Zephaniah, Jerusalem was being warned of their near destruction. The prophet is warning Judah that they will be punished for their unfaithfulness and as long as they continue to walk in disobedience they will be destroyed. "Woe to the city of oppressors, rebellious and defiled! She obeys no one, she accepts no correction. She does not trust in the Lord, she does not draw near to her God."

Our Lord is a jealous God. His jealous anger is purifying and consuming. When different items take up residence in our lives, He knows and He wants us for himself. His righteousness reveals my unworthiness before him, and shows me areas where I need to be made new before Him.

What I find most encouraging is the end of Zephaniah where the prophet talks about a remnant of people who confess and find themselves holy and repentant before the Lord. Here the prophet promises, "The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. he will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."

May we be a repentant people. May we realize where we need to be changed and reformed and how we need to change so that we can stand before a holy God, because His promises are comforting and full of hope. God is mighty to save. He takes delight in us! He quiets us with His love, and rejoices over us with singing. I don't know about you but I would LOVE to hear God's voice singing over me!! :) Press on and walk in Faithfulness!

Chisel Skit: Truly Fix Me Lord.

2009-10-19T10:25:00.000-05:00

Death by Love

2009-10-19T10:14:00.000-05:00

To Choose Belief

2009-10-16T14:00:00.000-05:00

"So, as the Holy Spirit says: Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me and for for forty years saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, 'Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways'. So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.'"

(Hebrews 3:7-11)

"See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first."

(Hebrews 3:12-14)

Faith. Being sure of what you hope for, and certain of what you do not see. Do you find anything in that phrase that sounds contradictory? "Certain of what you Do Not See." sticks out to me.

As a first notion, it sounds ridiculous to believe in something that you can't see. Questions arise such as, how do you know if it's real? Can it be proven? Do I have to be certain? The truth is that there are things all around us that require our faith to believe in. We believe in faith that when someone opens their mouth to tell us something that it is truth. We believe that the sun still exists even when it is no longer shining.

God challenges us to believe and place our faith in Him, the living God. Unbelief is something that I have been battling with. When you place your trust in something and one day it seems non-existent...you can't grasp it, you can't hear it, or manage to recognize it's presence; it's hard to continue to have faith that it is still there. That's where I have been. But then I read God's word to me, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." It may not have been a sign emanating from the sky or a flash of lightning from God revealing Himself to me, yet it was God. Choose whether or not you will act in obedience and believe, or if you will disobey and willingly walk further from Him.

Developing Faith...

2009-10-10T16:07:00.000-05:00

"Jesus is so much more than a logical proof. His life is the starting point of where ours actually begins." -pg 20 UnChristian by David Kinnaman

Abram.

A man best known for his faithfulness. I don't know about you, but sometimes when I think about those known for having great faith I seem to elevate them in my mind. They are the individuals that my heart longs to be but my reason pulls back into line. Yet, this morning I was reading in Genesis about Abram and after God had called him away from his homeland, he landed himself in Egypt. There Abram's faith was tested, and he actually failed pretty badly.

Sarai, his wife was very beautiful and Abram knew that the Pharaoh would want to take her into his harem of women. If he knew that they were married, Abram was basically a dead man (so he thought). So Abram lied and said she was his sister. Where was his great faith then? Pharaoh was not a dumb man however, and when his household began to experience plagues he knew that something was up. It didn't take him long to figure out that Abram's God was punishing him so he banished Abram and Sarai.

Abram's servants probably had it good in Egypt. They had come to a land of plenty and thrived there until Abram unwisely made a decision on his own without consulting God. In their eyes his integrity was probably put to question.

But Abram didn't stop listening to God after he failed that time to trust that God his hand in the situation. The next story we read is of Abram and his nephew Lot needing to split up....

"So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold. From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel an Ai where his tent had been earlier and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord. Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. But the land could not support them while they stayed together. And quarreling arose between Abram's herdsmen and the herdsmen of Lot. The Canaanites an Perizzites were also living in the land at that time.
So Abram said to Lot, "Let's not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brother. Is not the whole land before you? Let's part company. If you go to the left, I'll go to the right; if you go to the right, I'll go to the left."
Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar. So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company. Abram lived int eh land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord."

Do you remember the scene in Finding Nemo where Dory and Marlin come upon the dark dike and they have the choice of going through or swimming over? Dory knew that for some reason they were supposed to swim through, but due to her short memory she could not remember why. Marlin looked at both choices and for him it was a no-brainer; swim over top- it looked much less ominous. Little did Marlin know that his lack of trust in his friend would get them both in very dangerous situation with hundreds of jellyfish. He trusted in his instinct over trusting in a friend.

When Abram and Lot were looking at the lands, there was one that looked much more fertile then the next. Abram had been promised by God that He would take care of him and all he had to do was have faith. Earlier in Egypt Abram had looked at the circumstances and used his own instinct to determine his actions. I'm sure that this situation was tempting to do the same in. Lot and him needed to split up; there was not room for the both of them. If God said that Abram was going to prosper than he would need a fertile land to live on, so shouldn't he have chosen the fertile land right away?

Abram's integrity probably was significantly lowered in the eyes of his servants after the incident in Egypt. Allowing Lot to choose the land first might have been a thoughtful gesture, but probably wasn't too reassuring for his servants. But this time Abram chose to trust that no matter what choice befell him, God would be with him and take care of him. Consequently, Abram drew what seemed to be the short end of the stick. However, after he allowed Lot to choose first, God blessed him and said, "Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you."

What is encouraging to me about this story is Abram's developing faith. He initially had messed up and allowed his distrust of God to direct his actions, but he learned from his mistake and the next time, even though it was tempting to assume that God had the fertile land waiting for him, he decided to allow his brother-in-law choose and trust that God had Abram's best interest in mind no matter what the outcome.

I pray that we all would have a developing faith. We are going to have times where we don't trust God in the way that we should, and God will be disappointed with us. But that is not how he wants us to live our lives. He wants us to develop in our trust of him. He has a purpose, plan, and future for us. (Jeremiah 29:11)

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1) "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made is home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God." (Hebrews 11:9-10)

God is building a foundation and future for each of us. Trust. Have a developing faith in Him. Wait and watch Him work in incredible ways in your lives.

More Pots

2009-10-06T09:13:00.000-05:00

This is an exerpt from a book I've been reading, "Unlimiting God" by Richard Blackaby. It really challenged me to put "more pots" out for God....check it out-

"There's a wonderful story in the life of the prophet Elisha, in 2 Kings 4:1-7, that illustrates this principle. Elisha was approached by a desperate, impoverished widow. Her creditor was coming to take away her two sons and sell them into slavery as compensation, and she was frantic to save her children.

Elisha asked what she possessed. All she had of value was one jar of oil. He instructed her to gather all the containers she could borrow from her neighbors. "Do not gather just a few," he urged her. She was to our her meager amount of oil into those containers, then "set aside the full ones."

If God gave you that message, how many containers would you collect? When would you decide you had gathered enough?

The prophet knew that the only limit to what God would do was how aggressively the woman believed and obeyed. The woman and her sons gathered pots and took them inside their house. At a certain point they decided they'd amassed enough. She began pouring oil from her original container into the borrowed ones. The oil miraculously kept flowing until she had filled the last pot. Seeing this miraculous supply, the widow called out to her son, "Bring me another vessel." But they'd used all the containers they had. "So the oil ceased."

Then Elisha instructed her to sell the oil, pay off her creditors, and live on the rest.

The flow of oil ceased because the widow had no capacity to recievve anything more from God. It wasn't that God couldn't keep the oil coming; the woman simply was incapable of recieveing any more. Had she collected containers more aggressively, she would have recieved more oil and earned moremoney.

As it wa, God responded to the level of her faith. Did the woamn sin in not gathering more pots? No. She recieved according to her faith.

Likewise God invites each of us to prepare for what He intends to do in our lives. Some poeple expect to do great and mighty things, so they organize themselves accordingly. Others have smaller expectations, and as a result they aren't disappointed.

What God wants to do in each of our lives is to expand our trust in Him so we gather an enourmous number of pots-- because we believe God will do a fantastic work."

What a challenge. We recieve according to our faith. I pray that God gives each of us dreams and that we expect God to follow through and do amazing things. May God increase your faith!

Saving Faith Means Dedication

2009-10-01T09:33:00.000-05:00

I ran across this during my devotions and thought I'd share:

Saving belief is not simply intellectual acceptance, but whole-hearted dedication to Jesus Christ that is permanent:

1 John 5:1-2 says,
"Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandements."

I challenge you to read up to verse four because John continues to talk about what love looks like and how we are able to have victory over the world. What comes to mind when the word dedication is thrown out? To me it has a reverence to it. It has a connection in my discipline which likewise has a bit of a negative connotation to it for me because I know how good I am at being disciplined. The idea of being a free spirit just sounds better.

The truth of it is that you will find many people claiming that they are Christians. You may even do so yourself...but if what the Bible says is true, "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments." and we are not loving each other or observing the commands of Scripture, we are NOT of Him!

What an incredible challenge. Join me in as I search for living a life of dedication to Christ before anything else.

This is my prayer for us,
"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength." Ephesians 1:17-19

~.Our Faith is the Victory Over the World.~

Passion.

2009-09-29T15:34:00.000-05:00

Passion.
Where does it come from?
Why is it needed?
How do we direct it?

That final question is one of major importance. When I am talking about passion I am talking about an intense emotion and compelling desire for a relationship with our Creator. Have you ever been sitting somewhere and listening to something and all of a sudden feel an intense emotion arise from something that was said? Maybe it was a professor that provoked you to consider doing something that you are unsure about. Maybe a moral decision has come up or you have begun to see something unjust. Many times passion is used by God to get our attention. He wants us to do something or to change our thought pattern in an area, and He begins by getting our heads out of the normal ways we think and challenges us to think differently.

Often times the term, the passion of the Christ is thrown out in regards to the final days that Christ lived on earth. Did you know that Jesus' main ministry was only 3 years long! He obviously was living righteously until this point, but it was really only 3 years that Christ served in public ministry by doing miracles, healing, and preaching around Mesopotamia. The source of Christ's passion stemmed from His love for US! He lived, He suffered, He died, He rose again; all out of love for His Father who wanted to give us a second chance at a relationship with Him!

This morning this passage stuck out to me, "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him." --1 John 4:9

If we have received and accepted Christ as the one who came to take our sins- (how we miss the mark with the Father) then our PASSION is to live through Jesus Christ. I think that is why God gives us passions and compelling desires throughout our lives.

My challenge for today is that you think about what passions God has given you and how you can use those passions for Christ and His kingdom.