Well it's been a while again. I should probably be studying for my test on Thursday...but who needs to study really haha. I learned a lot over the past week at Big Break in Panama City Beach Florida! It was so great to have awesome fellowship and to learn more about the gospel and how to share God's love effectively with those around us. God let me experience his beauty through the gospel today!
This morning when I woke up, I was really praying for God to use me for His glory today and boy did he! I was so blessed to have two, not just one, but TWO good conversations today with friends! When you are willing, God WILL use you!
Hebrews 12:1-2 says,
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
Whoa. I think this is such a powerful couple of verses. If you just meditate on it for a few minutes it really sinks in how our lives should be poured out for Jesus!
The thing is, if you are a Christian you are a witness of Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter if you are a good witness or a not so good one, you are still one if you believe in His name. As witnesses of Christ, we should "throw off everything that hinders, and the sin that so easily entangles." I just love the rich use of words here, like "throwing off" and "easily entangles". They just give such good imagery of what this verse is conveying. We shouldn't just set aside the things that we struggle with and say, "oh yeah I'm so mature now, I don't struggle with this sin anymore." Really? Because last time I checked we're all still sinners no matter how spiritually mature we are and we need His grace just as much now as we did before we accepted Jesus. We are made alive by Christ's sacrifice and we only need embrace it by throwing off everything that hinders us because it easily entangles us again and again. Once you give yourself away under the power of the Holy Spirit, that sin is conquered BUT it is a continuous action: surrendering yourself to him every day.
I also love how it describes a race being run with perseverance. When you are running a race where do you fix your eyes? On the finish line of course. We need to fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
God reveals his beauty to us every day through the gospel and allowing us the privilege of sharing it with the people we love; with the people he loves. It's such an amazing feeling to be seen as precious enough to him that he would trust us with this gift of life and that should motivate us to tell every one that they are precious to him; YOU are PRECIOUS in his eyes. :)
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Spring Break!
It's almost time for spring break, which means that BIG BREAK is almost here!!! ahhhh!!! I'm sooooo sooooo soooo excited! Not only do I get to spend a whole week in Florida with a bunch of my closest friends BUTTTT, I get to tell other college students about the best person ever----JESUS!!! I know God is going to move in the hearts of the students from our campus and also in the hearts of college students all over the country!! I'm so ready for God to rock my world!! I know that he is going to grow me closer to him through this experience and I'm going to get to see others draw closer to him as well! So fellow bloggers, or whoever reads this, please pray for the whole trip in general! Thank you thank you!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
It's your life: what are you going to do with it?
I haven't blogged in forever so this is going to be a little scatter brained because God has been teaching me a bunch in the past week. Don't you find it funny that we worry sooo much about little things every day when we know the Creator of the universe? I mean really how silly is it that we worry when everything is in His hands. I can honestly say that I am a HUGE worry wart. My prayers usually go something like "Okay God, I know that you are with me always and I know this is in your hands, but I'm really freaking out and I can't do this on my own." So what's wrong with this? I'm still worried even though I'm saying I trust Him! I frustrate myself so much sometimes. I'm saying I KNOW he is in control, but I'm not sure that its going to work out. Like really, He is the God of the universe I'm positive whatever I'm worried about is going to work out. So what does it mean to TRULY TRUST Him in EVERY situation?
Romans 8: 31-32 says:
"What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?"
God willingly gave his only son for us, why would he ever give us any less than everything? He already has. If we can put our trust in money, relationships, our to do list, any other thing that we depend on every day to get us through the day, why can't we trust God who has given us every reason to trust him?
It's more than just saying you trust him, it's actually DOING it. You can trust that a chair is going to hold you up without sitting in it, but you're not going to actually know it will hold you up until you let it; by sitting down in it. So how do we let him hold us up? By letting go.
The believers in Acts Chapter 2: 42-47 paint a beautiful picture of this
"They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Thy sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
Wow. These people devoted themselves to the word, fellowship, and prayer. They gave up EVERYTHING, sold their property and gave their possessions to anyone who needed them and God added to the number daily of those who were being saved. When you devote yourself to something, you're ready to give up everything. You're invested. You're heart and soul are lost in something. God wants us to be devoted to him. He made us so we couldn't be without him, so that without him we would feel empty and never be satisfied, but with him we would have everything.
Paul said in Phillipians 3:8
"What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ."
Once we are completely emptied, He can fill us. Everything we have is worth giving up to gain a relationship with Christ for eternity.
And why shouldn't we trust Christ in EVERY situation? Paul was willing to die for the sake of preaching the gospel- Phillipians 1: 18-20
"Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death."
Paul wasn't worried about what was going to happen to him, he knew that God had his back and no matter what happened, it would happen for the glory of God and he praised Him for that!
God has taught me so much about why I should trust him and how to trust him in every situation. By the power of his Holy Spirit, I'm continually sacrificing my plans to him each day. We get so caught up in our own agenda and we forget about his. Our planners become our obsession. It's easy to get caught up in the schedule of a college student, but with prayer and repetition, his plans become our plans. And we can trust that He is faithful to provide in every situation.
Romans 8: 31-32 says:
"What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?"
God willingly gave his only son for us, why would he ever give us any less than everything? He already has. If we can put our trust in money, relationships, our to do list, any other thing that we depend on every day to get us through the day, why can't we trust God who has given us every reason to trust him?
It's more than just saying you trust him, it's actually DOING it. You can trust that a chair is going to hold you up without sitting in it, but you're not going to actually know it will hold you up until you let it; by sitting down in it. So how do we let him hold us up? By letting go.
The believers in Acts Chapter 2: 42-47 paint a beautiful picture of this
"They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Thy sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
Wow. These people devoted themselves to the word, fellowship, and prayer. They gave up EVERYTHING, sold their property and gave their possessions to anyone who needed them and God added to the number daily of those who were being saved. When you devote yourself to something, you're ready to give up everything. You're invested. You're heart and soul are lost in something. God wants us to be devoted to him. He made us so we couldn't be without him, so that without him we would feel empty and never be satisfied, but with him we would have everything.
Paul said in Phillipians 3:8
"What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ."
Once we are completely emptied, He can fill us. Everything we have is worth giving up to gain a relationship with Christ for eternity.
And why shouldn't we trust Christ in EVERY situation? Paul was willing to die for the sake of preaching the gospel- Phillipians 1: 18-20
"Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death."
Paul wasn't worried about what was going to happen to him, he knew that God had his back and no matter what happened, it would happen for the glory of God and he praised Him for that!
God has taught me so much about why I should trust him and how to trust him in every situation. By the power of his Holy Spirit, I'm continually sacrificing my plans to him each day. We get so caught up in our own agenda and we forget about his. Our planners become our obsession. It's easy to get caught up in the schedule of a college student, but with prayer and repetition, his plans become our plans. And we can trust that He is faithful to provide in every situation.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Lessons of confession and joy :)
God has been teaching me soo soo much lately so I'm not sure if I can focus on just one thing so sorry if this blog is a little all over the place! But anyway, I've been learning lately a lot about confession, desire, and joy. I know these seem kind of random, but it's pretty neat how they fit together.
I've been reading the book, Set-Apart Feminity by Leslie Ludy and going over this whole process of what she calls fortification. I would kind of explain it like this: Building a wall around ourselves that is impenetrable by the enemy so we can be more like Christ. One of things that has recently been popping up in my book and also bible study is confession. In order to realize where we are letting the enemy have access we must first identify those areas in which we are weak. I've been continually asking God to show me my unconfessed sin and where the enemy is targeting me. I've found that one of the areas was just confession in general. Was I being sincere? Was I actually saying I'm wrong and you're right God? 1John 5-6 says:
"This is the message we have heard from him
and declare to you: God is light; in him there
is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship
with him yet walk in the darkness,
we lie and do not live by the truth."
By not bringing my sin into the light, my fellowship with God was hindered because God is light and he can't dwell within us if we are walking in the darkness. All God requires of us is a broken spirit and He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.
Now, to have earthly desires is not a bad thing. Everyone desires to get married, buy a house, start a family, but its when our lives are consumed by these desires that is where the trouble starts. Galatians 5: 16 says:
"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not
gratify the desires of the sinful nature."
Skipping to versus 18-23
"But if you are led by the Spirit, you
are not under law. The acts of the sinful
nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity
and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft;
hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage,
selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and
envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I
warn you, as I did before, that those who live
like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness and self-control. Against such
things there is no law."
Sometimes I have days when I can't see the fruits of the spirit in my life. And I often wonder, why is this happening? Why am I not joyful, patient, or gentle? And I realize that when this does happen the question I should ask myself should be, what desire of the flesh am I letting myself be consumed by?
If we are walking with the spirit and desiring the spirit, then we will produce his fruit, BUT if we are desiring the things of the flesh, then the result will lead to sin. The characteristics of God are encompassed in the fruits of the Spirit and are GOOD. Verse 23 says "there is no law against such things." But the desires of the flesh are sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery, and it says "those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." Verses 24 and 25 say:
"Those who belong to
Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature
with its passions and desires. Since we live
by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the
Spirit."
Galatians 5:1 says, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." Christ set us free from sinful desires! If we don't accept this freedom and desire the things of the Spirit, it's like saying okay I know that my jail sentence is up, but I'll stay in jail for a little longer! That is just crazy! We should live in the freedom that Christ gave us and keep in step with the Spirit by continually confessing our sin and asking to be filled by Him!
Finally, there is joy in freedom. Just knowing that Christ died to set us free should be our joy EVERY DAY! Even though circumstances change, we have been saved from eternal death by grace through faith in Jesus Christ! That alone should be our reason to be joyful no matter what little things in our day or our week go wrong, we know that we have eternal life and peace in Jesus Christ.
I'm so thankful for the Spirit's teaching in my life lately. As a Christian, I think if we are not struggling to grow, then we can't be walking with the Spirit because Hebrews 4:12 says,
"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
We should be convicted by the word. It should point out our sin and bring us to repentance. Oswald Chambers says, "The Word of God inflicts hurt on us more than sin ever could, because sin dulls our senses." Wow.
This is the joy we have in Jesus, He loves us so much that he is always trying to lead us closer to him and closer to the overwhelming peace that can only be found in trusting him. He doesn't want us to be unaware of our sin, so the Holy Spirit is always leading us to repent and turn back away from our sin so we can grow closer to Him. So ultimately, confession leads to JOY!! Because once we have let Jesus take our burdens, we are free from sin and death and can enter into a relationship with the greatest love of all time; JESUS! :)
I've been reading the book, Set-Apart Feminity by Leslie Ludy and going over this whole process of what she calls fortification. I would kind of explain it like this: Building a wall around ourselves that is impenetrable by the enemy so we can be more like Christ. One of things that has recently been popping up in my book and also bible study is confession. In order to realize where we are letting the enemy have access we must first identify those areas in which we are weak. I've been continually asking God to show me my unconfessed sin and where the enemy is targeting me. I've found that one of the areas was just confession in general. Was I being sincere? Was I actually saying I'm wrong and you're right God? 1John 5-6 says:
"This is the message we have heard from him
and declare to you: God is light; in him there
is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship
with him yet walk in the darkness,
we lie and do not live by the truth."
By not bringing my sin into the light, my fellowship with God was hindered because God is light and he can't dwell within us if we are walking in the darkness. All God requires of us is a broken spirit and He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.
Now, to have earthly desires is not a bad thing. Everyone desires to get married, buy a house, start a family, but its when our lives are consumed by these desires that is where the trouble starts. Galatians 5: 16 says:
"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not
gratify the desires of the sinful nature."
Skipping to versus 18-23
"But if you are led by the Spirit, you
are not under law. The acts of the sinful
nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity
and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft;
hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage,
selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and
envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I
warn you, as I did before, that those who live
like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness and self-control. Against such
things there is no law."
Sometimes I have days when I can't see the fruits of the spirit in my life. And I often wonder, why is this happening? Why am I not joyful, patient, or gentle? And I realize that when this does happen the question I should ask myself should be, what desire of the flesh am I letting myself be consumed by?
If we are walking with the spirit and desiring the spirit, then we will produce his fruit, BUT if we are desiring the things of the flesh, then the result will lead to sin. The characteristics of God are encompassed in the fruits of the Spirit and are GOOD. Verse 23 says "there is no law against such things." But the desires of the flesh are sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery, and it says "those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." Verses 24 and 25 say:
"Those who belong to
Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature
with its passions and desires. Since we live
by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the
Spirit."
Galatians 5:1 says, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." Christ set us free from sinful desires! If we don't accept this freedom and desire the things of the Spirit, it's like saying okay I know that my jail sentence is up, but I'll stay in jail for a little longer! That is just crazy! We should live in the freedom that Christ gave us and keep in step with the Spirit by continually confessing our sin and asking to be filled by Him!
Finally, there is joy in freedom. Just knowing that Christ died to set us free should be our joy EVERY DAY! Even though circumstances change, we have been saved from eternal death by grace through faith in Jesus Christ! That alone should be our reason to be joyful no matter what little things in our day or our week go wrong, we know that we have eternal life and peace in Jesus Christ.
I'm so thankful for the Spirit's teaching in my life lately. As a Christian, I think if we are not struggling to grow, then we can't be walking with the Spirit because Hebrews 4:12 says,
"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
We should be convicted by the word. It should point out our sin and bring us to repentance. Oswald Chambers says, "The Word of God inflicts hurt on us more than sin ever could, because sin dulls our senses." Wow.
This is the joy we have in Jesus, He loves us so much that he is always trying to lead us closer to him and closer to the overwhelming peace that can only be found in trusting him. He doesn't want us to be unaware of our sin, so the Holy Spirit is always leading us to repent and turn back away from our sin so we can grow closer to Him. So ultimately, confession leads to JOY!! Because once we have let Jesus take our burdens, we are free from sin and death and can enter into a relationship with the greatest love of all time; JESUS! :)
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
The First Steps Towards True Beauty- A Devotional by Leslie Ludy
The first step to discovering true feminine beauty is exchanging all that we are for all that He is. If we rely on something that we possess to make us beautiful, we cannot receive the supernatural, transforming beauty of Jesus Christ. True beauty is impossible outside of Him. If we obtain a worldly outer beauty, even if we become the most gorgeous, desirable, sought-after model in the world, we only have a propped-up, hollow, fleeting appeal that quickly fades with time and age. Proverbs 1:30 says, “Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing.” Have you ever seen a glamorous movie star on the cover of a tabloid once she has become old and lost her beauty? All the appeal and allure she once possessed has faded into oblivion, and the only thing left is what she has on the inside – which, sadly, is not very attractive in most cases.
If we muster all the human heroism and try to become a “good person”, we only have a self-made, faltering form of goodness that can never stand against the stunning righteousness of Jesus Christ. Isaiah 64:6 says it perfectly: “…we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” (NKJV)
Any human beauty, any human value that we might find within ourselves is just a filthy rag compared to the limitless beauty and glory of Jesus Christ. Christ’s beauty is perfect. And, in spite of what we deserve, He desires to adorn us with His spectacular glory. It is not our unique beauty that must shine for this world to see. It is not our own beauty that we must discover and embrace – it is His.
Spurgeon said:
If a soul has any beauty, it is because Christ has endowed that soul with His own, for in ourselves we are deformed and defiled! There is no beauty in any of us but what our Lord has worked in us.
True feminine beauty is not a complicated formula involving hundreds of rules to remember. It’s not something that requires spending two years at finishing school or being groomed as a beauty pageant queen. It is the natural byproduct of a young woman who has emptied herself, given up her own life, and allowed God’s Spirit complete access to every dimension of her inner and outer life.*
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