Jesus

I really don't know if this post will have any relevance whatsoever to anyone, but I just wanted to put my thoughts down tonight. I read over some of my previous posts from last year and reading them I find myself kind of surprised at some of the things that were said. Not because I don't think that they came from me, or because I don't remember writing them, but because I seriously only write a post whenever I feel God is compelling me to write one. I take this deep feeling as the Holy Spirit telling me someone needs to hear the words that will be written and hopefully it's just what they need to hear at the point in life they find theirself in at that particular moment. I don't necessarily write these posts for my own enjoyment primarily. The enjoyment I get from writing these comes from knowing God is in the drivers seat of one of my deepest passions in life - writing - and knowing He is using whatever ability I have, or lack there of, for His own Glory. Lord, the CRY of my heart tonight is for You to know that this is ALL for you! I pray that people are reached by Your words alone.

I want for whoever reads this to know that I didn't start this blog for my own benefit, but for yours. I didn't start this to coach myself through my own issues I may be dealing with in life, but hopefully God shows you some comparisons between whatever is happening in my life and what is happening in yours and to see how Jesus is SO much bigger than anything you have going on. Endure, Trust, Believe, Persevere, be Pure, have Faith. For your own sake pursue these things and humble yourself before the Lord. He does not desire sacrifice! He desires a broken and contrite heart before Him, knowing that you need the fullness of life that dwells within Himself. He wants you to experience LIFE! Please accept His free gift of Grace and Walk with Jesus. He is faithful, always! Never will He EVER fail you! Humans always will have the capacity to let you down, but He doesn't even have the ability. If you ever feel like Jesus is letting you down, check your heart and your motives behind what is happening because chances are you just need your desires to match up with what His are for your life and everything will once again fall back into place. If you do this then ultimately any plan you think you may want for yourself right now or in the future is nothing compared to what the Lord has for you. His plan for your life is exactly what you were created for and will bring you the most joy out of anything you could have ever thought up for yourself. Trust me in this: follow Jesus and you will find that it is just as if you were born again, why? Because you have finally found what you were looking for, Life and it is Life to the full. Jesus is "THE Way, THE Truth and THE Life." He will never fail you. My prayer tonight is that someone, somewhere feels Jesus knocking on the door of their heart, only this time I PRAY that you would let Him in. It's a relationship, ALWAYS remember that and strive to make it the most important one in your life. He Loves YOU so much! Jesus is your answer, I promise.

Revelation 3:20

Biblical Men and Women

Ladies, this first part is for you. If you went to AFTERdark then you probably remember a quote from Joe White when he spoke that went something like this: "There isn't a more beautiful creation than a Godly woman." Let me just tell you, that is truth. A lot of women don't understand their worth, as well as men, but ladies your heart is worth more than you know. Starting in 1 Peter chapter 3 verse 3 it says "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and find clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight." Your number one goal as women, and once again as well as men, is to put God first in your life and to honor and please Him with your actions as well as your thoughts and desires. If your aim is to please a guy by trying to win him over in what you wear, how much make-up you have on, and whatever else you can think of then the guy isn't worth your time and you will only find heart-ache in doing so. If a man doesn't see your true heart, and that is hopefully for the Lord, and if he doesn't think that your relationship with Jesus is the most attractive and most important thing about you, he once again is not worth your time. All I am trying to say is: conduct yourself as pleasing to God and I promise you that if you are faithful in that then He will be faithful in putting a man that is worthy of that heart in your life, but may I add that He will only do this if having a husband is His will for your life to begin with. This is meant to be encouraging to you women out there to say that if you are pleasing the Lord and you have a "gentle and quiet spirit which is of great worth in God's sight" then I promise you that a Godly man will see this, and I also promise you that you deserve nothing less than a Godly man that finds the most attractive quality about you in your relationship with Jesus Christ. We all know that outward beauty fades, but a gentle and quiet spirit is that of "unfading beauty" remember this and constantly seek it, ladies. Never be unequally yolked with a man in a relationship because that is not what God intended for you. He intended for you to be lead and encouraged spiritually, not brought down and to see your spiritual life diminish.

Now, Men, there is a lot more I can say about us for we have a lot of responsibility on our hands. In scripture, even though it was Eve who committed the first sin it was blamed on us because we are the spiritual leaders and should constantly be seeking our relationship with Jesus so that we become more firm in our faith. As men we are bombarded with countless numbers of temptations from every direction and in many different forms: from lust to pride, from discontentment to arrogance, and from lack of identity to envy. Many times we don't even know that we are being tempted because our identity has been found in certain temptations or sins and those make us who we are. Let me just tell you that if you are caught in sin right now in any way shape or form then turn to Jesus because just as it is for the ladies and their hearts, your hearts as men are worth more than you know as well and we must submit wholly to God because He has our hearts and is fervently taking care of it. Until a woman is united with you in marriage her heart is completely God's, meaning once the two have become one flesh God gives you her heart to take care of. Maybe this makes it hit home with you in how much responsibility you will have as a husband. You are to guard her heart under every circumstance and even though the wife submits to her husband, the husband is supposed to LOVE his wife. I would encourage every man who reads this to go and search the scriptures for the meaning of love as well as purity, not just in 1 Corinthians 13 either, but everywhere and see how Jesus loved people. Because you are to serve your wife and lead her, you are to "wash her in the word of God" to encourage her in her own relationship with Christ. There is so much more in being a husband so if God has placed the desire on your heart to have a wife one day then pray and strengthen your relationship with Jesus so that he may build you up into the man you NEED to be for your wife one day. And one more thing that may be the most convicting is something I heard from my pastor on how you should pursue a woman: she is your sister in Christ until God unites you both in marriage, so treat her as such.

Philippians 1:27 "Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ."

ALL Glory, Honor, Power and Praise is Yours Forever and Ever, Amen!

Do you think there will ever be anything you can possibly do that will ever separate you from God's love? The answer is the only thing standing in the way of your perception of God's love for you is yourself. Once you realize that God really does love you, there is absolutely NOTHING that can separate you from the love of God; "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." How amazing is that!? "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:14-16

Understand what all this means: Jesus desires for our hearts to be filled by Him and not by the world. For scripture says that satin is the prince of this world. A good friend of mine always says "if you put trash in, trash is all that will come out" (T.V., internet, bad movies, bad music, etc.) It may be subtly because honestly all Christians, when we haven't spent time with God, can hide sin for a while, but eventually Jesus will always bring you to your knees. The great thing about being on your knees in this position already is we can "approach the throne of grace with confidence," what better way to approach a throne then on your knees? The key to this though is confidence. You have to know that Jesus is waiting for your heart to be His again and not your own. You have to know that Jesus truly LOVES you, this isn't like your husband or wife or mother or father kind of love, this is a love that surpasses all understanding, so you have to know that this love is beyond anything we have or will ever feel, until we are with Christ. Try and get to the heart of the matter when reading scripture and understand simple words that have such a deeper meaning than what they are used in every day life, such as love, grace, mercy, forgiveness, confidence, fear, Jesus, sovereignty, sanctification, praise, honor, glory, the list goes on...

Allow Jesus to work in your heart when you spend time with Him and I promise you if you pray a prayer that allows Him to do so, He will honor it and bless you for it because that is all He wants - your heart. I have been learning more and more just how the fullness of life dwells within Jesus and what the fullness of life really means. Just the depth that's there is so amazing and it's hard to comprehend just the little bits He allows me to see each day or week, let alone the whole picture. The beauty in it is that He is allowing me to see the changes being made in my life, little by little. The main thing you need to understand when reading the Bible or praying is that you yourself are a spiritual being, not a physical one. As humans we inhabit time and therefore that makes us physical, but our spirit is eternal and that is what needs to be fed in order to truly "live life to the full" in Jesus Christ our Lord. When you understand that you are a spiritual being it is easier to understand who Jesus is and why He desires to have a relationship with you. When you take your focus off of the physical (temporal), there is only one thing left, spiritual (eternal). Fix your eyes on Jesus, give Him your WHOLE heart and do it with confidence knowing, by faith, that He will take care of it (you have to remember it was God who "knit you in your mothers womb" He created your heart, He knows it better than anyone, would you you not want it in His hands anyway)? Then you will be able to say "ALL Glory, Honor, Power and Praise IS Yours Forever and Ever, Amen!

Imitation, but Dig Deeper.

"I like your Christ, but I don't like your Christians. Your Christians are nothing like your Christ." (Gandhi) That is the reason people see Jesus in a negative light because us "Christians" don't embody Christ as He embodied Himself. Let's show the world who the fullness of Christ is, but that will only begin when you yourself understand the personality of Christ Himself, and that will only happen when your relationship with Him becomes more intimate, meaningful, and true. STEP UP! "Let us not conform to the ways of this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve God's perfect will, His good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2

Everyone, if you are suffering through some sort of loss, pain, or trial know that it is because God loves you not the contrary. "Consider it pure joy my brothers (that includes you too sisters) when you face trials of many kinds for the testing of your faith developes perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4 He releases His hand for a short while so that you can learn how to walk, then, after a short while, He returns, only to help you be able to run. He builds you for His glory and His glory alone, nothing we do apart from Christ matters. Be rooted to the vine at all times (John 15). Pray for your brothers and sisters in the faith, that we may become one in the body of Christ (Ephesians - Church and James) and help one another out with each other's struggles. But even in that be vulnerable and open, be honest and true about what you need help with; confess your sins to one another so that through prayer and brokenness Jesus may enter your sorrow with passion and begin His work of sanctification. For only the Lord knows everything about you - your true heart - and only He can fix the mess that we have created. The more real you are with yourself and with God the more He can come into your life and begin to help.

Love one another, deeply from the heart, not superficially. Care for one another and help each other through discipleship, prayer, and acts of faith. Hold each other accountable for if we do not help out our brothers and sisters in this way then instead of it being 'Christian friendship it is really just going through the motions and the start of heading down the path of Christian fakery.' You are responsible for the lives of those around you who call themselves Christians because if someone says "I am a Christian" then they are called to live above reproach - a higher standard. Don't be fake and beat around the bush that you are helping someone when you don't get to "the heart of the matter" with them about their sin; help them.

So I sum this blog post up with this: Love one another and search the Scriptures to understand what the word "LOVE" truly means and then apply it to your life. For if you understand Love then you will understand the two greatest commandments Jesus states "Love the Lord your God with all your heart soul and mind and then Love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 23:37-38

Put Into Practice

I long to see those I love come to the Lord. My last post was all about how knowing scripture is a great thing, but knowing the Lord is so much more valuable. To be honest, I haven't had much practice at sharing the Gospel with people and have therefore felt inadequate in the earlier stages of my faith, thinking I was doing something wrong, or that I wasn't "holy" enough. But now, being more mature in my faith, it's easy to see my past errors. Today I got to share the love of Christ with someone who is very dear to me. It's one thing to write about how experiences can or should go, but it's quite another to see them 'put into practice.' It was a very humbling experience just sharing what Christ has done in my life, and sharing my knowledge of the Word. But the greatest thing hands down was knowing that it wasn't me who said any of it, what I mean is, the Spirit took care of it all. When you completely trust in the Lord and give everything to Him it's so much simpler to understand that He is the only thing worth living for and that He is the only good that ever comes out. Letting myself be less so that He can be more is an amazing feeling when it happens. You feel as if the weight of your past burdens are lifted from you because you know that they are taken care of if you can just trust (i.e. it's in His hands).

For many, trust is a big issue, mostly because they don't trust themselves enough and therefore, project their own problems on others when in all actuality it's really them doing it. If you can't trust yourself you'll never be able to trust someone else. Just like the saying goes: "you can't help someone who doesn't want to help themselves." Deny yourself and take up your cross and walk with the Lord. It's so hard to deny yourself each day to do what is asked of you, but it's so rewarding letting Christ do His work in you. The only thing in the way of us becoming completely like Christ is ourselves. In the end it's you who stands in His way of having your whole heart.

So now, I challenge you to deny yourself, to get in the Word each day, and to know Christ. Trust in Him and He WILL take care of you. He has worked wonders in my life and has worked wonders for many others I know. He's waiting for you. Will you allow Him to do His mighty work and change you from the inside out? I encourage you to let Him; it'll be the greatest decision you ever make.

A Fresh Start

Don't you love it when you sit down to have a quiet time and God gives you exactly what you needed? Yesterday I read another day's devotional in the book called My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers. It talked about how knowing Christ is so much more valuable than knowing scripture. When I stopped to think about how true that statement was it made me see having quiet times in a totally different light. I don't pick up my Bible so that I can say "hey I know this verse and I know all about this book in the Bible," but even though my goal is to get to know Christ better than I did each time I pick up my Bible to have a quiet time, it was never in my mind just how important it was to have that personal relationship compared to just knowing scripture. I think probably most Christians think the same way: as long as I'm getting more knowledge then I'm doing okay, right? Yes it's great to get more knowledge so you have a solid foundation of truth to stand on when adversity comes your way, but knowing Christ is so much more important. Think of it this way, when you are witnessing to someone (sharing your faith) and you start throwing out scripture that's all it becomes. Most of the time when all you are talking about is what Jesus did in the new testament or what God did in the old Testament it brings up more questions then answers, especially to a new believer. But when you share your relationship with Christ people start to see and understand 'real life' application of Jesus and the miracles He works in us everyday.

Don't let yourself lose sight of the true goal and that's Christ. If your goal is to know Christ more everyday then you will find that your love for Him will become deeper every day, ultimately giving you all the tools you need to share your faith. When you grow with Christ you "grow in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man" Luke 2:52 which is what we should be aspiring to each day. Share the Gospel and use scripture to make points to back up your own personal relationship with Christ because if using scripture is all you do and don't share your relationship with Christ then you've missed the goal completely.

Broken

Broken. I can't really express the feeling of losing something very dear to you, but for those of you who have felt it maybe you can understand my pain. Even though my heart has been crushed, God is bigger than this. So much bigger in fact, that my issues pale in comparison to the rest of the world, but that's the beauty of our Lord, He still cares. Today the feeling of being broken, even now, is coupled with relief and joy. It brings me to tears to think of my loss at this moment, but even more so thinking of how much my father in heaven cares; and to know His plan in this is so grand.

I have prayed many things over the last few days and I asked God to have it just fall away if it wasn't of Him. And even though it hurts so bad to know that breaking my heart was His plan for me, especially knowing the history behind my dilemma, knowing that He had to break my heart so He could build it up the way He wants is so much more beautiful and precious to me. It's amazing being able to see God's grace even in our most troubling of times... I still can't believe that what has been for so long is now gone, but knowing that God is right here beside me is comforting. "I miss my friend" and even though that may be true my loss has reunited me with my Lord and savior.

Love hurts and it's definitely not easy, but going through this trial is showing me just how much God loves me and how he feels about me every day. All I can do is put it all in His hands and follow Him wherever He leads me. It's going to be very difficult though, but I'm ready. Praise the Lord even through the storm. "When life is in discord, Praise be the Lord." - Anberlin