Who is the first person that comes to mind when you are asked that question?
Does that person treasure the fact that they have your heart? Do they know that they have it? Who do you want to say has your heart?
There have been a few instances in my short life that the person whose name would come to mind with that question, did not in any way deserve to have my heart. And yet, I wanted to give it to them regardless of their treatment of me. I wanted so badly for them to treasure my heart, but instead they didn't care.
Proverbs 4:23 says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."
That is such a powerful statement. It's a statement that goes deeper when you look at it.
It doesn't say, "Guard your heart except when it would hurt someone's feelings" or "Guard your heart except when dating" or "Guard your heart except when you are making friends." It says above ALL. More important than everything, GUARD YOUR HEART! No matter what.
Guard in the original Hebrew context means "to guard, in a good sense (to protect, maintain, obey,etc.) 'A verb meaing to guard, to keep, to preserve, to hide.'"
The word refers to "people maintaining things entrusted to them...our hearts ought to be maintained in a right state."
I love how it says "people maintaining things entrusted to them." God has entrusted our hearts to us. He desires us to take care of them until he calls us back home. He has given us our own hearts in complete desire that we offer them right back to him.
How much do you think it hurts him to see us offering our hearts to anyone that will take them, only for them to toss it to the ground when He desires it with every fiber of his being!? He died, giving his life in hope that we would see his complete love and desire for us, and in turn give him our heart.
We are what he wants! We are his inheritance, his reward, his glory!(Ephesians 1:3-23)
He wants to love us, cherish us, give us joy and satisfaction. We so often are out looking for the person who will fight for us, who wants nothing but our heart, who will give us an everlasting joy and satisfaction. Why then do we look at this earth?? Christ is what we are seeking! Look up! Look up!
HE is what you desire. He is everything you could ever possibly want and more!
He is crying out for your heart. Look around you. He made this earth to swoon you! He made the birds to sing to you, the trees to whisper to you, the sunrises to inspire you. He created all of this for you. He is trying to get your attention! He is vying for your affection!
OH HOW HE LOVES YOU!!!
"That the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored." 2 Thessalonians 3:1
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Walking Past Jesus
This week I was thinking about why so many in the church still do not KNOW God. Many know about Him, but from recent observations and conversations, few truly know God intimately.
And so I began to ask myself, well why do we not know God as we ought? And the answer came down to this:
We don't care about God until we need him.
Once we need Him, that's when we finally start to search after him and seek after his truth and comfort. The irony, however, is that every single person on this earth is in need of God, not just a select few.
But how do we show people their need for a Savior? You can't. That is solely the work of the Holy Spirit. But what is beautiful is that God has called us into his work, and by our prayers and love we can be used to help lead people to this place of receiving.
People must come to a place of utter brokenness, knowing there is no other hope for them. No one is going to care about God or his Word until they come to a realization that they are sick, sick with sin.
Jesus said in Mark 2:17, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
The righteous will see no need for God, but those who are sick will realize the absolute necessity and glory of knowing God.
The irony of it all is that "there is no one righteous, not even one;" and if no one is righteous then we are all sinners. And sin is what makes one spiritually sick.
As believers, on this earth you are being healed day in and day out. I HAVE NEED! I am sick. I struggle with fear, anxiety, pride, selfishness, the list goes on. I am sick with sin, and I realized that my nature is in polar opposition to Jesus Christ.
He says love, I'm prone to hate.
He says to wait, I'm prone to rush.
He says go, I'm prone to stay.
He says no, I'm prone to say yes.
He says repent, I'm prone to pride.
He says mourn, I'm prone to laugh.
He says grace, I'm prone to judge.
I was sick and dying.
But all it took was this sick sinner walking into the throne room of Jehovah Rapha and falling on my face, confessing my illness.
And instead of condemning me, do you know what he did? He stepped down from his throne, came and lifted my face, and held me close forgiving all that I had done against him. For with every sin, I was spitting on his cross, dishonoring all that he had done.
But there is no condemnation in my Savior's eyes. He gave me his Word to bring Life back into my soul.
God's Word is the Life, that has since that day, brought spiritual health back to these bones. But it is the Word that so many neglect. The neglection of the Word is why so little of the church truly know their God.
John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
Therefore, the Word is Jesus Christ.
Neglect the Word, and you neglect Jesus Christ.
People are not being healed because they are seeking healing from everyone except the Healer. The Word, Jesus Christ, WILL HEAL YOU. Whether it be from spiritual or physical sickness.
Every time we pass by our Bible with the thought of reading it, but the excuse that we don't have time, we are passing by Jesus.
The Word of God is the avenue of how the church will become the Church. People know little of scripture, and therefore they know little of their God.
We have got to bring back the Word into our daily lives. If Jesus was in your home, physically, would you pass by him day after day? Heavens no! If we know him. we would run to his side and never want to leave it! But if Scripture tells us that Jesus is one with the Word, then why do we disregard the Word so much?
Brothers and sisters, I pray that a new found hunger and thirst for God and His Word would come upon us. That we would be starving for HIS Truth, not the world's. His Word is Life.
You are beloved, you are special, you are chosen. But you will never fully understand that until you understand what all He has done for you in the past. He talks about you in His Word, he makes incredible promises to you in His Word. It is hope, peace, rest and healing.
In Him is truly all that we need.
And so I began to ask myself, well why do we not know God as we ought? And the answer came down to this:
We don't care about God until we need him.
Once we need Him, that's when we finally start to search after him and seek after his truth and comfort. The irony, however, is that every single person on this earth is in need of God, not just a select few.
But how do we show people their need for a Savior? You can't. That is solely the work of the Holy Spirit. But what is beautiful is that God has called us into his work, and by our prayers and love we can be used to help lead people to this place of receiving.
People must come to a place of utter brokenness, knowing there is no other hope for them. No one is going to care about God or his Word until they come to a realization that they are sick, sick with sin.
Jesus said in Mark 2:17, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
The righteous will see no need for God, but those who are sick will realize the absolute necessity and glory of knowing God.
The irony of it all is that "there is no one righteous, not even one;" and if no one is righteous then we are all sinners. And sin is what makes one spiritually sick.
As believers, on this earth you are being healed day in and day out. I HAVE NEED! I am sick. I struggle with fear, anxiety, pride, selfishness, the list goes on. I am sick with sin, and I realized that my nature is in polar opposition to Jesus Christ.
He says love, I'm prone to hate.
He says to wait, I'm prone to rush.
He says go, I'm prone to stay.
He says no, I'm prone to say yes.
He says repent, I'm prone to pride.
He says mourn, I'm prone to laugh.
He says grace, I'm prone to judge.
I was sick and dying.
But all it took was this sick sinner walking into the throne room of Jehovah Rapha and falling on my face, confessing my illness.
And instead of condemning me, do you know what he did? He stepped down from his throne, came and lifted my face, and held me close forgiving all that I had done against him. For with every sin, I was spitting on his cross, dishonoring all that he had done.
But there is no condemnation in my Savior's eyes. He gave me his Word to bring Life back into my soul.
God's Word is the Life, that has since that day, brought spiritual health back to these bones. But it is the Word that so many neglect. The neglection of the Word is why so little of the church truly know their God.
John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
Therefore, the Word is Jesus Christ.
Neglect the Word, and you neglect Jesus Christ.
People are not being healed because they are seeking healing from everyone except the Healer. The Word, Jesus Christ, WILL HEAL YOU. Whether it be from spiritual or physical sickness.
Every time we pass by our Bible with the thought of reading it, but the excuse that we don't have time, we are passing by Jesus.
The Word of God is the avenue of how the church will become the Church. People know little of scripture, and therefore they know little of their God.
We have got to bring back the Word into our daily lives. If Jesus was in your home, physically, would you pass by him day after day? Heavens no! If we know him. we would run to his side and never want to leave it! But if Scripture tells us that Jesus is one with the Word, then why do we disregard the Word so much?
Brothers and sisters, I pray that a new found hunger and thirst for God and His Word would come upon us. That we would be starving for HIS Truth, not the world's. His Word is Life.
You are beloved, you are special, you are chosen. But you will never fully understand that until you understand what all He has done for you in the past. He talks about you in His Word, he makes incredible promises to you in His Word. It is hope, peace, rest and healing.
In Him is truly all that we need.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Is this what Church is supposed to be?
On the news this week they had a poll that said 3.4% of Americans are LGBT. (And before some of you get all hot headed and red faced...this is not about people's lifestyle choices. Just keep reading to see my point). I was shocked at the number being so small because they have such a loud voice in American politics and policies.
3.4%
That is such a small number. So then I wanted to see what the percentage of Christians in America is.
78% (according to NPR).
LOL!!! Literally....that number made me laugh.
I am completely shocked and at the same time horrified. If that is a fact...which I assume it is, that 78% of people in America consider themselves Christian or mostly affiliated with Christian beliefs, WHAT IN THE WORLD is going on here in America?!!!!?
If only 3.4% of people are LGBT and they have such a loud voice in our culture and government, then why is a group that is 23x bigger have little to no say at all in this nation?
It's because that 78% of Americans who call themselves Christians don't have half the passion about their beliefs as that 3.4%.
That's what I believe it boils down to.
So where is this passion for the God that is believed in by 78% of Americans?
Why are we not shifting our own country with this passion, that when seen and heard is so contagious!?
There is a disconnect somewhere...Our country is about 236 years old this year...and yet the country has only drifted from our foundation of faith. If even half of 78% go to church (39%)...why are we not seeing generations rise up and stand up as what God has called us to be? L.R. Shelton says, "Seemingly everybody seems to be 'born again'; but where are the fruits of the new birth?...Where is the Christ-like life?...those whom the Lord Jesus Christ is precious and a living reality?"
I'm going to step into the line of fire and say the disconnect comes in the church.
Something is going wrong in the church. If we can call it that at anymore. Now, I know this may sound harsh, but just follow me here.
Firstly I do want to say that the Bride of Christ is to be loved. I seek everyday to love the church, the bride of Christ, with all of its imperfections because Jesus Christ loved the church first. There are many churches who are the true Bride of Christ, so please know that I am not speaking of every church in America.
But what many Americans have begun to call the church, is in fact no church at all. Paul Washer said himself, "I believe alot of churches in America are not churches." The church is meant so serve as an ignition, a fan to the flame of fervor and passion for our Savior. But instead...millions leave church every Sunday feeling no different then when they entered.
"The majority of what calls itself Christianity today is a circus. You've got a bunch of people chasing health, wealth, prosperity; chasing a good time, chasing the social club, chasing where the action's happening, chasing the good music and the good times. But few people are out there chasing God, and truly going hard after Him, and truly making the sacrifices in their life and cleaning their hands in such a way and working to have a pure heart that they might actually ascend that hill of the Lord and they might actually commune with God in a way that few people do and few people know about." ~ Tim Conway
It breaks my heart, but it is what I have begun to see. Charles Spurgeon's prophecy has become largely true, "A time will come when instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, the church will have clowns entertaining the goats." - Spurgeon (TruthSource)
How did this happen? How did this happen when we were on watch? My heart literally aches to think that while I have been on watch, in the church, for 23 years, this has happened.
I feel like David when Goliath was running his mouth about the Living God. Davide stood in shock amongst the Israelites, saying, "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" (1 Samuel 17:21).
Who are these men and women coming amongst the Bride of Christ looking for fame, wealth, favor of men and ease of living? Who are they that they should dilute the Gospel of God and seek to simply entertain people?
I do not go to church to sit in a comfortable chair, amongst pleasant well-dressed people, and get a good laugh. I go to church to be convicted and challenged in my faith, to experience the presence of God Almighty, and to feel refreshed and filled by the Word of God.
Can you only imagine the sorrow of our Savior to see what has become of many of his Bride's homes? May it not be so! May we not grieve or quench the Spirit of the Lord any longer!
But what has happened, how did this happen?
We began to let our flesh speak over our spirit. We began to notice the nice huge churches, and all the fun things they brought into the temple. We liked convenience, and media, and tech savvy presentations. And before we knew it, we were overcome with a love for the culture in our very own church. We welcomed in the world's entertainment and pleasures, forgetting that the bride is only meant to be about Christ.
"The early Church was married to poverty, prisons and persecutions. Today, the church is married to prosperity, personality, and popularity." ~ Leonard Ravenhill
My soul is devastated. We must deliver the bride from such an illness by standing up and saying church is about JESUS. I don't want to laugh at a good joke or story in church, I want to laugh with overflowing joy of the Lord. I don't want to socialize at church, unless it is with the Living God. I don't want to judge those around me at church, I want to search my own heart and repent for my own shortcomings and failures. I don't want to beg God for more, I want to thank him for his unending blessings he has already given me.
Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with jokes or stories at church, or socializing with fellow believers or asking God for things, but when it takes over the focus of Christ...then it has no place in the church.
I want to see the Bride be the bride. Not some masked painted face joyfully loving people to hell by deception and distraction. It sounds so so harsh, but don't you see it, don't you see what is happening? We are trading the Treasure for counterfeit.
People are believing they are truly saved, but "Most people today in our churches are lost, and they demonstrate that they are lost because their entire Christianity is nothing more than, 'They made a decision.'" ~ Paul Washer
This cannot remain so. The GOSPEL must be taught, shouted from the rooftops. People must know the TRUE Gospel, the Gospel that CHANGES people, that makes them look entirely different from the world around them.
So what is to be done? How do we begin this shift? Pray.
"The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." - James 5:16
The Lord longs infinitely more than we do to see his Bride restored.
And love. Love the church, love them as Christ loved the prostitute who was about to be stoned, who instead was saved as Jesus said, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her" (John 8:7).
Cast no judgement or hatred towards those who are wolves. But rather love them to Heaven. Speak truth, yet know that you will be opposed even by those in the church. Speak the truth, and SEEK THE LORD.
"Watch that you do not lose your own spirituality while trying to make others spiritual. The great point is to live near to God." - Spurgeon
In the end, we are not here to save the lost, or rescue the dying. We are here to glorify our God, Jesus Christ. HE is the Great Rescuer. The Great Healer. When you draw near to him, and grow in your relationship with Him...THAT is when you will see the heavenly realm shift. He is once again RISING UP the ARMY of the LORD. And as you rise you SHINE. And that is the light that others notice. That is the light that sparks Life, and brings them to ask life of the Living God.
My prayer is that from this blog post what you take away is an awareness and an awakened fervor for the Lord. I want to see God's children step out of the shadows of complacent sleep, and say "No more." To stand up and say, "I will no longer settle for counterfeit gospel. I want to know the TRUTH, the GOSPEL, JESUS CHRIST." To shout from the rooftops the goodness of our God, and be a voice in the wilderness shining forth God's holy passion for his people.
Let us pray for a revival of the Gospel, the True Gospel. People are hungry for the Real Jesus. May you be blessed in your journey to know God more and more everyday. He is faithful to redeem and restore, for he is Love.
(I welcome your thoughts or questions about this topic or on any other that presses on your heart.)
3.4%
That is such a small number. So then I wanted to see what the percentage of Christians in America is.
78% (according to NPR).
LOL!!! Literally....that number made me laugh.
I am completely shocked and at the same time horrified. If that is a fact...which I assume it is, that 78% of people in America consider themselves Christian or mostly affiliated with Christian beliefs, WHAT IN THE WORLD is going on here in America?!!!!?
If only 3.4% of people are LGBT and they have such a loud voice in our culture and government, then why is a group that is 23x bigger have little to no say at all in this nation?
It's because that 78% of Americans who call themselves Christians don't have half the passion about their beliefs as that 3.4%.
That's what I believe it boils down to.
So where is this passion for the God that is believed in by 78% of Americans?
Why are we not shifting our own country with this passion, that when seen and heard is so contagious!?
There is a disconnect somewhere...Our country is about 236 years old this year...and yet the country has only drifted from our foundation of faith. If even half of 78% go to church (39%)...why are we not seeing generations rise up and stand up as what God has called us to be? L.R. Shelton says, "Seemingly everybody seems to be 'born again'; but where are the fruits of the new birth?...Where is the Christ-like life?...those whom the Lord Jesus Christ is precious and a living reality?"
I'm going to step into the line of fire and say the disconnect comes in the church.
Something is going wrong in the church. If we can call it that at anymore. Now, I know this may sound harsh, but just follow me here.
Firstly I do want to say that the Bride of Christ is to be loved. I seek everyday to love the church, the bride of Christ, with all of its imperfections because Jesus Christ loved the church first. There are many churches who are the true Bride of Christ, so please know that I am not speaking of every church in America.
But what many Americans have begun to call the church, is in fact no church at all. Paul Washer said himself, "I believe alot of churches in America are not churches." The church is meant so serve as an ignition, a fan to the flame of fervor and passion for our Savior. But instead...millions leave church every Sunday feeling no different then when they entered.
"The majority of what calls itself Christianity today is a circus. You've got a bunch of people chasing health, wealth, prosperity; chasing a good time, chasing the social club, chasing where the action's happening, chasing the good music and the good times. But few people are out there chasing God, and truly going hard after Him, and truly making the sacrifices in their life and cleaning their hands in such a way and working to have a pure heart that they might actually ascend that hill of the Lord and they might actually commune with God in a way that few people do and few people know about." ~ Tim Conway
It breaks my heart, but it is what I have begun to see. Charles Spurgeon's prophecy has become largely true, "A time will come when instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, the church will have clowns entertaining the goats." - Spurgeon (TruthSource)
How did this happen? How did this happen when we were on watch? My heart literally aches to think that while I have been on watch, in the church, for 23 years, this has happened.
I feel like David when Goliath was running his mouth about the Living God. Davide stood in shock amongst the Israelites, saying, "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" (1 Samuel 17:21).
Who are these men and women coming amongst the Bride of Christ looking for fame, wealth, favor of men and ease of living? Who are they that they should dilute the Gospel of God and seek to simply entertain people?
I do not go to church to sit in a comfortable chair, amongst pleasant well-dressed people, and get a good laugh. I go to church to be convicted and challenged in my faith, to experience the presence of God Almighty, and to feel refreshed and filled by the Word of God.
Can you only imagine the sorrow of our Savior to see what has become of many of his Bride's homes? May it not be so! May we not grieve or quench the Spirit of the Lord any longer!
But what has happened, how did this happen?
We began to let our flesh speak over our spirit. We began to notice the nice huge churches, and all the fun things they brought into the temple. We liked convenience, and media, and tech savvy presentations. And before we knew it, we were overcome with a love for the culture in our very own church. We welcomed in the world's entertainment and pleasures, forgetting that the bride is only meant to be about Christ.
"The early Church was married to poverty, prisons and persecutions. Today, the church is married to prosperity, personality, and popularity." ~ Leonard Ravenhill
My soul is devastated. We must deliver the bride from such an illness by standing up and saying church is about JESUS. I don't want to laugh at a good joke or story in church, I want to laugh with overflowing joy of the Lord. I don't want to socialize at church, unless it is with the Living God. I don't want to judge those around me at church, I want to search my own heart and repent for my own shortcomings and failures. I don't want to beg God for more, I want to thank him for his unending blessings he has already given me.
Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with jokes or stories at church, or socializing with fellow believers or asking God for things, but when it takes over the focus of Christ...then it has no place in the church.
I want to see the Bride be the bride. Not some masked painted face joyfully loving people to hell by deception and distraction. It sounds so so harsh, but don't you see it, don't you see what is happening? We are trading the Treasure for counterfeit.
People are believing they are truly saved, but "Most people today in our churches are lost, and they demonstrate that they are lost because their entire Christianity is nothing more than, 'They made a decision.'" ~ Paul Washer
This cannot remain so. The GOSPEL must be taught, shouted from the rooftops. People must know the TRUE Gospel, the Gospel that CHANGES people, that makes them look entirely different from the world around them.
So what is to be done? How do we begin this shift? Pray.
"The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." - James 5:16
The Lord longs infinitely more than we do to see his Bride restored.
And love. Love the church, love them as Christ loved the prostitute who was about to be stoned, who instead was saved as Jesus said, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her" (John 8:7).
Cast no judgement or hatred towards those who are wolves. But rather love them to Heaven. Speak truth, yet know that you will be opposed even by those in the church. Speak the truth, and SEEK THE LORD.
"Watch that you do not lose your own spirituality while trying to make others spiritual. The great point is to live near to God." - Spurgeon
In the end, we are not here to save the lost, or rescue the dying. We are here to glorify our God, Jesus Christ. HE is the Great Rescuer. The Great Healer. When you draw near to him, and grow in your relationship with Him...THAT is when you will see the heavenly realm shift. He is once again RISING UP the ARMY of the LORD. And as you rise you SHINE. And that is the light that others notice. That is the light that sparks Life, and brings them to ask life of the Living God.
My prayer is that from this blog post what you take away is an awareness and an awakened fervor for the Lord. I want to see God's children step out of the shadows of complacent sleep, and say "No more." To stand up and say, "I will no longer settle for counterfeit gospel. I want to know the TRUTH, the GOSPEL, JESUS CHRIST." To shout from the rooftops the goodness of our God, and be a voice in the wilderness shining forth God's holy passion for his people.
Let us pray for a revival of the Gospel, the True Gospel. People are hungry for the Real Jesus. May you be blessed in your journey to know God more and more everyday. He is faithful to redeem and restore, for he is Love.
(I welcome your thoughts or questions about this topic or on any other that presses on your heart.)
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Less Than 1%
In high school my Bible teacher led us through the book of Romans. This study was the first time that Scripture truly came alive to me.
I had grown up in the church, feeling as though I had known Jesus since even before I was born. I accepted Jesus into my heart when I was 7, and I truly believe that I then received the Holy Spirit, but I believe that I quenched it. But it was when we read Romans 7:15-25, that I felt the first real spark of the Spirit.
I had always loved Jesus, and done what was expected and desired as a young Christian girl. I never got into drugs, alcohol, swearing, etc because I just knew it was wrong, pointless, and would not make my parents too happy. But what I did struggle with was focusing on God and serving him out of true love.
I was in a season of extreme distraction and frustration with a relationship that I knew was probably not ever going to be God-glorifying. It was a relationship that I knew was just a tool of the enemy. In my heart I knew the guy was not something the Lord would want for me, but man oh man did I fight it.
So it was reading Romans 7:15 that I felt the Spirt open my eyes, and for the first time I saw my exact self in Scripture.
"I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. ...For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing." (Romans 7:15,18-19)
"OH MY GOSH!!!" Were my exact thoughts, "THAT'S ME!!! I do the exact thing I don't want to do!"
And it was with those thoughts that the Lord woke my sleeping soul.
My Bible teacher then told us some days later that less than 1% of people who claim to be Christians have actually read the entire Bible. Pretty sure my jaw literally dropped, as well as my heart. I was not one of those people...
I was one of that 99+ % that had not read the book that I base my entire faith and LIFE on. I didn't even know myself what all was in the book I claim to be 100% true. How do I know it is true if I haven't even read it!?!? I was just going off of what everyone else told me.
It wasn't until my Sophomore year in college that I actually did something about this conviction. I had tried those "Read the Bible in one year plan" but I always felt like I was reading out of obligation. Looking at the daily assignment with "ugh...3 chapters??" didn't feel so God-glorifying. So I finally decided to just read what I wanted and when I wanted.
I started with the New Testament because I wanted to be able to see all that was foreshadowing Christ in the Old Testament and already be familiar with the prophesies Christ fulfilled.
And so every morning I would get up and read as much as I felt like. Somedays it was 1 chapter, others were just a few verses. I felt no guilt in only reading a little some mornings because I had no set plan. It was just whatever I felt led to read. ...but then something shifted. The more and more I read the more and more I wanted. I started to read entire books in one day because I couldn't get enough!!
My spirit yearned for more and more. I felt so alive, energized, and satisfied. It took me 1 1/2 years to finish the Bible, but it was the most wondrous, amazing, and invigorating endeavor I have ever taken.
I discovered hidden treasures, stories that I had never heard of in my 21 years of being a Christian, verses that spoke my soul's exact feelings, and so much Life!
Scripture came to life in this year and a half journey. When I finally finished in Malachi, my heart felt SO full. It wasn't easy...oh boy...Leviticus, Numbers...those were so hard. But I sought the Lord for the purpose of books that I struggled through. And He was so faithful!
When I read the last words of Malachi, my heart skipped. And then came the "Wait...what do I do now?" I thought to myself.."Now what?" And the Spirit spoke..."Read it again." Of course! Why would I stop??
And so I read the New Testament again. Did you know there is a special blessing for those who read Revelation? (Revelation 1:3)...but Revelation is not for the faint of heart ;)
Alllll of this to say:
I challenge you, if you have not already, to start your journey through the Bible. You don't have to take notes or even study. Just read it. Simply read through the Bible...the studying, note taking,etc, that can come later. Just start in Matthew and read however much you want whenever you want. Keep a bookmark, just like you would in any other book. Your life will never be the same.
It won't be easy, if it was, everyone would have already done it. But it is honestly the most rewarding thing in life that you could ever do. I pinky promise that the Lord will do something in you. It may not seem like He is when you first start off, you may struggle through the first couple books...but then...one day, something will shift. I have no doubts about that fact. Something WILL shift in the depths of your soul, and you will become so hungry for the Word of God that you will amaze yourself with your love of Scripture.
Brother or sister, I pray that you will choose to start this endeavor today. Right now. It doesn't matter how long it will take you, it may take less than a year, more than a year, even 3 years. But it doesn't matter. How incredible will it be that on the day we see Jesus face to face, we are able to say, "Lord! Lord! I read your letter to me. I read every word! I read it over and over again, and it was life to me! I love your Word, my sweet Jesus!"
I want to be able to say that. :) And I pray that you be able to say that too.
All His love,
Sophia
I had grown up in the church, feeling as though I had known Jesus since even before I was born. I accepted Jesus into my heart when I was 7, and I truly believe that I then received the Holy Spirit, but I believe that I quenched it. But it was when we read Romans 7:15-25, that I felt the first real spark of the Spirit.
I had always loved Jesus, and done what was expected and desired as a young Christian girl. I never got into drugs, alcohol, swearing, etc because I just knew it was wrong, pointless, and would not make my parents too happy. But what I did struggle with was focusing on God and serving him out of true love.
I was in a season of extreme distraction and frustration with a relationship that I knew was probably not ever going to be God-glorifying. It was a relationship that I knew was just a tool of the enemy. In my heart I knew the guy was not something the Lord would want for me, but man oh man did I fight it.
So it was reading Romans 7:15 that I felt the Spirt open my eyes, and for the first time I saw my exact self in Scripture.
"I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. ...For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing." (Romans 7:15,18-19)
"OH MY GOSH!!!" Were my exact thoughts, "THAT'S ME!!! I do the exact thing I don't want to do!"
And it was with those thoughts that the Lord woke my sleeping soul.
My Bible teacher then told us some days later that less than 1% of people who claim to be Christians have actually read the entire Bible. Pretty sure my jaw literally dropped, as well as my heart. I was not one of those people...
I was one of that 99+ % that had not read the book that I base my entire faith and LIFE on. I didn't even know myself what all was in the book I claim to be 100% true. How do I know it is true if I haven't even read it!?!? I was just going off of what everyone else told me.
It wasn't until my Sophomore year in college that I actually did something about this conviction. I had tried those "Read the Bible in one year plan" but I always felt like I was reading out of obligation. Looking at the daily assignment with "ugh...3 chapters??" didn't feel so God-glorifying. So I finally decided to just read what I wanted and when I wanted.
I started with the New Testament because I wanted to be able to see all that was foreshadowing Christ in the Old Testament and already be familiar with the prophesies Christ fulfilled.
And so every morning I would get up and read as much as I felt like. Somedays it was 1 chapter, others were just a few verses. I felt no guilt in only reading a little some mornings because I had no set plan. It was just whatever I felt led to read. ...but then something shifted. The more and more I read the more and more I wanted. I started to read entire books in one day because I couldn't get enough!!
My spirit yearned for more and more. I felt so alive, energized, and satisfied. It took me 1 1/2 years to finish the Bible, but it was the most wondrous, amazing, and invigorating endeavor I have ever taken.
I discovered hidden treasures, stories that I had never heard of in my 21 years of being a Christian, verses that spoke my soul's exact feelings, and so much Life!
Scripture came to life in this year and a half journey. When I finally finished in Malachi, my heart felt SO full. It wasn't easy...oh boy...Leviticus, Numbers...those were so hard. But I sought the Lord for the purpose of books that I struggled through. And He was so faithful!
When I read the last words of Malachi, my heart skipped. And then came the "Wait...what do I do now?" I thought to myself.."Now what?" And the Spirit spoke..."Read it again." Of course! Why would I stop??
And so I read the New Testament again. Did you know there is a special blessing for those who read Revelation? (Revelation 1:3)...but Revelation is not for the faint of heart ;)
Alllll of this to say:
I challenge you, if you have not already, to start your journey through the Bible. You don't have to take notes or even study. Just read it. Simply read through the Bible...the studying, note taking,etc, that can come later. Just start in Matthew and read however much you want whenever you want. Keep a bookmark, just like you would in any other book. Your life will never be the same.
It won't be easy, if it was, everyone would have already done it. But it is honestly the most rewarding thing in life that you could ever do. I pinky promise that the Lord will do something in you. It may not seem like He is when you first start off, you may struggle through the first couple books...but then...one day, something will shift. I have no doubts about that fact. Something WILL shift in the depths of your soul, and you will become so hungry for the Word of God that you will amaze yourself with your love of Scripture.
Brother or sister, I pray that you will choose to start this endeavor today. Right now. It doesn't matter how long it will take you, it may take less than a year, more than a year, even 3 years. But it doesn't matter. How incredible will it be that on the day we see Jesus face to face, we are able to say, "Lord! Lord! I read your letter to me. I read every word! I read it over and over again, and it was life to me! I love your Word, my sweet Jesus!"
I want to be able to say that. :) And I pray that you be able to say that too.
All His love,
Sophia
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
The Girl On Fire
Move over Katniss Everdeen, I want to burn with a different kind of flame.
This morning on the way to school I discovered a song that should very well be our anthem as a His Church.
"For the sake of the world, burn like a fire in me. Light a flame in my soul, for every eye to see."
Immediately the Lord gave me a vision of driving along a highway and seeing a big smoke cloud coming from a fire. When you drive by those things you immediately notice it and it pulls in your curiosity. You instantly wonder, "Whoa, I wonder what is going on over there? Why is there so much smoke?"
Just like when people see smoke rising and their curiosity is sparked, people should see the fire in Christians. We should be that beacon, that smoke signal calling people's attention and focus to what is burning in our souls.
Why is it burning? What is causing such an unusual large flame?
WE are to be that attention grabbing fire, a fire that grabs people's attention near and far.
We are to grab their attention by the fire in our souls for our Savior.
I want to be so in love, so passionate, so infused with love and awe of my Savior that I am a tenacious fire affecting everything in my path, forcing people to wonder what in the world is going on with her!? Why is she like that?
May we be on fire for the LORD. May be we live to bring HIM glory.
Burn like a fire in me my Sweet Blessed Gracious Savior!! Burn in me, burn me up. May I be a beacon that calls all to wonder and question what is feeding the flame in my soul.
All it takes is one question to get people thinking...one question. one thought. one Spark. That's all it takes to begin a fire.
This morning on the way to school I discovered a song that should very well be our anthem as a His Church.
"For the sake of the world, burn like a fire in me. Light a flame in my soul, for every eye to see."
Immediately the Lord gave me a vision of driving along a highway and seeing a big smoke cloud coming from a fire. When you drive by those things you immediately notice it and it pulls in your curiosity. You instantly wonder, "Whoa, I wonder what is going on over there? Why is there so much smoke?"
Just like when people see smoke rising and their curiosity is sparked, people should see the fire in Christians. We should be that beacon, that smoke signal calling people's attention and focus to what is burning in our souls.
Why is it burning? What is causing such an unusual large flame?
WE are to be that attention grabbing fire, a fire that grabs people's attention near and far.
We are to grab their attention by the fire in our souls for our Savior.
I want to be so in love, so passionate, so infused with love and awe of my Savior that I am a tenacious fire affecting everything in my path, forcing people to wonder what in the world is going on with her!? Why is she like that?
May we be on fire for the LORD. May be we live to bring HIM glory.
Burn like a fire in me my Sweet Blessed Gracious Savior!! Burn in me, burn me up. May I be a beacon that calls all to wonder and question what is feeding the flame in my soul.
All it takes is one question to get people thinking...one question. one thought. one Spark. That's all it takes to begin a fire.
Burn like a fire for HIM.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Can I Get a Praise Offering!?
Well if these past few weeks haven't been a whirlwind, then I have no understanding of that definition. Student teaching has gotten off to a most crazy start. I have never in my entire life been this busy. Between the 9 hour days at school, church events I can't stand to miss, and weekend plans...I haven't been able to catch my breath.
This marks my 5th week in Student teaching. I have had to push myself physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.
After having a 4 day school week of days only semi-filled with class, going back to the elementary school schedule plus extra hours has been quite the adjustment. Waking up at 5:30 every morning has never exactly been on my radar. I mean only 4 months ago if someone told me to wake up at 5:30, I would think they were absolutely nuts. But lo and behold it's my schedule!
So yesterday everything decided to crash. My immune system decided to wage war on strep this week, the struggle of not being able to openly talk about Jesus to my students reached it's climax, and trying to remember every detail of each lesson was too much mentally, and then just fighting off the attacks of the enemy at school just left me feeling like I was defeated.
I had this mental image of the enemy's army surrounding me, as I sat there broken, and unable to pick up my sword anymore. I was utterly spent.
I decided to still go to Bible Study at church. My group prayed over me the most kind, encouraging, uplifting words. I felt them pull on heaven. The tears streamed down my face, something I had tried for so long to withhold. Forging a path through the enemy's army, they picked me up, powerless and broken. And they led me to my Savior's arms.
It was in the arms of my Sweet Savior that I was refreshed and renewed. Though my body was utterly spent, I could feel his life pulse in my heart. I went home that night, still feeling his hold. I sat there at his feet believing that in the morning his grace would be thick upon me and that I would be healed of my head cold and able to still go to school for my supervisor's observation.
Though I had come home after school and crashed in bed, after Bible Study I was able to stay up late and finish all my lesson plans and work that I needed to get done. I only got 4 hours of sleep, but when I woke up this morning there was such a refreshment in the air. His presence was tangible. I didn't feel nearly as bad as I had expected with my cold, and I went before him again believing for healing. Soon after that my sister came in with medicine I hadn't tried for congestion. At first I refused, saying that Jesus would heal me.
He then gave me the image of a story I've heard before:
There was a man who got stuck on his roof in the midst of a great flood. He cried out to God to save him. A boat came by and the driver called to the man to jump into the boat to go to safety. But the man said, "No, God will save me." Then a helicopter came by and threw him a life line, but once again he refused, saying God would save him. Again a boat came by telling him this was his very last chance to escape. He refused firmly believing God would still save him. The man was overcome by the flood. Once in heaven he asked God why he hadn't saved him. God looked at the man with pity and said, "Son, I sent you 3 life lines and you took none of them."
Sometimes God answer our prayers with simple means. We just expect this extravagant answer and so overlook the response of our Father.
Well when I remembered that story I took the nasal spray. As soon as I sprayed my nose, all this "yuck" immediately washed out. I just started laughing at God's grace and care. And so I went to school.
My supervisor came to observe my lesson. It went great. Afterwards my supervisor sat down with me and gave me such hope. He only had 2 little things for me to change, and said that my lesson was excellent. I was shocked. All this time I had thought that I was doing poorly and had so much to improve on in every possible way. To hear those words come from his mouth overwhelmed me with gratefulness to my Savior, who I know was in that room with me today.
I had only ever taught one group lesson like this before, and to hear such encouraging and complementing words from a man who has been in the education field his whole life was such a blessing.
I wanted to laugh multiple times because Christ's hand was so evident throughout the entire observation.
All that I can say is that my God is so utterly faithful to the very last detail of our lives. Here I was utterly spent less than 24 hrs ago, exhausted in every sense of the word, feeling defeated and hopeless in my work, when he picks me up and carries me to glory. I have never before felt such a filling of God's strength. I mean, I could tangibly sense that the strength inside me was not my own.
May we have more faith in our God, and may we give him the honor and glory that he deserves. He cares for us so much. May this day be a testament of God's faithfulness to his beloved children. He wants to do things like this and more for all of us. There is no one special. I did nothing to deserve this. But because my heavenly sisters lifted me up in prayer and because God is Love, he graced me with himself so evidently today.
Hallelujah, he is near. He is always faithful, always near. Praying for you. You are important and beloved. I can't wait to see his children come to KNOW him for who he truly is. He is so so so worthy of our affection and adoration.
Blessings.
This marks my 5th week in Student teaching. I have had to push myself physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.
After having a 4 day school week of days only semi-filled with class, going back to the elementary school schedule plus extra hours has been quite the adjustment. Waking up at 5:30 every morning has never exactly been on my radar. I mean only 4 months ago if someone told me to wake up at 5:30, I would think they were absolutely nuts. But lo and behold it's my schedule!
So yesterday everything decided to crash. My immune system decided to wage war on strep this week, the struggle of not being able to openly talk about Jesus to my students reached it's climax, and trying to remember every detail of each lesson was too much mentally, and then just fighting off the attacks of the enemy at school just left me feeling like I was defeated.
I had this mental image of the enemy's army surrounding me, as I sat there broken, and unable to pick up my sword anymore. I was utterly spent.
I decided to still go to Bible Study at church. My group prayed over me the most kind, encouraging, uplifting words. I felt them pull on heaven. The tears streamed down my face, something I had tried for so long to withhold. Forging a path through the enemy's army, they picked me up, powerless and broken. And they led me to my Savior's arms.
It was in the arms of my Sweet Savior that I was refreshed and renewed. Though my body was utterly spent, I could feel his life pulse in my heart. I went home that night, still feeling his hold. I sat there at his feet believing that in the morning his grace would be thick upon me and that I would be healed of my head cold and able to still go to school for my supervisor's observation.
Though I had come home after school and crashed in bed, after Bible Study I was able to stay up late and finish all my lesson plans and work that I needed to get done. I only got 4 hours of sleep, but when I woke up this morning there was such a refreshment in the air. His presence was tangible. I didn't feel nearly as bad as I had expected with my cold, and I went before him again believing for healing. Soon after that my sister came in with medicine I hadn't tried for congestion. At first I refused, saying that Jesus would heal me.
He then gave me the image of a story I've heard before:
There was a man who got stuck on his roof in the midst of a great flood. He cried out to God to save him. A boat came by and the driver called to the man to jump into the boat to go to safety. But the man said, "No, God will save me." Then a helicopter came by and threw him a life line, but once again he refused, saying God would save him. Again a boat came by telling him this was his very last chance to escape. He refused firmly believing God would still save him. The man was overcome by the flood. Once in heaven he asked God why he hadn't saved him. God looked at the man with pity and said, "Son, I sent you 3 life lines and you took none of them."
Sometimes God answer our prayers with simple means. We just expect this extravagant answer and so overlook the response of our Father.
Well when I remembered that story I took the nasal spray. As soon as I sprayed my nose, all this "yuck" immediately washed out. I just started laughing at God's grace and care. And so I went to school.
My supervisor came to observe my lesson. It went great. Afterwards my supervisor sat down with me and gave me such hope. He only had 2 little things for me to change, and said that my lesson was excellent. I was shocked. All this time I had thought that I was doing poorly and had so much to improve on in every possible way. To hear those words come from his mouth overwhelmed me with gratefulness to my Savior, who I know was in that room with me today.
I had only ever taught one group lesson like this before, and to hear such encouraging and complementing words from a man who has been in the education field his whole life was such a blessing.
I wanted to laugh multiple times because Christ's hand was so evident throughout the entire observation.
All that I can say is that my God is so utterly faithful to the very last detail of our lives. Here I was utterly spent less than 24 hrs ago, exhausted in every sense of the word, feeling defeated and hopeless in my work, when he picks me up and carries me to glory. I have never before felt such a filling of God's strength. I mean, I could tangibly sense that the strength inside me was not my own.
May we have more faith in our God, and may we give him the honor and glory that he deserves. He cares for us so much. May this day be a testament of God's faithfulness to his beloved children. He wants to do things like this and more for all of us. There is no one special. I did nothing to deserve this. But because my heavenly sisters lifted me up in prayer and because God is Love, he graced me with himself so evidently today.
Hallelujah, he is near. He is always faithful, always near. Praying for you. You are important and beloved. I can't wait to see his children come to KNOW him for who he truly is. He is so so so worthy of our affection and adoration.
Blessings.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Prayer Pt.3: You Ask, but Do Not Receive
Ouch. This is one of the toughest verses in the Bible in my opinion. It is James 4:2-3, "You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions."
Here are some of the reasons I've heard in regards to why prayers are not answered:
1. We do not repent of sin, and continue to live knowingly in that sin.
2. We ask with wrong intentions.
3. We don't believe we will actually be answered.
I want to address the third reason. Spurgeon says that "Many prayers fail of their errand because there is no faith in them. Prayers which are filled with doubt, are requests for refusal" (108).
I believe he is absolutely right. If you called a friend and said, "Hey, I need some help putting together my bookshelf, would you come help me? But I know that you won't come help me because you're busy and you don't want to. You have better things to do. Thanks anyway." How likely would they be to help you if you have no faith in their love for you?
If God delights in giving us good gifts, by doubting him we take away His joy of giving.
If we truly understood who God is and all that he is capable of doing, MAN! We wouldn't hesitate asking him for every little thing we needed help with.
satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Well if he can steal our confidence in our God, then we won't ask God for all that we would have. And if we don't ask God for things then we are not being equipped to fight in the battle.
Imagine being a Roman soldier who enlists in the army and you are told to ask the General for whatever you are in need of. You've heard some say that the General will give you anything, but then you've also heard that the General only gives to a few people and doesn't always give what you ask. So you decide not to bother the important guy, and ask around from others for supplies and a weapon. The time comes for battle and you still haven't gotten a weapon or shield. You have no hope except to fight with your own hands. The enemy sees you and aims his arrow at you, laughing at the pitiful sight you make on the battle field.
This is every believer who does not equip himself in prayer and reading of the Word. You have no weapon or defense against the enemy.
God stands ready to arm us with the Armor of God and to teach us how to take a stand against the devils schemes (Eph. 6:10-18). We need only approach him and ask.
Sweet brother or sister, ask him for faith. Ask him to help your unbelief (Mark 9:24). He will answer you. He tells us himself that if we ask, how much more will he give of himself! (Luke 11:13). The Almighty God of Heaven and earth wants to give you more faith, more belief, more courage to believe that your prayers are heard and will be answered.
There is no catch, there is no game we have to play. Simply believe. It is so simple, yet made so difficult. And that's why we can start with asking for faith. For if we have faith, the asking comes easy.
If nothing else, know that God is good, and because he is all good nothing bad can come from him. He does not see your sin.
There is a story of a woman who had visions of Jesus. A priest wanted to see if she was telling the truth so he went and told the woman that next time she sees Jesus to ask him what sin he had just confessed. She was shocked and asked him if he was sure he really wanted her to know his confessed sin. He said yes. A few days later she came back, and told him she had asked Jesus what he had confessed. The priest was excited to hear her answer. She told him, "I asked Jesus what sin you had recently confessed. He said, 'I can't remember.'"
You see, sweet friend, "as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:12). He doesn't see your sin. He sees the purity of the blood of the Lamb. He sees a perfect child, white as snow, spotless, blameless. So know that you can approach the throne of God with confidence and assurance that you are worth listening to. You are worth the time of God because of his Love. Because he loves you, you are worthy.
Talk to him. He hears you. He will answer you. He knows what is best, so trust that no matter what you ask you will be answered and you will receive what is best in regards to your request.
You are adored. You are important. You are worthy. You are heard. You are loved. So loved.
There is no catch, there is no game we have to play. Simply believe. It is so simple, yet made so difficult. And that's why we can start with asking for faith. For if we have faith, the asking comes easy.
If nothing else, know that God is good, and because he is all good nothing bad can come from him. He does not see your sin.
There is a story of a woman who had visions of Jesus. A priest wanted to see if she was telling the truth so he went and told the woman that next time she sees Jesus to ask him what sin he had just confessed. She was shocked and asked him if he was sure he really wanted her to know his confessed sin. He said yes. A few days later she came back, and told him she had asked Jesus what he had confessed. The priest was excited to hear her answer. She told him, "I asked Jesus what sin you had recently confessed. He said, 'I can't remember.'"
You see, sweet friend, "as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:12). He doesn't see your sin. He sees the purity of the blood of the Lamb. He sees a perfect child, white as snow, spotless, blameless. So know that you can approach the throne of God with confidence and assurance that you are worth listening to. You are worth the time of God because of his Love. Because he loves you, you are worthy.
Talk to him. He hears you. He will answer you. He knows what is best, so trust that no matter what you ask you will be answered and you will receive what is best in regards to your request.
You are adored. You are important. You are worthy. You are heard. You are loved. So loved.
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