Seeking God's Truth

Humbling Ourselves Before the LORD

2011-12-21T10:37:00.000-08:00

Psalm 149:4 “For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with salvation.”

The humble are given grace and crowned with salvation, but God opposes the proud. So what does it mean to be humble?

Generally when I have thought of humility in the past, I have thought just making sure that I don’t think too highly of myself and acknowledging that I wouldn’t be able to do anything I do without God. But I think humility goes so much deeper than that. True humility isn’t just a certain perspective that you may have; it is a lifestyle that reflects your perspective. It is not just having head knowledge of where you stand in relation to God, but it is a life of surrender to God because of your understanding.

I think most people would agree that God’s ways are always right and perfect. However, although most of us would say that we believe that, we don’t demonstrate our belief through our actions. If we really, really believed that God’s plans were so much better than our own plans… we wouldn’t really have problems yielding to his plans. The reason we have problems giving up our agenda is due to our lack of faith and belief that God is who he says he is. We are not believing that he really is in control and that his ways are righteous and perfect. And by holding on to our own plans instead of God’s plans, we are stating through our actions that we have more faith in ourselves than we do in God. We are saying that we trust our own minds and our own solutions more than we do God’s. So in a nutshell, the reason we are not putting our complete trust in God is because of our pride. We are viewing our own capability to control our life higher than we view God’s ability to do so.

True humility then, is defined by a life of total surrender to God: a life of obedience to His Spirit and a life that is dedicated to the furthering of his Kingdom. Whenever we choose to disobey God we are telling him that we think our way is better, but when we follow his Spirit in obedience we are acknowledging that He does know more than we and that his way his better and perfect. Obeying God then, even when we do not understand why he is leading us a certain way, is what humbling ourselves before Him means.

In 2 Chronicles 7:14 we can kind of see this…

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

I think it is interesting in this verse how the act of humbling oneself is connected with praying, seeking God’s face, and turning from their wicked ways. It is when we worship God in this way, with all of our life, that we are putting our self where we should be and placing God in our life where he should be.

It is when we are in this state that God chooses to use us. There are so many instances in the bible where God first humbles individuals and then uses them in incredible ways in order glorify his own name. But the humbling of the individual always comes first. Joseph was sold into slavery and put in prison all for absolutely no reason. He never did anything to deserve that, yet he was humiliated anyways. But it was after this, after he had been humbled, that God chose to use him in saving all of Egypt from a famine and to ultimately bring more glory to God. Daniel was hated and persecuted for praying to God and ended up being thrown into the lion’s den. He was publically humiliated and humbled before God chose to save him from the lion’s den and bring him to a position of great influence. Mary was humbled in the way that she bore Jesus as a virgin. I am sure that her pregnancy was the cause of much public shame and humiliation, but God used it to bring forth the savior of the world!

We live to bring glory to God, so let us surrender our lives to him because his way of doing it is perfect! Let us humble ourselves before God, and not only acknowledge in our heads that His way is better, but live it out and follow Him when he prompts us to do things. Let us not think of ourselves as more highly than we ought, but instead look to Jesus, the Son of God, and worship him with our life and trust in Him because he deserves to be trusted, served, and worshiped with everything we have!

2011-11-06T19:07:00.000-08:00

God truly is right beside of us and guiding us in the paths of his righteousness everyday of our lives. He wants each of us to be living in step with His Spirit, putting to death the misdeeds of the body, and seeking him with ALL of our hearts. And he is with us enabling us to do exactly that. He is directing our every step; we just need to make the decision to listen, acknowledge his voice, and obey.

I've discovered that when God reveals sin our lives, it's not fun, and it kind of hurts. It completely breaks me and puts me once again at the feet of Jesus. Sometimes, though, even when I see my sin, I try to think that I can deal with it, that I can try to get rid of it my own way. And, of course, my own way is a way that would allow me to cling to the things that, although they are not sinful in themselves, are causing me to sin. But that's not going to work. I have to overcome it through the Holy Spirit's power, which means obeying Him and getting rid of it how he wants me to get rid of it. That's the hard part. Often what he tells us to do is not easy and not what we want to do. Actually, I find that it is the last thing I want to do. I often find myself wanting to question God saying, "are you sure this is the best way to go about his? what about if this happens? what about if doing this causes this?" Actually it may be more like, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME GOD??!! IF I DO THAT... THIS WILL HAPPEN AND THAT WOULD BE TERRIBLE!!!! I actually have found myself almost wishing that I had never asked God to make himself clear and tell me what to do. Because he definitely did speak to me, in a way that was incredibly clear, and told me exactly what I should do!! Only, it wasn't what I was hoping he'd tell me.

And this is why we can only obey God and overcome sin in our lives through faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Because what God is telling me to do goes against all of my instincts; the only way I can do it is because I have faith in God. I have faith that he understands more than I; that his will is perfect and that as I step out in obedience I can be sure all things will work together for his Glory and ultimately my good. Whenever I start to worry about doing what God has told me to do, I just think back to how clearly God spoke to me. I think about how he answered my prayer for direction in such a real way, probably in way that is more obvious than I have ever experienced before in my life. And this reassures me that I can step out and obey. I can follow Jesus, even though I am not sure why or where I'm going. If I know that it was HE that spoke to me, then that is all I need to know. Because if I do as He tells me, there is nothing I need to fear. God is with me, guiding me, comforting me, and loving me. THAT is all I need.

It is Well with my Soul

2011-10-20T20:38:00.001-07:00

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

Let this blest assurance control,

That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,

And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,

Even so, it is well with my soul.

2011-10-16T12:44:00.000-07:00

There is so much to do for the Kingdom of God, there are so many who are lost, and we have so little time. REALLY, WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME!! This past weekend, God has just once again opened my eyes to the urgency of spreading the gospel and placed a burden on my heart for the lost. It is so easy to get caught up in dwelling upon frustrations that I have or thinking about the things that God has made clear he doesn't want for me, instead of just focusing on what God does have for me and on my mission as a disciple of Christ. He has people that he wants me to be talking to and so many things that he wants me to be doing, I literally don't have time to dwell on and lament some struggles in my own life. My struggles and frustrations will not go away by just sitting around and thinking about them, nor will they go away by just trying to convince myself that I don't have them. I, on my own, can not just "will" those things away. Instead I need to present them to God in prayer and then turn my eyes from myself to Jesus, and what he has for me to be doing. BECAUSE THERE IS SOOO MUCH!! There are so many people that God has placed in my life that he wants me to be reaching out to. He made this so clear to me this past weekend. I got into several conversations this weekend with my non-christian friends that just really revealed to me how much they need Jesus and how much I want them to know the joy and satisfaction that comes in living a life in Christ! God just completely broke my heart for them!! I have never experienced having such a love for them before and having such a strong desire for them to know and follow Jesus! God has renewed a fire and passion inside of me to spread his truth! I find that the interesting thing is that as I turn my attention and my focus to the mission that God has set before me, and just do each moment what God has placed before me to do, so many of my frustrations and struggles seem to diminish. They seem so dull and unimportant when compared to the mission of bringing bringing hope to those who right now don't have hope. Joy and excitement is just filling me! AHH!!!! I'm so excited for what God is going to do!

Surrendering it All

2011-09-10T11:15:00.000-07:00

Although this not completely applicable to me yet, as I am not married, I’m still super passionate about it…

We always talk about surrendering our lives to God and letting Jesus direct our paths, but somehow we never seem to talk about that in regards to how many children we have. This makes absolutely NO sense!! Why aren’t we looking to God, and opening ourselves to having however many children he will give us? We’re talking about what life enters into the world; this is a HUGE deal!!!! This is not something we should be taking into our own hands!!

Yes…children are expensive and it’s is a huge sacrifice to have them. I’s painful, a lot of work… and a lot more stuff! But, Isn’t that what our life as followers of Jesus is all about, dying to ourselves and living for our Lord and Savior? God will give us the strength we need to get through whatever he has in store for our lives. We are called to be servants, not just with our friends or at work, but most importantly at home with our families! If we are unwilling to have kids because it’s too painful, too much work, or too expensive, I think we need to take a step back and look at what is at the root of all our motives. If these are our reasons… then it’s sin. It’s called selfishness, wanting what’s best and most convenient for us. It’s wanting to have things the way we want them rather than what God wants for us.

I have been through so many sermon series about how we should surrender our finances with regard to sacrificially giving to the church knowing that God WILL provide for our needs. This is absolutely true and is a wonderful thing that needs to be preached! However, I honestly don’t think I have ever heard this concept preached in the context of children. Although having children is expensive and is a huge financial sacrifice, we need hold out our money in an open hand to God and be willing to have kids, trusting that God will provide. If God will provide for a building project in a church, how much more will he provide for children!!!

Anyways… bottom line, we need to surrender everything in our life to God, including the amount of kids that He may want us to have. It’s not our place to make that decision ourselves! We have to give up everything, including that, and let Jesus take the reins in our life!

Putting on the Armor of God

2011-08-03T20:13:00.000-07:00

Ephesians 6:10-20

Finally be strong in the LORD and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take on the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all of this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all of this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all of the saints.

Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given to me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly as I should.

__________________

This passage is sooooo good!!! Every time I read it I get something new out of it!

It is through the power of God and the Word of God that we can stand firm and fight against the darkness. It is through standing in truth and righteousness that we can withstand the attacks of the evil one. May we never forget this!

I Love the last part of this passage when Paul asks that every word that he speaks would be given to him by the Holy Spirit so that he would fearlessly declare the gospel. He is dependent on the LORD not only to endure persecution, but also in his spreading of the Gospel. He isn't spending his time trying to come up new techniques for sharing the truth...instead he is just following the Holy Spirit's leading. Each moment, he is speaking with the words that God gives him. I feel like I have gone through so many classes, bible studies, or sermons that have been centered around different techniques that are most effective for sharing the gospel...or where we are told specific things to say or do when confronted with a spiritual conversations. I have been given so many times what seems like a checklist for "how to evangelize." But...my question is, why do we keep trying to come up with our own strategies instead of relying on the Holy Spirit? If we really want to teach people how to spread the gospel, we need to be preaching the gospel and teaching what it means to be following the leading of the Holy Spirit. Because if we are all being led by the spirit, then we will be declaring the gospel boldly just as Paul did, not through our own strength, but through the Spirit's power. If we depend on our own strategies and techniques for spreading the Gospel, it will come to nothing. Instead we need to arm ourselves with the full of armor of God and rely completely on his Holy Spirit to direct our every step and provide us with our every word.

2011-07-28T20:11:00.000-07:00

I have heard people comment on how the “God of the Old Testament” is so harsh in the way he sends judgments and allows His people to undergo severe suffering. But, isn’t the fact that God does do this only reveal more of the mercy and the love that God has for his people? He is bringing them back to Himself through the judgments; He is forcing them to trust in him through the suffering! Although it is so hard to see sometimes, all the hardships we go through and all of trials we face are such gifts from God. God, in his mercy is showing us that our joy is not found in earthly things; he is forcing us to look to HIM for our support and trust completely in HIM for EVERYTHING. THAT is Love!!! He is reminding us that what is seen in temporary, and therefore cannot be trusted. He is calling us to fix our eyes on the eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:18 - So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

And because we fix our eyes on the eternal, we can go out boldly and do what God has called us to do. Our reputation may be ruined, but that doesn’t matter…it’s temporary; we may lose those we love…but we still have Jesus; Our earthly bodies can be beaten and torn apart…but even our bodies are only temporary vessels in which we are serving God. No matter what we go through, we can rejoice because we are suffering for the name of Jesus!! Our circumstances may seem horrible, but even that cannot take away the Joy that we have in knowing and serving Christ! We can have Joy through EVERYTHING because our eyes our fixed on Jesus!!

God, whatever it takes keep me on the narrow path, keep my eyes fixed on the eternal, on the Glory of Jesus Christ. Do not let me put my trust in anything but you, do not let me find my happiness or joy in anything but you! Whatever it takes…don’t let me stray! I would rather be striped of everything that I have on earth, absolutely everything, if that what it takes to take my trust off of material things and put it in the only eternal God. Jesus, do not let me walk away from you!

Depend on Jesus

2011-07-18T05:21:00.000-07:00

Psalm 124

If the LORD had not been on our side-

let Israel say-

if the LORD had not been on our side when men attacked us,

when their anger flared against us,

they would have swallowed us alive;

the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us,

the raging waters would have swept us away.

Praise be to the LORD,

who has not let us be torn by their teeth.

We have escaped like a bird out of the fowler's snare;

the snare has been broken, and we have escaped.

Our help is in the name of the LORD,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

We are nothing without Jesus. We can not stand on our own; we would be devoured. It is only by the Grace of God that we can stand firm; it is only by the strength that God gives us that we can endure. If we try to do it on our own, we will fail. If we no longer let God be our strength we will be swallowed up. We need to be in a state of compete dependence on God. He is our fortress; he is our Rock; He is our deliverer. It is in him that we trust.

Cling only to Jesus

2011-07-04T20:44:00.000-07:00

Psalm 135:15-18 “ The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.”

Those who make idols and trust in them will become blinded just as the idols are blinded and will become deaf just as the idols themselves are deaf.

_______

There are a lot of big name pastors out there, and, naturally, people look up to them. It is soooo important, though, that in our minds we do not turn these pastors into an all-knowing, always-right being; putting our complete trust in them and accepting every word that comes out of their mouth without a second thought. These pastors are MEN, no matter how big of a church they have, no matter how good of a reputation they have, no matter how good they are with words…We CAN NOT put our trust in them. We put our trust in God, and in God alone. Even if a pastor seems to have the spiritual gift of teaching and prophesy, and seems to always preach the truth…he is still a man. And we do not put our trust in man. This is not to say that we shouldn’t listen to them; we should, and many times God works through men to bring us closer to him. However, we need to be holding up everything we hear to the word of God. Our priority should be the Bible, and that is where the majority of our time should be spent.

If, at any point, we begin to put men’s teaching above the teaching of the bible, then we are creating for ourselves an idol. And as Psalm 135 says, when make for ourselves idols and put our trust in them we become blinded. When we idolize pastors or leaders we become susceptible to any falsehood that may be creeping in. We become blind to any wrong teaching that may be going on because we have rooted ourselves in man’s word rather than God’s word. This is SO Dangerous, and that is why we NEED to be clinging to God’s Word as the only absolute truth. Because if we are not, it will be so easy for us to be deceived.

In contrast to this in John 8:31-32, Jesus says that, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” So when we make for ourselves idols, we become blinded to the truth, but when we put Jesus as our priority and follow his teachings, our eyes become opened to the truth. Let us cling only to Jesus and his word and let no man take His place in our lives so that our eyes and ears be open to the truth of the Gospel and to the instruction of the Holy Spirit. As 1 John 5:21 says, “Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.”

Shout with joy to God, all the earth!

2011-06-15T13:35:00.000-07:00

Shout with joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious! Psalm 66:1-2

Let our mouths be overflowing with praise for our God! May our hearts never stop giving thanks to Jesus, the savior of our souls!

We are called to be joyful in ALL circumstances, not because we're never saddened by things around us or hardships that we experience, but because we know the LORD Jesus Christ. We know the one who gives our every breath and keeps our hearts beating. We know the one who gives life and takes away life; We know the almighty God! There is NOTHING in this world that compares to the unsurpassable joy of knowing Christ!

A close friend of my family just passed away this weekend and went home to be with Jesus. My mom was able to spend a lot of time with her in the days before she died and was able to witness what a beautiful saint of God this woman was. Even though she could hardly talk, the few words that she managed to get out were all praises to the LORD. She was the one in bad condition, yet she spent the last days of her life still focusing on others and encouraging her fellow believers in their walk with the LORD.

Some of the Last things said to my mom…

The LORD is so gracious and merciful...He is God almighty; Nothing is impossible. Nothing. Never Doubt. Never Doubt. Don’t ever give up on the LORD...God is watching out for you...The LORD will make a way.

This lady was so full of the Joy of the Lord. Even though she was in pain on her death bead, She could not stop proclaiming the goodness of Jesus to all who came and visited her!

I pray that I would never let the joy of my salvation grow old, but continue for all the days of my life, no matter what may come my way, praising, worshiping, and glorifying the Lord in everything I do.

A Call to Anguish - David Wilkerson

2011-06-06T12:27:00.000-07:00

Being united as One in Christ

2011-06-04T20:54:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week, when I was reading through some of the epistles, I started to notice how Paul would often exhort the church to continue in ONE Spirit or to stand firm in ONE Spirit. Here are a couple of the passages…

Ephesians 4:3-6 - Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit-- just as you were called to one hope when you were called-- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Philippians 2:1-2 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.

There is only ONE body and ONE Spirit. There is not a catholic body and a Lutheran body and an apostolic body and a non-denominational body, there is only the body of Christ. And that body is not characterized by a certain denomination but rather by the presence of the Holy Spirit in each individual’s life. It doesn’t matter whether you’re catholic or protestant or what church you go to, the body of Christ is made up of the followers of Jesus. It is made up of those who have truly given their life over to God and live by the Spirit. It is this body that is called to be one in spirit and in purpose.

For all of those who are truly following Christ have the SAME spirit of Christ living in them. We are called to be doing the same thing; we have the same purpose; we have the same joy and the same salvation. Sometimes I feel like it’s easy to get caught up in defending our denomination or pointing out the problems in other churches and, in doing so, we forget our true purpose. We are not to be followers of our denomination or theological positions, but rather followers of Christ!

1 Corinthians 1:10-13 – “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I follow Christ." Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?”

We are all on this journey together! We ALL have so much to learn about who God is and his truth, and thus we should always be in a constant search to understand Him more. Never should we rest on our laurels, thinking we get it. We should be constantly asking God to reveal himself to us in new ways and to show us where our thinking is wrong. Jesus calls all of his followers to live in obedience to his teaching, be led by his spirit, be putting to death all of the fleshly desires through the strength of His Spirit, and to be seeking him with ALL of our hearts. So let’s all do this, TOGETHER, AS ONE BODY!

I know I have gotten caught up before with theological differences that I’ve had with people and because of this, I don’t look upon them as I should. I almost forget that they have the very SAME spirit of Christ living inside of them that is living inside of me. I forget that we have the same calling, the same purpose. Instead of dwelling on our differences, we should be seeking to know God more so that those differences fade.

Many times this year I have been discouraged and in tears, asking God to slap me over my head with his truth. I want so bad to know and understand what is true and know the ways of God. But I keep asking God…Why, even when we are all seeking to know you more, are we not in complete agreement? If we all have the same spirit guiding us and teaching us…why do we have so many disagreements regarding theology? I haven’t really had that question completely answered yet, but one thing I know is that it is God’s will that each of us follow him wholeheartedly. I know that I just need to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus and serving him with everything I have, and trust that he will continue to teach me in His Truth. And if each of us are doing that, and growing in our knowledge of the truth, we will inevitably be growing closer together as well, in unity as the bride of Christ.

John 8:31-32 "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

2011-05-29T19:34:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah 26:12-15

"Then Jeremiah said to all of the officials and all the people: `The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the things you have heard. Now reform your actions and obey the LORD your God. Then the LORD will relent and not bring the disaster he has planned against you. As for me, I am in your hands; do with me whatever you think is good and right. Be assured, however, that if you put me to death, you will bring the guilt of innocent blood on yourselves and on this city and on those who live in it, for in truth the LORD has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.'"

What amazes me so much about this passage is that even though Jeremiah knew that they would probably kill him after he gave his prophesy...1. He was not discouraged from proclaiming exactly what God had told him to say and 2. He never tried to justify himself before the people and argue why he did not deserve death. He simply stated the prophesy, warned them that it was from the LORD and that the LORD had sent him there to give it to them, and then left it up to them to decide what they were going to do with him without any fight. His focus never strayed from God and what God had given him to do; he didn't think about his own life, his own comfort, or his own reputation. This immediately reminded me of 1 Peter...

1 Peter 2:19

"For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is the conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

`He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.'

When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly."

As followers of Christ, this is what we need to be doing. We can't be worried about our reputation or comfort and should not expect justice on earth. Instead our hearts need to be fully devoted to Christ and set on wholeheartedly serving Him; everyday taking up our cross and laying down our life for our LORD and Savior. We should never let our focus veer from Christ and to ourselves and justifying ourselves before men. We need to entrust ourselves to The One who judges justly for our hope is in the LORD; he is our strength and our fortress. No matter what is thrown us we can stand firm in the truth because God is the one we look to and seek to glorify. In him and only in him is our joy found!

Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD God Almighty

2011-05-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

Last night as I was sitting by the window watching some pretty intense storms roll through I randomly opened up my bible and landed on this Psalm...

Psalm 77:13-19

Your ways, O God, are holy.

What god is so great as our God?

You are the God who performs miracles;

you display your power among the people,

the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

The waters saw you, O God,

the waters saw you and writhed;

the very depths were convulsed.

The clouds poured down water,

the skies resounded with thunder;

your arrows flashed back and forth.

Your thunder was heard in a whirlwind,

your lightning lit up the world;

the earth trembled and quaked.

Your path led through the sea,

your way through the mighty waters,

though your footprints were not seen.

It was pretty powerful and humbling to be reading this psalm while being almost constantly surrounded by lightning and thunder. Our God is a Holy God and an All Powerful God! He controls even the fiercest of storms; he places each lightning bolt in the sky. I feel like if we truly understood how big, powerful, and holy God was we would have absolutely no problem completely trusting in him and serving him with absolutely everything we have. If God literally was standing before us, we would be on our faces, and we wouldn't be able to think of anything beside him. We wouldn't be struggling to make him the center of our thoughts; he would inevitably consume our entire minds. Looking out into the storm reminded me of this and I was compelled to just sit there in awe of God and to, in my heart, worship him, praise him, and exalt him as King over all the Universe.

Then I turned to Revelation 4:5-11...

From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying:

"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."

Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:

"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

And THAT is just a taste of what worship is like in heaven! My mind can't even begin comprehend what it is going to be like!

2011-05-11T20:19:00.000-07:00

Romans 12:1

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will."

We often labor over why God isn’t making his will clear to us, but we have to ask ourselves…How much time are we spending with him? What are we filling our minds with? Do we expect to have a revelation from God regarding his will for our lives when we are spending most of our time watching movies or tv shows that are full of the very things that are absolutely detestable to God? Do we think that by filling our minds with the world’s perspective we will gain insight into God’s perspective?

Paul tells us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices to God, to not conform to this world, and be transformed by the renewing of our minds…and THEN, we will be able to test and approve what God’s will is.

So instead of playing this mind game trying to figure out what God wants us to do, we need to start actually looking to God. Interesting concept, huh? We need to start serving God and living for him, and filling our minds with his word; transforming our minds so that we are seeing things more and more from an eternal perspective. Let us not look to the world for advice and direction, instead let’s look to the God of the universe and the creator of all things. Let’s allow His words consume our minds and dictate our thoughts. If, on a moment by moment basis, we are surrendering our lives to God, doing whatever he has placed on our hearts to do, and doing it with the strength that he provides and saying everything with the words that he gives us, then we can rest in peace knowing that God will direct our paths and lead us to where he wants us. We need to be taking simple steps of obedience, and as we do so, God will make himself clear in our lives.

Life is a gift from God; It is not ours to waste

2011-04-28T14:23:00.000-07:00

When we gave our life over to him, we didn’t just give half of ourselves to him and then keep the rest for our own entertainment. We didn’t give half of each of our days to him. We gave it all. We have died to ourselves; we have crucified our flesh, and have offered it completely up to the LORD to be used as he wants. That means every moment of everyday is HIS. That means every word that comes out of our mouths need to be glorifying to him. That means every thought that we dwell upon needs to be pleasing to HIM. We are not our own, we are HIS. Therefore we should not act as if we own ourselves, indulging ourselves into things that only gratify the flesh and not the Spirit. We need to be living for HIM. We can’t be wasting time on things that will keep us from serving God. We can’t be spending our time thinking about things that are of ourselves and not of GOD. There is a lost world around us, and we have been called to be a light. We cannot be consumed by ourselves and instead need to be saturated with God and His Word. Everything we do should be to further God’s Kingdom and bring glory and praise to HIM. Each and every minute of life that we have is a gift from the God of heaven. Remember the parable about how God will expect more from the man that he has given much to than from the one he has given little to. I have always thought about this in more of a material sense, but think of this parable for a second from the perspective of the gift being life. From the man that he has given more life to, from him more will be expected. Each minute is a gift from God, and each minute belongs to God. If we have truly given ourselves up completely to him that means that we are taking every minute that he has given to us to glorify him and for furthering his kingdom. What do we spend our time thinking about? How many minutes are we taking from him and using for our own fleshly satisfaction instead of his glory? How many minutes do we spend glorifying ourselves or other people instead of glorifying God? Let us not be receiving each of these gracious and loving gifts from God, and using them for ourselves. Let us use them for God’s name sake; anything else is a waste of time.

Psalm 63:1-8

2010-12-07T21:46:00.000-08:00

O God, you are my God

earnestly I seek you;

my soul thirst for you,

my body longs for you,

in a dry and weary land

where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary

and beheld your power and your glory.

Because your love is better than life,

my lips will glorify you.

I will praise you as long as I live,

and in your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul will be satisfied as with the richest foods;

with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

On my bed I remember you;

I think of you through the watch of the night.

Because you are my help,

I sing in the shadow of your wings.

My soul clings to you;

your right hand upholds me.

Sons of God

2010-12-05T19:57:00.000-08:00

Romans 8:12 says...

Therefore brothers, we have an obligation-but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For it you live according the the sinful nature you will die;but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit are sons of God.

Notice here that Paul is talking to those who belong to the Church. He is telling them that if they live according to their flesh then they will die but if BY THE SPIRIT they put to death the misdeeds of the flesh then they will live. And then goes on to say that it those who are LED by the Spirit that are sons of God. This verse kind of speaks for itself. Previously in Chapter 8 verse 3 it says, "For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be FULLY met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." Later Romans 8:9 says to those in the church "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the spirit, IF the spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ he does not belong to Christ."

So...in all of these passages Paul is making the point that true sons of God WILL be led by the spirit. If someone truly is a follower of Christ and has the Spirit of God living in them they will be bearing the fruits of the spirit and putting to death the deeds of the flesh. There is no such thing as christians who aren't living out the christian life and who aren't being led by the spirit because the very thing that demonstrates our sonship is the evidence of being led by the spirit.

Just a few thoughts...

What is this Grace that has been given to us?

2010-11-26T10:20:00.001-08:00

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness. and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope-the appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what his good.

Titus 2:11-14

God's Grace. It is something that is incredible, in fact so amazing that it is hard for us to comprehend the depth of it. We should be on our knees praising God for his Mercy, Grace, Holiness, and His Justness. Sadly, however, I think we take who God is and His grace so lightly. We sing during worship about how much we love God, and then leave and live our lives in a way that is no different than the world. We might try to get rid of the "big" sins in our lives, but tolerate a certain level of sin in our life because after all "that's why we have God's Grace." Yet doesn't Jesus say in John that "if you love me you will obey what I command." Jesus means exactly what he said; if we are not living in obedience to Jesus' teachings than we do not truly love him. So why do people say that they love God, but live in a way that is contrary to the teachings of his word? I believe that the root cause of this is a misunderstanding of the Grace that God has freely given us.

In Titus chapter 2 Paul describes grace as something that not only forgives us of our sins, but also as something that teaches us how to overcome sin and live in obedience to God. Grace is not something that makes it OK for us to sin. In fact grace is the opposite of that. Jesus calls us to live in obedience to his commands and His grace is what enables us to do that. God gave us his grace so that He may be glorified in our lives not so that we could continue living for ourselves. God calls us to follow him. To follow him means to give up everything we have, completely trust in Him, and do what he wants us to do. To continue in sin even after the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, despite of the fact that we are shown how to overcome it and we are given the strength to overcome it, is showing contempt for grace the Jesus is offering to us. If the Holy Spirit is convicting us of a sin, the question is not whether or not we are capable to overcome it. The question is whether or not we are willing. We have the power of the Holy Spirit living inside us and we know that the power of the Holy Spirit is stronger than the power of sin. So to willfully turn our backs towards God and continue to live in sin is to say to God that we don't want his Grace. We are saying that we don't want the power that he is so gracefully given to us to overcome sin. We are saying that we don't want to accept that grace that could enable us to live in obedience to him and that grace that allows God to be glorified in our lives and instead we are saying that we want to keep living for ourselves, satisfying the desire of the flesh.

So, Grace is not something that makes it OK to sin, it is the thing that God has given us so that we can live in a relationship with him where we are following him and putting a death to our fleshly desires. He gives us his grace so that he can be glorified in out lives and so that he can "purify a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good."