A Choice

I have had a choice to make in the past two weeks. A choice that made me feel at the edge of two roads. If I chose the road to the left I would be choosing to try to be normal, fitting in with my friends, going through each day with my checklist, buying into the message the world teaches through music and television--that I need to find happiness in any way I can and right now, because I shouldn't have to wait for anything.

If I chose the road to my right I was choosing to learn to wait patiently on God. (It amazes me how God tells us to wait and the world tells us instant gratification is the way to go) Not to expect happiness, because God offers a joy none of us can comprehend. To not only read His word, but to also live by it, all of it, not just the parts I find easy-to-live-by or interesting, but every part.
I want to recognize the things that are a waste of my time because they do not bring me closer to Him or further His kingdom so I can let them go. And I want my example of living a set apart life to shine like a "star in the universe" (Phil 2:15). That's why God told us not to be part of this world...we are supposed to look otherworldly because this is not our home. By living a set apart life, people who need Him will see His love in our eyes and our actions, and God willing they will ask us why we are different. (I wonder what people in need of Christ think of Christians who live just like they do? Why would anyone want to accept Christ when most of the Christian examples are hypocrites, preaching one thing, living something totally different) I don't think we have to live in a Christian commune to achieve this. At least not a physical commune. But I think we have to guard our minds and hearts against the messages of the world. We can't afford to become emotionally attached to the things this culture promotes. We can only love the people in the secular world as Jesus loved them...if we love them humanly we will get burnt. Emotional attachment is so strong and just because we are Christians doesn't mean we are immune to becoming emotionally attached to the secular world, human or object. So we have to keep a safe distance while still filling the world with Christ's pure and holy love.

I have a desire to have authentic friendships…I think it comes to a point where God wants us to let go of relationships that are bringing us down. It is another moment of allowing Him to refine us with fire. In the end, we have to focus on Him. We were made to have a relationship with Him so if something takes the place of it, even a relationship, we have to let go. As God continually told the Israelites to get rid of their idols, we too have to clean out anything that brings our focus from our Lord's face. That even means relationships...and those seem to be the hardest to let go of. I've had to do it...I've had to let go and trust that God would take care of that person without my influence in their life. Because the risk was losing my own relationship with Him. God said through Paul that we should not be “unequally yoked together” (2 Cor 6:14). He is talking about more than marriage relationships here. No matter how strong we think we are we can be pulled down by the other person (1 Cor 10:12).

Though I might sound like I have it figured out, writing it out and living it is two different things. Each day I have to get up and choose who to serve. I have to strive to live by Philippians 4:8. Because if we apply that to everything in our lives...our books, the tv shows we watch, the movies we watch, the music we listen to, the jokes we tell, the conversations we enter into, and our very thoughts...if we live by that verse won't we be guaranteed to be set apart from this world? That is why I feel so strongly about drinking, smoking, drugs, tattoos, physical contact with the opposite sex. Those avenues are the world's...if I want to be an example to others, why would I walk down those roads? Why would I want to defile God’s temple, which is my own body to simply gratify my own desires? 1 Corinthians 10:23-24, “‘Everything is permissible’—but not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is permissible’—but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.” Is it good for those who need God to see us, the ambassadors of Christ, living as they do: relaxing with a bottle of wine at the end of the day or ordering a mixed drink at a restaurant in the company of our girlfriends, falling asleep next to our boyfriend/girlfriend during a home movie, and going to see a new movie just because it looks funny even though the content is less than perfect. We can’t settle for less than perfect. 1John 2:6 tells us, “whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.” Wasn’t Jesus perfect? Should we not “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1John 1:6).

As I said before, I don’t pretend to live out these commands perfectly. But I pray that each day I come closer to the person God wants me to be. How can I do less for a God who “showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4: 9-10).

You have a choice. A choice to live your life in total abandonment to your Savior or a life chained to the ways of the world, hindering your testimony to those seeking His face. You can either give all of your heart to Jesus or allow the world to steal away parts of it. Let me tell you, Jesus wants all of you, not just part of you. For "the world and its desires pass away, but the man (woman) who does the will of God lives forever" (1John 2:17) I pray that you choose to abandon the world. I pray you burn your idols and turn your face to the one who loves you with an everlasting love!

“This is love for God: to obey his commands. And His commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” 1 John 5:3-5


Lord, I want to live a life pleasing to you, set apart from this world.
Allow your unfailing love to shine through me.
Guide me to live differently than the world tells me to live.
Help me live according to your commands.
Help me walk as Jesus did.

The Old Rugged Cross

Today I had the need to praise God through some good, old fashioned gospel music. So I opened my itunes and found The Gaither Vocal Band. Those guys know how to praise God and you can't help but get in a toe-tapping mood when you listen to them.



What touches me the most, besides the inspirational music, is the lyrics. When "The Old Rugged Cross Made the Difference" began to play I was struck with the thought that I don't think about the Cross enough. Let me share the lyrics of the first verse and chorus with you...

'Twas a life filled with aimless desperation

Without hope walked the shell of a man;

Then a hand with a nailprint stretched downward,

Just one touch then a new life began.

Chorus:

And the old rugged cross made the difference

In a life bound for heartache and defeat;

I will praise Him forever and ever

For the cross made the difference for me.

If we could only live out our lives with the Cross on our minds and this chorus as praise on our lips, how much different would our life here on earth be like?

follow this link to watch a video of this song...excuse the static because the whole video is worth it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mw3DYtZCOyc&feature=related

Roomies

The idea of getting my best friend to be my roommate has always been one of my dreams. I could picture us staying up late sharing stories, giving ourself pedicures while watching sappy movies, and just being there for each other through the craziness of life.

As a college student, who still lives at home, I've never experienced sharing a dorm or an apartment with a roommate. A lot of my college friends share places with their best girlfriends. They often post crazy pictures of their times together and sometimes I'll visit them and think how cool it would be to share an apartment.

But just when I feel down about my circumstances I experience a night like last night....

My sister and I were getting ready for bed and we turned on the radio. One of our favorite stations to listen to at night is hosted by a woman who solves people's problems. Often a guy in love will call in and ask her to dedicate a song to his girl and she'll throw in some advice for free. We love listening to the sappy loves songs and laughing out loud at the people who dare to call in and share their life story.
We finally told each other we had to go to sleep. After turning out the lights and crawling into bed (we share a room and a queen sized bed) Jennifer started chattering up a storm. It is amazing how the quietness of night brings out the chatterbox in my sister. Part of me was irritated because I was tired, but as I look back on our life and our time sharing a room (almost 15 years!) the best memories are when we talk, under the covers, in the darkness of room before drifting off to sleep.

So, I might have never shared an apartment with a close, college friend, but I've shared a room with my best friend in the whole, wide world for most of my life!! She is, and always will be my best friend....my sister, Jennifer!!

Thank you, Jennifer, for putting up with me all these years. Just like many roommates we have our differences and our arguments, but we always manage to patch things up.

I praise God for you, little sister!

My plans vs God's plans

I've been reading Mary Beth Chapman's book "Choosing to See" this weekend. Not only is the book about the Chapman family and the tragic death of their five-year-old daughter, Maria Sue, but there is a main theme that runs throughout the book. This theme is the struggle that Mary Beth has had in recognizing that God's plans do not always line up with her own.

I'm sure many of us struggle with this from time to time, I know I do. I like to have things planned out. I don't like to be caught off guard. When my family and I are going on a trip I like to know exactly what we are doing and when we are doing it so I can be prepared.
I have some friends who are spontaneous. They like when events come up unexpectedly and they like to go with the flow, but for me going with the flow sometimes seems impossible.

One of my favorite verses, Jeremiah 29: 11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Look closely at this verse. "For I know the plans I have for you." God is speaking and He says that He has plans for you. Not the other way around. God doesn't say "so, how do you want your life to go? Let me take notes so I can follow your insructions to a T." That isn't how it works. He created us and He has a plan for us. Somtimes His plans don't turn out to be what we invisioned or even what we prayed for, but as Romans 8:28 says "in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

We can have faith that God works in our best interest. As children of God, we can place our hands in His and trust that He will lead us on the best path.

Father, thank you that you have a plan

for me. Remind me that your plan is

better than the plans I have for myself.

Help me to daily surrender to your will and

praise you even when your plans turn

out differently then my own.

Even youths grow tired...

As I look back on my last post I feel too weary to live life abundantly. Looking towards the three day weekend that lies ahead of me I feel like I need to rest up for the break. It is amazing how a week and a half of classes and new experiences can make one weary. A weariness not only in body, but also in mind and spirit.

Psalm 62:5 says, "Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him."

I haven't quite figured out how to find rest in God alone. Oftentimes when I feel tired I take a nap, watch a movie, or just surf through television channels. When I feel weary from a hard day studying my first thought isn't to dig into God's word or spend time in His presence doing so sounds like more work to me.

The Bible is full of verses that talk about finding rest in God alone and looking to Him to renew our strenth. As I rest this weekend I want to remind myself to not only sleep to renew my body, but to pray and read God's word to renew my soul.

"Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the Lord

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint."

Isaiah 40: 30-32

Lord, renew my strenth as I put my hope in you.

Give me rest, not only for my body, but for my mind and my soul

as I look forward to another week.

Live Life Abundantly

"I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." John 10:10

I recently read a book by Natalie Lloyd titled "Paperdoll." It is amazing how God gives me reading material in a season of my life that pertains to what I am feeling or going through. Honestly, this book was like dessert. Each day I couldn't wait to pick it up and read more devouring each tasty morsel.

Lloyd bases her book on the story of Jesus and the woman at the well, located in John 4. One of Lloyd's themes was that of the significance of the water the woman is attempting to draw from the well and the water Jesus offers. In John 4:13, "Jesus answered, 'Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.'"

Jesus is the giver of life. Through His sacrifice on the cross and the shedding of His blood, I am free from the bondage of sin and have been given the gift of eternal life! The water He offers quenches my thirst.

Jesus does not give this great gift of life for us to live it half-way. I don't want to settle with the thought that I'm a Christian so now I can just live my daily life, doing what I have to. As John 10:10 says Jesus came to give us life so we can life it more fully! He wants us to live out the great love He has shown us. He wants us to share the great news of His death and resurrection to others so that they can experience the gift of life. He wants us to live an abundant life full of love! (His love)

In the words of Natalie Lloyd...

I want to "be that girl who can love outrageously, because she is loved unconditionally."

Jesus, thank you for the gift of eternal life through

your great sacrifice! Help me to share the unconditional

love you have shown me to those you bring into my

life. Help me live my life abundantly in light of your sacrifice.

Jealousy

All my life I've been taught not to be jealous of others, but I've never truly learned that lesson. Sometimes jealousy will sneek up on me. It will whisper in my ear and leave an aching feeling in my heart.

Throughout the Bible there are instances where jealousy took over...

• "When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister." Genesis 30:1
• [Joseph's] brothers were jealous of him..." Genesis 37:11
• "And from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David" 1 Samuel 18:9

When each person above allowed jealousy to infiltrate their heart and mind they committed acts that were displeasing to God. Rachel sent her maidservant to sleep with Jacob so that she might have a child through her, Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery, and Saul saught to end David's life.

Tonight, as I examine my own heart, I pray that God will save me from the poison called jealousy and I praise him for providing His word which has taught me what jealousy can do when I person allows it into their life.