Occasionally a couple of my friends and myself will have controversial conversations about current events or "trending" topics. Today one of them started off with the following link (click here). To understand this post you must first read the link, if you just read this with out reading that... well you might be confused.
A Christian university that has an LGBT group, how does that translate according to biblical standards/principles? Here is my take on it, and a few quotes of theirs.
Biblically homosexuality is a sin, so is sex before marriage, taking God's name in vain, dishonoring one's parents, and the list keeps going. These things are "normal" and accepted in our world today. Scripture says we are born into sin (Psalm 51:5 "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me."). We are not born Christians. We are born with a desire to be sinful. We want to rebel against our parents and other authority; we want to swear and drink and have premarital sex... Everything we aren't supposed to do is what we want to do. It literally takes an act of God to change us. People are tempted in different ways. Jesus, for example, fasted for 40 days. Satan tempted Him with turning a rock into bread to meet His physical needs (Matthew 4:1-11). Satan tempted Him in His weakest moment. When we are hungry or desperate for something we will do almost anything to get that thing, whatever "it" is. In 1991 a woman hired a hit man to kill her daughter's cheerleading rival to insure her own daughter would be on the cheerleading squad. Not all people's sin is that open, but when God comes in and truly changes someone's life, they are changed forever.
Think about it this way, if your co-worker/friend/spouse/etc runs in and says, "I'm so sorry I am late! I just got hit by a semi-truck and it took forever to get out of there." You would not believe him. Why is that? Because that person would look drastically different, and would possibly be dead. When someone is changed by God he will not appear the same. The physical appearance may not change but everything else about the person begins to change. If someone has homosexual tendencies and then comes to know the Lord that person will be changed. It may not be immediate, but change takes place in that person's life. The more this person spends time with the Lord the more the person sees that it is not spiritually natural to have that desire. Then the person will begin to seek God even more for Him to transform his heart. The person begins to want to desire what God desires. Christ's purpose was to spread the gospel and make His name known throughout the world. His second command to Adam and Eve was to be fruitful and multiply and fill the Earth. Why were they to do this? What was the point? It was to spread the name of the Lord. They knew what was good and evil. There were only two options, good and evil. It was not good and bad, rather good and evil.
Sin is evil. When we lie, that is evil. When we get drunk, that is evil. When we... do anything that goes against God's law, it is evil. God is perfectly forgiving. God is also perfectly just. Think about it this way, if a convicted murderer was called in by a judge and was told he was being set free. He was forgiven of his charges and was free to go. Everyone (and they mama) would be in an uproar. We would call that judge all sorts of crazy things. So why should we expect the same from God? God sent His Son to die for each of us so that we might have hope in Him. As a Christian/Follower of Christ we are to look different than the world. We are not to go out of our way to look different, but we are not to be of this world. We are just living in it temporarily until we are allowed to go "home". We are citizens of heaven, if we are followers of Christ. As a citizen of heaven our citizenship looks much different than those of the world. Homosexuality, sexual immorality, etc. fit into that category as well. Although we are not to participate in such, we are called to love them. There is a time to rebuke and a time to love. We can still love others while recognizing their actions are sinful. Many people believe that by thinking something is wrong we have to push our own agenda on others, even if we think that agenda is "the right one". Christ did not do that. He loved others and shared truth with them. He was the harshest on the religious people (read the New Testament to see more on this and what He said to the Pharisees).
I, like everyone else, am very sinful. Do people treat me like a leper or stand outside my house with signs and shouting things at me? No. Why should we be doing that to people who claim homosexuality? Shouldn't we show them love and respect? John 8:2-11 talks about the woman caught in adultery.
"Early in the morning He came again to the temple. All the people came to Him, and He sat down and tuaght them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to Him, 'Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do You say?' This they said to test Him, that they might have some charge to bring against Him. Jesus bent down and wrote with His finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask Him, He stood up and said to them, 'Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.' And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before Him. Jesus stood up and said to her, 'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?' She Said, 'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said, 'Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.'"
He did not condemn her, He loved her. In His love for her He let her go and told her to "sin no more". We do not have the authority to tell others "go and sin no more" but we have the ability to love and respect. I was not there so I cannot tell you the level of His compassion or the depth of His kindness. I can tell you that scripture shows that He loved her enough to protect her from the harm of others and the harm of herself. If we are called to be like Christ (Christian means little Christ), aren't we called to love like Christ? Aren't we called to respect? Aren't we called to tell others about Christ? Yes.
Recently there was an article published about a pastor in North Carolina. This particular pastor told his congregation if their children start showing signs of homosexuality they should "beat" them. This is not what God has called us to. Christ washed the feet of the man who would betray Him. He ate with tax collectors and prostitutes. When was the last time you spoke to someone who was highly hated in your community? When was the last time you offered to eat a meal with a prostitute or someone society looks down upon?
In the community group I attend we spoke about lepers. Not just leprous people but people we consider outcasts in society. Think about who you consider an outcast and pray for them. Not just pray for them but take actions that show Christ love to them. Our community group leader asked us what do those around us begin to believe about us when we start reaching out to the "lepers" of our society? After thinking about it I said, "we become the lepers". We really do, it is not common practice to treat others with love and respect when we do not like what they are doing or when they are not doing what society approves of.
I dare you, reach out to your local leper. We are sinful, we are born into sin. So why not love the other sinners and treat them the way Christ did?
Showing posts with label God's Power. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God's Power. Show all posts
Friday, May 25, 2012
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Setting Us Free
Here recently I have begun going through the entire Bible again. In spending time alone with God I want to know more of His character and know who He is. Just like getting to know a friend there are questions I have that can be and have been answered through prayer and reading through scripture. This morning (and by morning I do mean noon) I was going through Exodus 3-4. I didn't realize how applicable these two chapters were today until I read them again today.
God has power over all things. He has control over all the money in the world, all agriculture, all weather, all things! God is in control. Yet, here I am little ole me wanting to be in control of things in my life and thinking I have somehow earned the right to have that control. I cannot change people. I cannot change the weather. I cannot change myself. I have no control. Now if that does not leave you feeling helpless, I do not know what will. But because God is in control and God is the creator of all things (including you and me) He has designed a plan for us. He wants to reveal Himself to us and He wants to show us His faithfulness. He is our Father. We are a fickle people just like the Israelites were fickle. They were happy when things were good and they were angry when things were bad. We jump from thing to thing to find what we think is best for ourselves. Yet, we do not seek God to see what He considers best for us. We think bigger electronics, more stuff, and nicer clothes is what is best for us. We are sadly deceived. God's best for us does not involve wealth and prosperity (of an earthly standard that is). God does not intend for us to be in perfect health all the time. We are people, our bodies are imperfect, we are going to get sick. Health, wealth, and prosperity just doesn't seem to fit into the gospel. God has a plan for you and for me, but no where in scripture does it say we get a whole bunch of earthly stuff. God has you right where you are for a reason. So seeking out bigger and better is probably not going to be in that. It is a harsh truth but one thing we have to realize is the gospel is not about ourselves. The gospel does not revolve around me, or you, or your favorite pair of shoes. The gospel is all about Christ. It is all about God's love and mercy and grace. God sent Moses to set His people free just like God sent His only Son to give us an option to be free from the bondage of sin.
~*~ Challenging Questions ~*~
- Where does God have you right now? Can you see why He has you there?
- Are you trying to be in control of your own life? How can you turn this over to God and allow Him to regain control of your life (or begin to take hold of your life)?
- Are you allowing God to set you free from sin in your life?
Chapter 3 begins with Moses approaching the historical burning bush. As I read this I realized how hard it was for me to shake the movie Prince of Egypt out of my mind. Reading through this before I knew the movie was not quite accurate but then reading it again made me realize how inaccurate it really is. Not that I am knocking the movie, I like it and it is a good one to watch. Anyway, back on topic. Going through chapter three it is neat to see that God tells Moses Pharaoh's heart will be hardened. He tells him it will take time for the Israelites to be set free. Not just that but He reveals to Moses some of what he will be required to do.
God knew Pharaoh would order all baby boys to be put to death. He knew that Moses' mother would attempt to save him. He also knew that Pharaoh's daughter would find Moses. God had a reason for Moses growing up in Pharaoh's house, among the Egyptian people. He knew what was going to happen when Moses went to speak with Pharaoh to set the Israelites free. God was not surprised that Pharaoh's heart was hardened, God was the one who hardened his heart. He knows all things and sees all things. God is outside of time, He is the creator of time. He sees the end of time just as clearly as He sees today and the beginning of time. He knows all, sees all, and has created all. Nothing surprises God.
Just like God had a plan for Moses, He has a plan for you and me and everyone else. He had Moses grow up among the Egyptians because it allowed Moses to have a connection with the royal family. He automatically had an "in" so to speak. Pharaoh knew him, he was raised in Pharaoh's house. This had to be a humbling situation for Moses, going into a place where no one believes in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This was the family that he knew. He chose to leave the and be with the Israelites, the Hebrew's - his people. God has a plan for each of us. He has given us all the same purpose to know Him and make Him known. Moses was 80 when he and Aaron went to Pharaoh. He had been in the desert for 40 years, which means that Moses was raised in Pharaoh's house for 40 years. Do you get that? He was a grown man! He only knew what it meant to be a child in the palace. He was not raised as an Israelite at all. -Now do you see my problem with the Prince of Egypt? Haha, just kidding! - God has a reason for you to have been born in the family you are apart of, it was not an accident. It was ordained by God for you to have the parents you have, to have the brothers/sisters you have. God has had all things happen for a reason.
Look around and ask God why. Ask Him why you are in your family. Try to see what God's purpose is for you there. If you are a believer but your family is not God has had you come to Christ among a group of non-believers. You are on your own little island, your own mission field. You have a sweet opportunity to ask God to deliver your family from hell. Maybe you are a college student and live on campus or in your sorority/fraternity house and are surrounded by lost people. Whatever or wherever you are God has you in your own little mission field. We have been deceived to think that the only mission fields are a bazillion miles away. My heart is to see international students and people from other countries come to know Christ. But I also recognize it is not practical for every true believer to get up and leave the U.S. to go overseas to share the gospel. Who would evangelize the U.S.? Like I said before, God has you where you are for a reason.
God knew Pharaoh would order all baby boys to be put to death. He knew that Moses' mother would attempt to save him. He also knew that Pharaoh's daughter would find Moses. God had a reason for Moses growing up in Pharaoh's house, among the Egyptian people. He knew what was going to happen when Moses went to speak with Pharaoh to set the Israelites free. God was not surprised that Pharaoh's heart was hardened, God was the one who hardened his heart. He knows all things and sees all things. God is outside of time, He is the creator of time. He sees the end of time just as clearly as He sees today and the beginning of time. He knows all, sees all, and has created all. Nothing surprises God.
Just like God had a plan for Moses, He has a plan for you and me and everyone else. He had Moses grow up among the Egyptians because it allowed Moses to have a connection with the royal family. He automatically had an "in" so to speak. Pharaoh knew him, he was raised in Pharaoh's house. This had to be a humbling situation for Moses, going into a place where no one believes in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This was the family that he knew. He chose to leave the and be with the Israelites, the Hebrew's - his people. God has a plan for each of us. He has given us all the same purpose to know Him and make Him known. Moses was 80 when he and Aaron went to Pharaoh. He had been in the desert for 40 years, which means that Moses was raised in Pharaoh's house for 40 years. Do you get that? He was a grown man! He only knew what it meant to be a child in the palace. He was not raised as an Israelite at all. -Now do you see my problem with the Prince of Egypt? Haha, just kidding! - God has a reason for you to have been born in the family you are apart of, it was not an accident. It was ordained by God for you to have the parents you have, to have the brothers/sisters you have. God has had all things happen for a reason.
Look around and ask God why. Ask Him why you are in your family. Try to see what God's purpose is for you there. If you are a believer but your family is not God has had you come to Christ among a group of non-believers. You are on your own little island, your own mission field. You have a sweet opportunity to ask God to deliver your family from hell. Maybe you are a college student and live on campus or in your sorority/fraternity house and are surrounded by lost people. Whatever or wherever you are God has you in your own little mission field. We have been deceived to think that the only mission fields are a bazillion miles away. My heart is to see international students and people from other countries come to know Christ. But I also recognize it is not practical for every true believer to get up and leave the U.S. to go overseas to share the gospel. Who would evangelize the U.S.? Like I said before, God has you where you are for a reason.
"Then Moses said to the LORD, 'Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.' The LORD said to him, 'Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now then go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say.'"Chapter 4 we see Moses telling God how inadequate he feels. But God tells him He has made all and He can be trusted. Going back for a minute, God had Moses grow up in Pharaoh's house. God choose Moses to speak to Pharaoh and set the Israelites free. He hardened Pharaoh's heart. God was not blind to the situation. He was choosing to make the people see His power and His faithfulness. The Israelites were treated worse when Moses and Aaron went to set them free. The mental image in my head is the Israelites hearing about Moses and Aaron wanting to set them free. They all rejoice. Then Moses and Aaron speak with Pharaoh, Pharaoh makes the life of the Israelites worse. The Israelites are mad at Moses and Aaron for making things worse. Talk about fickle! Then again that is the image I have in my head. The Israelites were very upset that they were caused more pain but as far as the other stuff ... that is how I imagine it going down. God is showing His people He can be trusted. He uses a number of miracles to display His power: Moses and Aaron's staffs turning into snakes and swallowing the magicians snakes, all the water turned to blood, frogs all through out the land, insects and gnats everywhere, all the Egyptians cattle died, boils and sores on all the Egyptians and livestock, hail, locusts, darkness in all the land, and the deaths of all the first born among the Egyptians. God chose to display His power. He wanted His people to trust Him. He showed the Egyptians and the Egyptian magicians that He has power over all things.
~Exodus 4:10-12
God has power over all things. He has control over all the money in the world, all agriculture, all weather, all things! God is in control. Yet, here I am little ole me wanting to be in control of things in my life and thinking I have somehow earned the right to have that control. I cannot change people. I cannot change the weather. I cannot change myself. I have no control. Now if that does not leave you feeling helpless, I do not know what will. But because God is in control and God is the creator of all things (including you and me) He has designed a plan for us. He wants to reveal Himself to us and He wants to show us His faithfulness. He is our Father. We are a fickle people just like the Israelites were fickle. They were happy when things were good and they were angry when things were bad. We jump from thing to thing to find what we think is best for ourselves. Yet, we do not seek God to see what He considers best for us. We think bigger electronics, more stuff, and nicer clothes is what is best for us. We are sadly deceived. God's best for us does not involve wealth and prosperity (of an earthly standard that is). God does not intend for us to be in perfect health all the time. We are people, our bodies are imperfect, we are going to get sick. Health, wealth, and prosperity just doesn't seem to fit into the gospel. God has a plan for you and for me, but no where in scripture does it say we get a whole bunch of earthly stuff. God has you right where you are for a reason. So seeking out bigger and better is probably not going to be in that. It is a harsh truth but one thing we have to realize is the gospel is not about ourselves. The gospel does not revolve around me, or you, or your favorite pair of shoes. The gospel is all about Christ. It is all about God's love and mercy and grace. God sent Moses to set His people free just like God sent His only Son to give us an option to be free from the bondage of sin.
~*~ Challenging Questions ~*~
- Where does God have you right now? Can you see why He has you there?
- Are you trying to be in control of your own life? How can you turn this over to God and allow Him to regain control of your life (or begin to take hold of your life)?
- Are you allowing God to set you free from sin in your life?
Friday, April 22, 2011
Unmasked Blessings
To be honest, I just love blessings in disguise … well when I can unmask them that is. Today the co-worker I usually go eat with couldn’t do lunch as usual so I went to lunch alone. But the great thing was I spent some unexpected time with God. Something that was much needed seeing as how I didn’t get a chance to spend time with Him this morning. Anyway, done rambling about that, when I was eating I started to read the Proverb of the day and was blessed by that and brought light to some things in my own life. Then I wanted to read a Psalm, so I went to Psalm 100. When I was there I saw that I had made a note in my Bible that sent me to Ezekiel 34. It was like a little treasure map, but a treasure that I didn’t know I was looking for. It turned out to be exactly what I needed to read. As soon as I read it I wanted to share it with anyone reading this.
For thus says the Lord God:
How often do we just stop and realize that these are the words of God? We recognize the red letters in the New Testament as coming from the mouth of Christ, but here… here it says “Thus says the Lord God.” Wow, how I miss that far too often. It makes me think of earlier in Ezekiel 33:30 “Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord”. We are invited to hear and examine the words of the Lord. How precious!
Behold, I, I Myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out My sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.
God has sought us out. If we are His He searched for us. He pursued us and sought us out as a shepherd searches for one of his sheep when they wander out. It says that He will rescue us from the places we have been scattered. The day of clouds and thick darkness… that is a scary place to be, but He is there to rescue us. Ezekiel 33:30 sounds a whole lot better now, does it not. The Lord Himself has just told us that when we are scattered about, in the midst of a trial or a hard time, He is there. “I, I Myself…” The Lord Himself seeks us out. That excites me to no end and just makes me want to jump for joy. But there is more.
And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I Myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I Myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.
Our God, the God of the universe is going to bring His people out of other countries and into His land (our land). God promises to feed us. He promises to take care of us. More than any man could even take care of us. He is the ultimate provider. We, as girls, desire to have a man take care of us and provide for our needs. God promises to do that. Philippians 4:19 says “And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Oh my gosh, that makes me excited! God. The God of the universe, you know, the One who created all things … He WANTS to take care of us and provide for us. In Ezekiel He tells us that He will provide food for us by the ravines and the mountains. He will give us a place to lie down. So we get to eat and sleep at peace with Him. He does not go back on His promises. Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” That says it all. He is our Shepherd, the good Shepherd. The more you read in Psalm 23 the more encouraging it gets. He tells us that we get to rest, He leads us, He restores us, we have no fear with Him, He comforts us, He provides for us, He anoints us, He overflows what we need; He is such a good Shepherd. He again reminds us in vs 15 of Ezekiel 34 that He will make us lie down. He will make us rest in Him. Sometimes we run ourselves ragged, He didn’t tell us to do that, we did that on our own. But He makes us lie down and rest in Him. He wants good things for His children. Just like we read in Matthew 7 and Luke 11 we are reminded that our own fathers give us good things, but our heavenly Father gives us so much more and such better gifts than even our earthly fathers do. Our heavenly Father knows what we need before we ever ask, He just wants us to ask for it. He provides in times we do not know what we need. He is such a good God!
I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy.
He seeks out the lost. People come to Christ all the time, but our Lord and Savior is seeking out the lost and He is drawing them into Himself. It is nothing we could have ever done. Our salvation is not merely based on what we do, it is Him working in us and through us and through our brothers and sisters. We can do nothing without Him. He is going to bring the strayed back to himself. He is going to bind up the wounded. Psalm 34:18 says “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” Psalm 147:3 “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” He wants to bind up the injured. He wants to heal us when our hearts are broken. He wants to draw us into Himself. He says He is going to strengthen the weak. II Corinthians 12:9 says, “But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’” Ok, so there is so much to unpack in that verse but I want to just look at the last half, “My power is made perfect in weakness.” He is our strength. There are a ton of verses that tell us how powerful our God is and a ton of verses that tell us He uses the weak to do crazy awesome things. But here is the thing, Moses didn’t think he was doing anything crazy awesome at the time. Neither did Noah or Paul or Abraham. Even the women that we look at as being great women of the faith: Ruth, Ester, Abigail, Mary … These women knew they were working for the King, yet they did not know that in their state of imperfection and weakness God was making them into strong women that we would be looking up to. His power is made perfect in our weakness. It is ok to be weak, God is the biggest, badest, strongest being ever! He cannot be defeated and cannot be shaken. He is the supreme ruler of the universe. He formed you in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13). He chose you before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). He loves the weak and comforts them and gives them strength but the fat and the strong He will destroy. They do not seek Him for provisions or for strength. God wants us to rely on Him. He wants us to look to Him for all of our needs, wants, and desires. He is the greatest thing since sliced bread (well, He is way better)!
Our God loves us and wants us to find our satisfaction in Him. “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost,” (Luke 19:10). He wants to bring us to Himself, He is drawing us closer and asking us to let Him be everything we want and need. He can fill us up to overflowing; “because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5b). We cannot fill ourselves up with love, He pours His love into our hearts using the Holy Spirit whom He gave to us. It is not about us at all. It is all about Him, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the unglodly.” (Romans 5:6) … “but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8). Did you catch that? We were sought out by God because we were lost. If we are saved we were once sought out. But here is the kicker, Ezekiel 34:11-16 tells us He continues to seek us out when we mess up or when we stray or when we lose our way. He at the right time sent Christ to die for our sin. Not just your sin but mine and everyone you know and don’t know and everyone in between … yes, even the person you cannot stand to be in the same room with, Christ died for their sin because they have just as much importance and value as you do in His eyes. Christ loves us so much He died for us and then rose again to prove to the world that nothing is too much for God to deal with. Our God is a powerful God.
“For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I Myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out My sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I Myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I Myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy.”One thing I used to do when I would send encouraging notes to my friends was take a section of scripture and just use it as a guide to encourage them. I want to do that because it is such a sweet passage of scripture.
- Ezekiel 34:11-16
For thus says the Lord God:
How often do we just stop and realize that these are the words of God? We recognize the red letters in the New Testament as coming from the mouth of Christ, but here… here it says “Thus says the Lord God.” Wow, how I miss that far too often. It makes me think of earlier in Ezekiel 33:30 “Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord”. We are invited to hear and examine the words of the Lord. How precious!
Behold, I, I Myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out My sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.
God has sought us out. If we are His He searched for us. He pursued us and sought us out as a shepherd searches for one of his sheep when they wander out. It says that He will rescue us from the places we have been scattered. The day of clouds and thick darkness… that is a scary place to be, but He is there to rescue us. Ezekiel 33:30 sounds a whole lot better now, does it not. The Lord Himself has just told us that when we are scattered about, in the midst of a trial or a hard time, He is there. “I, I Myself…” The Lord Himself seeks us out. That excites me to no end and just makes me want to jump for joy. But there is more.
And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I Myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I Myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.
Our God, the God of the universe is going to bring His people out of other countries and into His land (our land). God promises to feed us. He promises to take care of us. More than any man could even take care of us. He is the ultimate provider. We, as girls, desire to have a man take care of us and provide for our needs. God promises to do that. Philippians 4:19 says “And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Oh my gosh, that makes me excited! God. The God of the universe, you know, the One who created all things … He WANTS to take care of us and provide for us. In Ezekiel He tells us that He will provide food for us by the ravines and the mountains. He will give us a place to lie down. So we get to eat and sleep at peace with Him. He does not go back on His promises. Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” That says it all. He is our Shepherd, the good Shepherd. The more you read in Psalm 23 the more encouraging it gets. He tells us that we get to rest, He leads us, He restores us, we have no fear with Him, He comforts us, He provides for us, He anoints us, He overflows what we need; He is such a good Shepherd. He again reminds us in vs 15 of Ezekiel 34 that He will make us lie down. He will make us rest in Him. Sometimes we run ourselves ragged, He didn’t tell us to do that, we did that on our own. But He makes us lie down and rest in Him. He wants good things for His children. Just like we read in Matthew 7 and Luke 11 we are reminded that our own fathers give us good things, but our heavenly Father gives us so much more and such better gifts than even our earthly fathers do. Our heavenly Father knows what we need before we ever ask, He just wants us to ask for it. He provides in times we do not know what we need. He is such a good God!
I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy.
He seeks out the lost. People come to Christ all the time, but our Lord and Savior is seeking out the lost and He is drawing them into Himself. It is nothing we could have ever done. Our salvation is not merely based on what we do, it is Him working in us and through us and through our brothers and sisters. We can do nothing without Him. He is going to bring the strayed back to himself. He is going to bind up the wounded. Psalm 34:18 says “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” Psalm 147:3 “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” He wants to bind up the injured. He wants to heal us when our hearts are broken. He wants to draw us into Himself. He says He is going to strengthen the weak. II Corinthians 12:9 says, “But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’” Ok, so there is so much to unpack in that verse but I want to just look at the last half, “My power is made perfect in weakness.” He is our strength. There are a ton of verses that tell us how powerful our God is and a ton of verses that tell us He uses the weak to do crazy awesome things. But here is the thing, Moses didn’t think he was doing anything crazy awesome at the time. Neither did Noah or Paul or Abraham. Even the women that we look at as being great women of the faith: Ruth, Ester, Abigail, Mary … These women knew they were working for the King, yet they did not know that in their state of imperfection and weakness God was making them into strong women that we would be looking up to. His power is made perfect in our weakness. It is ok to be weak, God is the biggest, badest, strongest being ever! He cannot be defeated and cannot be shaken. He is the supreme ruler of the universe. He formed you in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13). He chose you before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). He loves the weak and comforts them and gives them strength but the fat and the strong He will destroy. They do not seek Him for provisions or for strength. God wants us to rely on Him. He wants us to look to Him for all of our needs, wants, and desires. He is the greatest thing since sliced bread (well, He is way better)!
Our God loves us and wants us to find our satisfaction in Him. “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost,” (Luke 19:10). He wants to bring us to Himself, He is drawing us closer and asking us to let Him be everything we want and need. He can fill us up to overflowing; “because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5b). We cannot fill ourselves up with love, He pours His love into our hearts using the Holy Spirit whom He gave to us. It is not about us at all. It is all about Him, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the unglodly.” (Romans 5:6) … “but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8). Did you catch that? We were sought out by God because we were lost. If we are saved we were once sought out. But here is the kicker, Ezekiel 34:11-16 tells us He continues to seek us out when we mess up or when we stray or when we lose our way. He at the right time sent Christ to die for our sin. Not just your sin but mine and everyone you know and don’t know and everyone in between … yes, even the person you cannot stand to be in the same room with, Christ died for their sin because they have just as much importance and value as you do in His eyes. Christ loves us so much He died for us and then rose again to prove to the world that nothing is too much for God to deal with. Our God is a powerful God.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
I Am Who God Says I Am
Often times we forget who God says we are, this is such a good reminder that we are not only His but we are forever His.
Here is a sweet article about who He says we are if we are in Him. Also, here is the weblink if you would like to find more helpful articles from this author:
I am a child of God John 1: 12
I am a joint-heir with Christ Romans 8: 17
I am the righteousness of God in Christ. 2 Cor.5: 21
I am the temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 Cor. 6: 19
I am the apple of His eye. Zec.2: 8
I am an ambassador for Christ. 2 Cor.5: 20
I am free from condemnation Romans 8: 1
I am more than a conqueror Romans 8: 17
I am the salt of the earth. Mathew 5: 13
I am the light of the world Mathew 5: 14 & Eph. 5: 8
I am a member of the household of faith Gal.6 :10
I am a branch of the True Vine John 15: 5
I am the will of God James 1: 8
I am in the palm of the Lord’s Hand Isa. 49: 16
I am covered by the shadow of His Hand Isa. 51: 6
I am loved by God as much as He loves Jesus John 17:23
I am in God’s Hand and none can pluck me out John10:28
I am delivered from sin Romans 6: 7
I am free from weaknesses and diseases. Matt.8: 17
I am complete in Him. Col.2: 10
I am translated into the kingdom of God’s Son.Col.1:13 I am delivered from the power of darkness Col. 1: 13
I am accepted in Him Eph. 1: 6
I am dead to sin and alive to God in Christ.Rom.6:11
I am seated in heavenly places in Christ. Eph. 2: 6
I am redeemed from the curse of the law. Gal. 3: 13
I am in Christ. 1 Cor. 1: 30
I am hidden with Christ in God. Col. 3: 3
This revelation of God concerning me is found in His Holy Word. Sense knowledge (the knowledge gained through seeing, hearing, smelling, touching and tasting) and my varying circumstances may not reveal the same and in reality contradict this revelation, but when I stand on the naked Word of God alone, God confirms His Word.
I am the daughter of the Almighty God through Jesus Christ, His Son. Chosen before the foundation of the world to be His witness in this world and to do His will for His glory. My Heavenly Father promised to lead, guide and provide all the days of my life.
I am the Lord’s ambassador in this world. God by His Spirit indwells me and now I am His Temple. My relationship with the Lord is real and it is a privilege to know Him, love Him and serve Him!! Praise His wonderful Name!
Here is a sweet article about who He says we are if we are in Him. Also, here is the weblink if you would like to find more helpful articles from this author:
I am a child of God John 1: 12
I am a joint-heir with Christ Romans 8: 17
I am the righteousness of God in Christ. 2 Cor.5: 21
I am the temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 Cor. 6: 19
I am the apple of His eye. Zec.2: 8
I am an ambassador for Christ. 2 Cor.5: 20
I am free from condemnation Romans 8: 1
I am more than a conqueror Romans 8: 17
I am the salt of the earth. Mathew 5: 13
I am the light of the world Mathew 5: 14 & Eph. 5: 8
I am a member of the household of faith Gal.6 :10
I am a branch of the True Vine John 15: 5
I am the will of God James 1: 8
I am in the palm of the Lord’s Hand Isa. 49: 16
I am covered by the shadow of His Hand Isa. 51: 6
I am loved by God as much as He loves Jesus John 17:23
I am in God’s Hand and none can pluck me out John10:28
I am delivered from sin Romans 6: 7
I am free from weaknesses and diseases. Matt.8: 17
I am complete in Him. Col.2: 10
I am translated into the kingdom of God’s Son.Col.1:13 I am delivered from the power of darkness Col. 1: 13
I am accepted in Him Eph. 1: 6
I am dead to sin and alive to God in Christ.Rom.6:11
I am seated in heavenly places in Christ. Eph. 2: 6
I am redeemed from the curse of the law. Gal. 3: 13
I am in Christ. 1 Cor. 1: 30
I am hidden with Christ in God. Col. 3: 3
This revelation of God concerning me is found in His Holy Word. Sense knowledge (the knowledge gained through seeing, hearing, smelling, touching and tasting) and my varying circumstances may not reveal the same and in reality contradict this revelation, but when I stand on the naked Word of God alone, God confirms His Word.
I am the daughter of the Almighty God through Jesus Christ, His Son. Chosen before the foundation of the world to be His witness in this world and to do His will for His glory. My Heavenly Father promised to lead, guide and provide all the days of my life.
I am the Lord’s ambassador in this world. God by His Spirit indwells me and now I am His Temple. My relationship with the Lord is real and it is a privilege to know Him, love Him and serve Him!! Praise His wonderful Name!
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Occupational Hazard
Over the past couple of days I have been watching several movies. This is quite out of character for me, I am not one to sit in front of the T.V. for hours and hours. However, recently I have had my wisdom teeth taken out. So to pass the time by I have been watching movies. To be honest I have watched about 8 movies in the past 3 days. That is right... wow!
Well, one of the movies was Prince of Egypt, it is a personal favorite from my childhood. Anyway, I am babbling but have a point. While watching the Prince of Egypt I noticed many things, but one of the biggest that stuck out to me this time was near the middle/end of the movie. Moses said, "Pharaoh has the power. He can take away your food, your home, your freedom. He can take away your sons and daughters. With one word, Pharaoh can take away your very lives. But there is one thing he cannot take away from you: your faith. Believe, for we will see God's wonders." This made me think about my own job. God has allowed me to work with international students for the past two years. I have been so afraid to live radically for Christ for fear of losing my job. Lately I have been convicted about this thought. No, I am not going to do anything stupid like stand on top of my office building yelling "turn or burn." I mean, God has given me this job for a reason. God has allowed me to be where I am to fulfill His purpose. My boss has the power to fire me from my job. He does not have the power to take away my faith.
Living in fear of the "what if's" and the "could be's" and so on is not going to get us/me anywhere. God's word tells us we are not to fear anyone but Him. The "Pharaoh's" in our lives seem to have so much power over us, yet we fail to see that God is bigger than anything else on this earth. He is the Creator. He is the Author of Life. He is the God of love, the God of hope, the God of salvation, He is the great I Am! There is nothing we can do to make God lose any power. He is the creator of power for heaven's sake! My fear of getting fired or of having my boss upset with me because I use my job as a platform to share the gospel, really is the least of my worries. God places us exactly where He wants us in His timing to do His will. He has told us our purpose is to know Him and make Him known. So my life goal is to know Him and make Him known in all that I do. Our lives are not to be sectioned off like a pie chart. When you look at a pie chart of your life you see what consumes most of your time. For example: work, friends, eating, sleeping, activities, etc. There are so many "compartments" in our lives it is easy for us to want to section them off. Yet, each of our compartments tend to spill over into each other. Our friends at work start becoming our friends outside of work. Our job ends up coming home with us at times. Our activities tend to include eating and friends and more. God is to be in every part of our lives. God is not a section or compartment of its own. He is the center point of each of our pie charts for our lives. He is the controller of each little area of our lives.
Even when we feel like us making Christ known could cause us to lose everything we have. We can remember that who or whatever our Pharaoh is in that situation cannot take away our faith. God promises to protect His children. He tells us in several places that His children will not be ashamed. Although we may be persecuted for our faith, we can stand strong knowing that God knows exactly what He is doing. Our persecutors can never take away our faith in God. How relieving?!
Well, one of the movies was Prince of Egypt, it is a personal favorite from my childhood. Anyway, I am babbling but have a point. While watching the Prince of Egypt I noticed many things, but one of the biggest that stuck out to me this time was near the middle/end of the movie. Moses said, "Pharaoh has the power. He can take away your food, your home, your freedom. He can take away your sons and daughters. With one word, Pharaoh can take away your very lives. But there is one thing he cannot take away from you: your faith. Believe, for we will see God's wonders." This made me think about my own job. God has allowed me to work with international students for the past two years. I have been so afraid to live radically for Christ for fear of losing my job. Lately I have been convicted about this thought. No, I am not going to do anything stupid like stand on top of my office building yelling "turn or burn." I mean, God has given me this job for a reason. God has allowed me to be where I am to fulfill His purpose. My boss has the power to fire me from my job. He does not have the power to take away my faith.
Living in fear of the "what if's" and the "could be's" and so on is not going to get us/me anywhere. God's word tells us we are not to fear anyone but Him. The "Pharaoh's" in our lives seem to have so much power over us, yet we fail to see that God is bigger than anything else on this earth. He is the Creator. He is the Author of Life. He is the God of love, the God of hope, the God of salvation, He is the great I Am! There is nothing we can do to make God lose any power. He is the creator of power for heaven's sake! My fear of getting fired or of having my boss upset with me because I use my job as a platform to share the gospel, really is the least of my worries. God places us exactly where He wants us in His timing to do His will. He has told us our purpose is to know Him and make Him known. So my life goal is to know Him and make Him known in all that I do. Our lives are not to be sectioned off like a pie chart. When you look at a pie chart of your life you see what consumes most of your time. For example: work, friends, eating, sleeping, activities, etc. There are so many "compartments" in our lives it is easy for us to want to section them off. Yet, each of our compartments tend to spill over into each other. Our friends at work start becoming our friends outside of work. Our job ends up coming home with us at times. Our activities tend to include eating and friends and more. God is to be in every part of our lives. God is not a section or compartment of its own. He is the center point of each of our pie charts for our lives. He is the controller of each little area of our lives.
Even when we feel like us making Christ known could cause us to lose everything we have. We can remember that who or whatever our Pharaoh is in that situation cannot take away our faith. God promises to protect His children. He tells us in several places that His children will not be ashamed. Although we may be persecuted for our faith, we can stand strong knowing that God knows exactly what He is doing. Our persecutors can never take away our faith in God. How relieving?!
Friday, November 12, 2010
Wreck Me Righteous
Everyone has a story to tell. Some stories seem better than others because of detail or even the way they are told. Here is the story of how I came to know the Lord and some of the events that led up to that point.God is doing and is continuing to do many things in my life.
I grew up in a “Christian” home. My grandfather was a Baptist preacher, nana played the piano at church and was a good strong Christian woman. My parents always went to church but their relationship with each other definitely did not reflect what they said they believed. When I was 10 I walked down the isle of a tiny little Baptist church in a little bitty town. A week later I was baptized. However, those two events sadly meant nothing in my life. I was playing church at the age of 10. I thought I was safe because of praying a little prayer and walking a little isle so I wouldn’t go to hell. My life showed no reflection of what I claimed to believe. Honestly I do not believe I came to Christ until my freshman year of college. My life between 10 years of age and my freshman year (18 years of age) was spent living for myself and everything I could do to be pretty and cool and have the greatest boyfriend and etc. When I was in high school I dated a guy for about 3 months, we began talking about marriage. It freaked him out. He was not ready to settle down or do anything like that. For the most part I thought we had a moral relationship because we were not sleeping together. We did other things that very well could have led into that, yet there was strangely always a stopping point. That is sad but awesome, because even that shows God trying to protect me from something I did not understand. He called everything off. As hard as it was for me I thought, “he will come back.” The next week was the winter formal at my high school. I went with a group of girls. That night when the 3 of us left we left with 2 guys. One of the girls said she had to go home early, so we let her go. The other girl received a phone call from her mother telling her she had to come home immediately. Her mom had a bad feeling about us being out and she wanted her home right away. So we took the girl home. I thought we were going to IHOP or Waffle House, that is what the guys told my mom we were doing. We continued to drive around for a little bit and the guys decided to stop at a gas station. When we parked, the guy driving turned around, looked at me, and said “so you have a choice.” This was a normal thing. He would pretty much play the would you rather game or the ultimatum game. This time was different. He said, “you have two options. One, have sex with me or two, walk home.” I was shocked. That had not crossed my mind with him at all.
About 4 months earlier I made the mistake of having sex with a football player. I did not enjoy it and hate to admit that I even did that. When this guy found out about it he was furious that having dated him off and on I had never slept with him. He decided to change that. He repeated his words “have sex with me or walk home.” I didn’t want to choose either option, I wanted out of the whole game. By this time he had stepped out of the car and walked back to my door. He opened the door and grabbed my arm. “Have sex with me or walk home,” I looked at the guy in the passenger seat. I will never forget the look on his face. No one has ever had that look of fear in their eyes, well at least not that I had ever seen. The guy in the passenger seat took out a $5 bill and said “just go in. Go in and buy what you need. Just do it.” My eyes kept shifting back and forth. I didn’t know what to do. I finally told them I would go in but I was taking my phone with me so I could pretend to be on it and feel less awkward. He allowed me to do so. I called every person in my phone except my parents. Only one person answered, it was a friend’s mother. I couldn’t bear to tell her what was happening, I simply apologized for the late night phone call and hung up. I proceeded to buy a box of condoms and went back to the vehicle. The guy was waiting in the back seat and his friend was now in the driver seat. It was the longest walk back to the first parking space EVER. I got in and he proceeded to rape me. I cried. I just kept saying “please take me home…please just take me home.” He eventually got tired of hearing me say that and stopped. His friend had turned the radio up loud so he didn’t have to hear what was going on. The guy climbed in the front seat being so frustrated I would not just let him “enjoy” what was happening. He told the guy to just take me home. He did. That was one of the hardest things to overcome in coming to Christ. I could not believe that God would allow such a thing to happen and still be considered a loving God. My rape wrecked my view of God. I began to drink, buy drugs (didn’t take them…too big of a chicken, thank God), and race cars. I wanted to be a rebel. I acted out and was punished for my actions. The next year I decided to be little miss smarty pants. I took the hardest classes the school offered and was the president of a political club. Then when that didn’t work out I signed up for a mission trip to Venezuela. It was amazing. God did all sorts of things there and I would love to go back if given the chance.
In the fall I started college. God began working in me. The first day living on campus I met a group of students who were part of a campus ministry called Campus Outreach. One of the girls on my floor started a flag football team as well as a Bible study. I would go to parties but had no desire to drink. I was a busy body, doing anything and everything I could to be around people. I went to the Bible study, was on the flag football team, went to weekly Campus Outreach meetings, went to the BCM, went to fraternity parties, church, hung out in the school cafeteria more than I went to class, and etc. The next spring, He revealed to me how great He is and how I do not need the things of this world to be satisfied. I was not being satisfied because I did not have Him. He showed me that although I had been raped 2 years prior He could use that for His glory. He in no way desires bad things to happen to His children, just like any good father (Matthew 7). He knew that it would happen. Satan has to ask God’s permission before doing anything to His people (read Job…great example). God allowed this wretched thing in my life because He had (has) a plan to use it for His glory and to make His name great among the nations. He in no way wants me to make my own name great, rather His name is to be proclaimed through out the nations (Matthew 28:18-20).
God has given me the desire to share with anyone that breathes and does/does not know Him. Criteria, if they are breathing, hearing, and human…share with them. My goal in life is to make Christ’s name great among the world. He has given me a heart to go to another country to live for Him. He has me here right now for a reason. Because of past mistakes and taking out loans for college I am now tied to the U.S. financially until at least 2013. Until that time He has not allowed me to leave Jonesboro for more than 7 days (seriously … it is kind of funny and frustrating at the same time). God has a plan for me that will far exceed my plans for me. All I have to do is submit to Him and follow Him where He leads. I may not fully comprehend what He wants me to do, but I shall do it anyway .
God had to completely wreck me to put me on a path of righteousness. This seems to be a common theme with God though. A quote from the movie Eat, Pray, Love, "Ruin is a gift, ruin is the road to transformation." While I do not agree where she was going with the statement in the movie I wrote it down because it reminds me of how God has worked in my own life. He had to ruin me and show me that I was absolutely nothing compared to His greatness. II Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." We have to be transformed to become Christ-like. To be transformed we must change completely who we were to something new. God has to wreck us of who we were to make us into "little Christ's"... I am content with being wrecked righteous.
I grew up in a “Christian” home. My grandfather was a Baptist preacher, nana played the piano at church and was a good strong Christian woman. My parents always went to church but their relationship with each other definitely did not reflect what they said they believed. When I was 10 I walked down the isle of a tiny little Baptist church in a little bitty town. A week later I was baptized. However, those two events sadly meant nothing in my life. I was playing church at the age of 10. I thought I was safe because of praying a little prayer and walking a little isle so I wouldn’t go to hell. My life showed no reflection of what I claimed to believe. Honestly I do not believe I came to Christ until my freshman year of college. My life between 10 years of age and my freshman year (18 years of age) was spent living for myself and everything I could do to be pretty and cool and have the greatest boyfriend and etc. When I was in high school I dated a guy for about 3 months, we began talking about marriage. It freaked him out. He was not ready to settle down or do anything like that. For the most part I thought we had a moral relationship because we were not sleeping together. We did other things that very well could have led into that, yet there was strangely always a stopping point. That is sad but awesome, because even that shows God trying to protect me from something I did not understand. He called everything off. As hard as it was for me I thought, “he will come back.” The next week was the winter formal at my high school. I went with a group of girls. That night when the 3 of us left we left with 2 guys. One of the girls said she had to go home early, so we let her go. The other girl received a phone call from her mother telling her she had to come home immediately. Her mom had a bad feeling about us being out and she wanted her home right away. So we took the girl home. I thought we were going to IHOP or Waffle House, that is what the guys told my mom we were doing. We continued to drive around for a little bit and the guys decided to stop at a gas station. When we parked, the guy driving turned around, looked at me, and said “so you have a choice.” This was a normal thing. He would pretty much play the would you rather game or the ultimatum game. This time was different. He said, “you have two options. One, have sex with me or two, walk home.” I was shocked. That had not crossed my mind with him at all.
About 4 months earlier I made the mistake of having sex with a football player. I did not enjoy it and hate to admit that I even did that. When this guy found out about it he was furious that having dated him off and on I had never slept with him. He decided to change that. He repeated his words “have sex with me or walk home.” I didn’t want to choose either option, I wanted out of the whole game. By this time he had stepped out of the car and walked back to my door. He opened the door and grabbed my arm. “Have sex with me or walk home,” I looked at the guy in the passenger seat. I will never forget the look on his face. No one has ever had that look of fear in their eyes, well at least not that I had ever seen. The guy in the passenger seat took out a $5 bill and said “just go in. Go in and buy what you need. Just do it.” My eyes kept shifting back and forth. I didn’t know what to do. I finally told them I would go in but I was taking my phone with me so I could pretend to be on it and feel less awkward. He allowed me to do so. I called every person in my phone except my parents. Only one person answered, it was a friend’s mother. I couldn’t bear to tell her what was happening, I simply apologized for the late night phone call and hung up. I proceeded to buy a box of condoms and went back to the vehicle. The guy was waiting in the back seat and his friend was now in the driver seat. It was the longest walk back to the first parking space EVER. I got in and he proceeded to rape me. I cried. I just kept saying “please take me home…please just take me home.” He eventually got tired of hearing me say that and stopped. His friend had turned the radio up loud so he didn’t have to hear what was going on. The guy climbed in the front seat being so frustrated I would not just let him “enjoy” what was happening. He told the guy to just take me home. He did. That was one of the hardest things to overcome in coming to Christ. I could not believe that God would allow such a thing to happen and still be considered a loving God. My rape wrecked my view of God. I began to drink, buy drugs (didn’t take them…too big of a chicken, thank God), and race cars. I wanted to be a rebel. I acted out and was punished for my actions. The next year I decided to be little miss smarty pants. I took the hardest classes the school offered and was the president of a political club. Then when that didn’t work out I signed up for a mission trip to Venezuela. It was amazing. God did all sorts of things there and I would love to go back if given the chance.
In the fall I started college. God began working in me. The first day living on campus I met a group of students who were part of a campus ministry called Campus Outreach. One of the girls on my floor started a flag football team as well as a Bible study. I would go to parties but had no desire to drink. I was a busy body, doing anything and everything I could to be around people. I went to the Bible study, was on the flag football team, went to weekly Campus Outreach meetings, went to the BCM, went to fraternity parties, church, hung out in the school cafeteria more than I went to class, and etc. The next spring, He revealed to me how great He is and how I do not need the things of this world to be satisfied. I was not being satisfied because I did not have Him. He showed me that although I had been raped 2 years prior He could use that for His glory. He in no way desires bad things to happen to His children, just like any good father (Matthew 7). He knew that it would happen. Satan has to ask God’s permission before doing anything to His people (read Job…great example). God allowed this wretched thing in my life because He had (has) a plan to use it for His glory and to make His name great among the nations. He in no way wants me to make my own name great, rather His name is to be proclaimed through out the nations (Matthew 28:18-20).
God has given me the desire to share with anyone that breathes and does/does not know Him. Criteria, if they are breathing, hearing, and human…share with them. My goal in life is to make Christ’s name great among the world. He has given me a heart to go to another country to live for Him. He has me here right now for a reason. Because of past mistakes and taking out loans for college I am now tied to the U.S. financially until at least 2013. Until that time He has not allowed me to leave Jonesboro for more than 7 days (seriously … it is kind of funny and frustrating at the same time). God has a plan for me that will far exceed my plans for me. All I have to do is submit to Him and follow Him where He leads. I may not fully comprehend what He wants me to do, but I shall do it anyway .
God had to completely wreck me to put me on a path of righteousness. This seems to be a common theme with God though. A quote from the movie Eat, Pray, Love, "Ruin is a gift, ruin is the road to transformation." While I do not agree where she was going with the statement in the movie I wrote it down because it reminds me of how God has worked in my own life. He had to ruin me and show me that I was absolutely nothing compared to His greatness. II Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." We have to be transformed to become Christ-like. To be transformed we must change completely who we were to something new. God has to wreck us of who we were to make us into "little Christ's"... I am content with being wrecked righteous.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
The Power Behind Dry Bones
The Valley of Dry Bones would not have been the most ideal place to visit in the world. Yet God sent Ezekiel there. God's hand was on Ezekiel and He took him to a valley that was filled with dry bones. I can almost picture an extremely sandy, dry, desert like valley filled with bones scattered about God, told Ezekiel to prophesy and He would cause the bones to come together, the He would allow sinews (tendons) to form on the bones, then He would cover the bodies in flesh, and then He would give them breath to breathe. (That would make a sweeeeeet movie! I am just saying, come on hollywood!) So Ezekiel did what God told him to do. God made the bones come together. He put tendons on the bones and covered them with flesh. Then He put breath in the bodies so that they could breathe. God made these dry bones come together and make living things. Dry bones, do you get that... DRY BONES! This is not like Juliet who drank potion that would make her appear dead temporarily. This is not like something you see on CSI where a person was buried because they were thought to be dead. These were dry bones. God's power is never ending. He can do anything. Romans 8:38-39 says nothing can come between us and God. He is too powerful for anything to separate His people from Him. He can not be defeated.
Just a chapter before God makes a beautiful promise to Ezekiel for Israel. "I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to obey My rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be My people, and I will be your God..." The promise keeps on going. God has so much power and shows it in the best of ways, by loving His people. Even when His people were in the midst of sin to the point they had completely turned away from their Father and worshipped statues made of the very things God had given them. Although He disciplined them, He did it out of His love for them. He told Ezekiel that He was going to bring His people back together. Not only that He was going to that, but He was going to give them a new heart and a new spirit. He was going to give them a piece of Him.
God has the power to change dead people who have become dry bones into living breathing people. That means God also has the power to move mountains, the power to bring you through whatever tough time you are in, the power to save the souls of those you are praying for, the power to bring in support for foreign missions. God loves showing His power to His children. All we have to do is have faith in Him that He can do it. Ezekiel was obedient and faithful to God. God told him to prophesy and he did. There does not seem to be a break between God telling him to do it and him doing it, which leads me to believe that it was an immediate reaction. We are sinful and may not immediately be obedient when God commands us to do something, but your act of obedience and faith can show you just how powerful God really is.
CHALLENGE: Seek God on an area of your life to be obedient and faithful in. See God shine His glorious power into your life this week. (It is Wednesday so let's say from Wednesday-Wednesday). Try it, I double dog dare you to. See what God will do in your life this week as you are obedient and faithful to His call in your life.
God bless!!
Just a chapter before God makes a beautiful promise to Ezekiel for Israel. "I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to obey My rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be My people, and I will be your God..." The promise keeps on going. God has so much power and shows it in the best of ways, by loving His people. Even when His people were in the midst of sin to the point they had completely turned away from their Father and worshipped statues made of the very things God had given them. Although He disciplined them, He did it out of His love for them. He told Ezekiel that He was going to bring His people back together. Not only that He was going to that, but He was going to give them a new heart and a new spirit. He was going to give them a piece of Him.
God has the power to change dead people who have become dry bones into living breathing people. That means God also has the power to move mountains, the power to bring you through whatever tough time you are in, the power to save the souls of those you are praying for, the power to bring in support for foreign missions. God loves showing His power to His children. All we have to do is have faith in Him that He can do it. Ezekiel was obedient and faithful to God. God told him to prophesy and he did. There does not seem to be a break between God telling him to do it and him doing it, which leads me to believe that it was an immediate reaction. We are sinful and may not immediately be obedient when God commands us to do something, but your act of obedience and faith can show you just how powerful God really is.
CHALLENGE: Seek God on an area of your life to be obedient and faithful in. See God shine His glorious power into your life this week. (It is Wednesday so let's say from Wednesday-Wednesday). Try it, I double dog dare you to. See what God will do in your life this week as you are obedient and faithful to His call in your life.
God bless!!
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