The Change

I was a captive.                                    I am free.

I was hurt.                                              I am healed.

I was angry.                                           I am at peace.

I was longing.                                        I am satisfied.

I was desperate.                                   I am filled.

I was suffering.                                     I am rejoicing in Your presence.

I was cruel.                                            I am forgiven.

I cursed others.                                   I praise you, God.

I hated.                                                    I am touched by the love of Jesus.

I wanted to die.                                   I want eternal life.

I was haunted.                                     I am released from torment.

I was everything.                               Jesus is everything.

I was an easy druggie.                     I AM a child of God.

Thank you Lord for saving me from the person that I was and changing me into who I am now.

I love you. You are my King. You are my everything.

I am humbled by your presence.

I am astounded by your grace.

I am freed by your mercy.

I am in love with you Lord.

You are my everything.

 

 

Work Hard Where You’re At

Have you heard of or personally know anyone who straight out of college was hired into the very top position of a successful business? For example, someone who finishes their Bachelor degree in Business and gets offered a job as CEO of a fortune 500 company.  It is highly unlikely to happen, right?  Of course there could be exceptions, but the majority of us have to work our way up in whatever profession we choose to pursue.  It is much easier to think of personal examples of people who have started at the bottom and then through hard work and determination have become very successful.  This happens all the time; a famous chef who started off washing dishes in restaurants or a successful contractor who started off hauling the heavy lumber around for the skilled crew on a job site.

So why is it this way?

Because without experience and knowledge, we are not able to get a job done.

Would you put your child on a bicycle for the first time and just give it a push. Of course not! First, kids start off with tricycles and training wheels before they move on to the big kid bikes.

This is how it works with God too.  He gives us small tasks to perform faithfully and as we grow in our faith and gain experience in doing God’s work, more tasks and maybe greater tasks will present themselves before us.

In Zechariah 4:10 it is written, “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin…”

The Lord is rejoicing over the small acts of faith in our lives!  Just imagine the joy that you can bring him by faithfully and joyfully carrying out the tasks He has set aside specifically for you.  We each have things that only we can do for the Kingdom of Heaven; people that can only be reached through our acts of obedience to God’s calling.

We have to remember to “not despise these small beginnings.”  I know how easy it is to imagine huge feats and amazing things being done. And God could well have in mind that we will perform huge feats and amazing things for Him, but we must take joy in the small things.  Imagine the joy in God’s heart that you bring him as you carry out your small tasks.  For me, the thought of making God rejoice because of my actions, thoughts, and faith is beyond words!

What about you, have you thought of the joy that you bring the Lord today?

God bless small beginnings 🙂

Growing in Faith

I always am amazed when I pray for God to speak to me or to give me insight into a situation, and then I open the bible and the first thing I read is as if it was written for exactly this moment.  I guess that is why they call it the “living word.”  It is not an old stagnant text. It is alive and as relevant today as it was a long time ago. God uses His word to speak to us.  I know that the idea of a “living word” can be hard for some people to accept. I used to be one of those people. But, I have experienced this “living word” now and I can’t imagine going back. I love turning to God for counsel and experiencing his presence. It really feels like he is in the room with me, talking to me. Amazing!

Yesterday, I had one of those experiences. I was praying for God to speak to me and to take over a situation. Then I opened the bible and it was 2 Peter 1:3.  It’s funny that I have read the whole new testament, but sometimes I come upon a scripture that I don’t recall ever reading.  This scripture was new again for me. Here is the scripture:

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.

The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.

So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:3-11

Amen!

Check Yourself

This morning’s scripture is one that makes you evaluate what you have been doing, or more accurately, saying lately.  How are you doing with this?

Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand. It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”

Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?”

Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”

Then Peter said to Jesus, “Explain to us the parable that says people aren’t defiled by what they eat.”

“Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked. “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.” Matthew 15:10-20

I felt convicted by this. My prayer for today is that from my mouth will come words of faith, words of love, words of blessing. I pray that the words that come out of my mouth reflect a heart that loves the Lord.  I pray the same for all of you.  Let us be a reflection of our love for Jesus Christ.

Amen!

I love answered prayers!

Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8

Yesterday I felt super exhausted in the afternoon.  I was sitting in class and literally pinched my cheeks a couple of times to try to keep myself from totally zoning out.  As I was driving home later, I remembered two scriptures that I had read yesterday:

From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety. Psalm 61:2

Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

I realized that I just needed to pray and ask Jesus for rest. To tell him that I was placing my life in his hands and letting go of control.  It was amazing, I felt so much lighter and relieved immediately.

When it was time for bed, I once again included the request for rest in my prayers. I set my alarm and then went to sleep.

This morning I woke to my phone ringing. I saw that it was my car pool and immediately answered, “My alarm didn’t go off. I’m sorry.” I said this because it was 7:45, the time when we leave!  But, I didn’t feel upset about it. I just said I would be ready in 20 minutes and got up feeling really well rested!  As I got ready I was thinking about my prayer and my request for rest.  The great thing is that I got the rest I needed and was only 15 minutes late to work (which is not a big deal at all where I work)!

Thank God to answered prayers 🙂

Here is a great song that I was listening to on the drive in to work:

Chris August, “Starry Night”

 

Praise the Lord!

Wow! I was so sick for the past week and I am still recovering from a nasty virus.  The 5 days I spent in bed gave me some time to really think about the blessings of God.  What a blessing it is to be healthy.  When we are sick it is hard to do the simplest of tasks.  Even getting yourself food can be a daunting task.  It is easy to take our health for granted when we are well.  So I just want to thank God for giving me the last week to reflect.  I thank God for all of the days that he has given me and for the comfort that he provides me. I thank Him for loving me and for showing mercy.  I thank Him for sending his Son for us.  I thank Him for his promises of the future and the hope that it brings.  As Mary said in Luke 1:

“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.
How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,
and from now on all generations will call me blessed.
For the Mighty One is holy,
and he has done great things for me.
He shows mercy from generation to generation
to all who fear him.
His mighty arm has done tremendous things!
He has scattered the proud and haughty ones.
He has brought down princes from their thrones
and exalted the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away with empty hands.
He has helped his servant Israel
and remembered to be merciful.
For he made this promise to our ancestors,
to Abraham and his children forever.” Luke 1:46-55

Praise the Lord!

Bound and Bold

Paul spent a lot of time in jail because of what he believed in.  Despite being a prisoner, he spoke out boldly about the Messiah.  When he was on trial before Festus and Agrippa, he recounted the story of how he became a Christian.

“I used to believe that I ought to do everything I could to oppose the very name of Jesus the Nazarene. Indeed, I did just that in Jerusalem. Authorized by the leading priests, I caused many believers there to be sent to prison.  And I cast my vote against them when they were condemned to death. Many times I had them punished in the synagogues to get them to curse Jesus. I was so violently opposed to them that I even chased them down in foreign cities.

“One day I was on such a mission to Damascus, armed with the authority and commission of the leading priests. About noon, Your Majesty, as I was on the road, a light from heaven brighter than the sun shone down on me and my companions. We all fell down, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is useless for you to fight against my will.‘

“‘Who are you, lord?’ I asked.

“And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting. Now get to your feet! For I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant and witness. You are to tell the world what you have seen and what I will show you in the future. And I will rescue you from both your own people and the Gentiles. Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.’

“And so, King Agrippa, I obeyed that vision from heaven. I preached first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that all must repent of their sins and turn to God—and prove they have changed by the good things they do. Some Jews arrested me in the Temple for preaching this, and they tried to kill me. But God has protected me right up to this present time so I can testify to everyone, from the least to the greatest. I teach nothing except what the prophets and Moses said would happen— that the Messiah would suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, and in this way announce God’s light to Jews and Gentiles alike.”

Suddenly, Festus shouted, “Paul, you are insane. Too much study has made you crazy!”

But Paul replied, “I am not insane, Most Excellent Festus. What I am saying is the sober truth. And King Agrippa knows about these things. I speak boldly, for I am sure these events are all familiar to him, for they were not done in a corner! King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do—”
Agrippa interrupted him. “Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian so quickly?”*

Paul replied, “Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that both you and everyone here in this audience might become the same as I am, except for these chains.” Acts 26:9-29

Despite the hardship that he endured in his life, Paul kept his eyes on the Lord and turned to him for strength.  I pray that we too will seek God in our lives, whether during hard times or great times.  I pray for boldness to carry out God’s will and to trust in the plan that he has for our lives.

 

Can You Earn Salvation?

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:1-10

As I read this scripture, I was reminded of the importance of being humble.  As His word says, “none of us can boast about it.”  Salvation is not something to boast about. It is something to praise God about. To worship and sing to Jesus about. To stand in awe because of the amazing gift that is given freely from God’s pure love and grace. 

I have often heard people talk about how so and so is a good person, so how can anyone say that they don’t deserve to go to heaven.  But, unfortunately, so many people have not understood the most important point, NO ONE deserves to go to heaven.  We all fall short.  It is by receiving Christ Jesus as our saviour, by recognizing that He died on a cross in order to take the punishment of our sins that we receive salvation.  Only by accepting Jesus into our hearts may we enter God’s presence.  Not one of us will ever deserve this gift.  However, ANYONE can receive the gift of salvation by turning to Christ, accepting him, and asking for forgiveness.

Thank God for his mercy, love, and grace!

Love…

Love is a recurring topic for me and it’s easy to explain why.  I seek it every day.  I want to feel loved.  Who doesn’t?

This morning as I was driving to work, I was blown away by how beautiful everything is.  All I wanted to do was praise God for the love he put into the world.

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.  This is real love – not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 1 John 4:9-10

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.
God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. 1 John 4:16-17

His love moves me.  It brings tears to my eyes.  It gives me goose bumps.  There is nothing, and I mean nothing, that can compare to the love of Christ.

“Your Love,” by Brandon Heath

“Your Love is a Song,” by Switchfoot

Proverbs

People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at God. Proverbs 19:3

When we choose not to follow God’s will for our lives by turning our backs on Him, by blatantly refusing to listen to what His word teaches and His voice whispers to our souls, it makes no sense to blame Him. To be angry at Him for our own foolish decisions.  Yet, as this proverb says, it happens all the time. People make bad decisions and then turn their pain into anger directed at God. To live a life of happiness and joy, we have to seek God’s will and pray for His guidance. We have to follow Him and keep His instructions close to our hearts.

If you stop listening to instruction, my child, you will turn your back on knowledge. Proverbs 19:27

The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the  way? Proverbs 20:24

No human wisdom or understanding or plan can stand against the Lord. Proverbs 21:30

O my son, give me your heart. May your eyes take delight in following my ways. Proverbs 23:26