Our God

Ever stopped and taken a moment to really consider who our God really is?  Of all He has done for us?


There is truly no one like our God! He is the First, the Last, He is everything.  It is often easy to skim past those words when we read them without really taking notice of how powerful they are, of how powerful He is.  He is literally our everything; without Him we are lost and at the helm of the evils of this world.  There is no doubt in my mind that we need this God, we need Him with all that we are and all we long to be.  For it was through Him and for Him that we were created, saved, redeemed, and set apart.  He is greater, stronger, higher than any other; He has proven this through His miracles, His creation, His love, and His sacrifice.  He deserves far more than we could ever give, but He only asks that we accept and love Him in return for what He has done.  He is the maker of all, yet He longs for your soul, your life, your love.


It is so easy to wrap God up into something minute, a glorified person of sorts; a simplistic being within the confines and limits of the human imagination when He is so much greater than that!  He created this planet and everything in it, He created everything outside this planet, things we have never even heard of, seen, or imagined, yet we try to simplify Him.  It is time we look at Him with the awe and reverence He deserves for He is beyond anything we could ever fathom or imagine.  He is the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings, the Everlasting!  These words can only be used to describe our God!  How fortunate are we that we have had the opportunity to have these truths revealed to us?  He is in charge of our lives, carving out the best possible path for us, and working for the good of those who love Him!


Verse:

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them. For God knew His people in advance, and He chose them to become like His Son, so that His Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, He called them to come to Him. And having called them, He gave them right standing with Himself. And having given them right standing, He gave them His glory. What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since He did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, won’t He also give us everything else?

~Romans 8:28-32




Today I challenge you to take a moment and truly reflect on who God really is, of all He has done, and give Him all the praise and glory that He rightfully deserves.  Without Him, we are mere humans in a lost and helpless world, but with Him, no one can stop us; no one could ever come close!  He has set us apart, and it is time we set apart some time for Him, for Our God!

No More Yesterdays

Find yourself living in the past?  Clinging to mistakes that only hold you back?

God offers us a way out, a way to live in the moment and no longer in our past, no longer clinging to our yesterdays.  He offers redemption, love, mercy, and forgiveness, but we need to allow ourselves to let go of those past mistakes; it is only through the release of these chains we have placed on ourselves that we can accept this freedom, this way out.

It is time to claim the freedom which has been delivered to us through our Savior, Jesus Christ.  We no longer need to hold a grudge within ourselves; He has set us free from our past mistakes, broke away the chains that bound us to our sin.  It is time to accept the gift, to be set free, to live in a light where yesterday is forgotten, and tomorrow is a promise of better and brighter things to come.  He has shown us the way, now the only thing stopping us is ourselves.

We need to get past ourselves to delve into the love of our Savior, to surrender our completely broken and vulnerable selves at his feet, and find a way to humble and forgive ourselves.  He has done the hard part already, He died for those sins that we have committed and continue to commit.  Now we must ask for the strength of the One who gave it all to find it within us to forgive ourselves, to live in the love and light of Christ, to let go of the past mistakes while retaining the lessons we've learned from them, and to relish in the promise of a future already paved by Christ and His perfect plan for our lives.

Verse

Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.  He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness, and broke away their chains.  Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind

~Psalm 107:13-15

This song by Chris Tomlin resonates with truth and the message I write of

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30XCEVI4IC4

Allow Him to break away your chains, to give you the strength to forgive yourself, and to work within you to make you who you were created to be. Let go of your past mistakes and live in the love and light of Jesus Christ.  Learn from your past, but live for the promise that is eternity.  Live enlightened, forgiven, and freed from the chains and mistakes of yesterday!

A photo I took from the Chris Tomlin concert last week.

Where Healing Begins

Putting up a a false facade? Living behind walls you spent years building up?


For far too long many of us have lived behind walls.  Walls that hide who we truly are from the outside world, and walls that prevent us from delving further into our relationships with Christ.  We try to portray this perfect image to those around us; we do many good works, follow all the rules, and have the right answers, but on the inside we are searching.  It is not to say that many of these things we have done are not great, but that maybe they had the wrong intentions; that maybe we were serving ourselves, our image, our namesake rather than the Savior of our souls.   We have been searching, searching for the meaning behind it all, but do not want to leave the comfort zone of our self-made walls to find the answer.  We don't feel comfortable taking the risk, to venture outside our walls.


However, God is waiting just on the other side of those walls, those walls we have put around our hearts and around our lives.  He is waiting for you to let your guard down, to be yourself, to let Him in, and to accept the fact that we are not perfect.  It was in our imperfection that He sent His Son so that we may have the victory, that we may achieve perfection through the love, redemption, and mercy of Christ.  Victory through Christ is what we have been searching for and trying to earn when we have had it all along.  


It will be in allowing your walls to fall that the healing can begin; the healing of your mind, your heart, and your soul.  He can make you new, and allow you to start over.  We don't have to earn His grace, His love, His forgiveness or His favor, those have been given to us freely.  It is time we remove the walls that have prevented us from accepting them.  Let His light meet our darkness.


Verse:
Then your light will break forth like the dawn, 
   and your healing will quickly appear; 
then your righteousness will go before you, 
   and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. 


May you let your walls fall and reveal the real you, the you that God has intended you to be all along.  Allow Him to set you free, to heal you in your brokenness, and to fulfill the plans He has made for you.


Here is a song by Tenth Avenue North that I found fitting entitled Healing Begins
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFUHrXfuNU4

Going Public

Been keeping your faith to yourself?  Feel the need to share the love of Jesus with those around you?


We were created and placed specifically where we are in order that we might do just that; that we may speak of the Good News and love we have found in Christ to those we encounter.  Upon accepting the gift of life and freedom that is offered to us through Christ, we are empowered and called to be a light to those still consumed in darkness.  We have received the greatest gift of all, a gift with eternal benefits; how could we ever refrain from sharing it with others?


We can no longer keep this to ourselves; Jesus was never meant to be a secret! He is in the saving business, and we are here to help that work along, to spread the love, to plant the seed, and leave the harvest up to the Big Guy upstairs.  It takes a huge step of faith to share the core of who you are with someone, but God will use your faith in miraculous ways.  Do not let one conversation with someone stop you from continuing to share your story; not everyone is ready or willing to hear of your faith, of how Jesus died to save them, but you stepping up to the plate and offering them a chance at salvation is all God asks of you.  He will use your words according to His plan, to bring glory to His name.  You have done your part by planting the seed, and we must leave the results up to God.  The Message version of Matthew 5:14-16 states this quite well...


Verse:
Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
~Matthew 5:14-16 (The MESSAGE)


The reality here is that Jesus died to pay for the death we had earned, for the sins we have committed and continue to commit. We need to be willing to share this amazing news with those around us; we have the information that could save someone's life, but too often we choose not to share it.  If a train was barreling down the tracks headed right for a friend of yours, would you warn him/her, or would you keep that information to yourself?  Being a follower of Christ is the very core of our being, it is who we are, and when something is that important, it needs to be shared.  


Be willing, be sent, and bring glory to God in all things.  Share your faith, live it out, and be a light in a world consumed by darkness.  Start simple, think big, and go public with your love for Christ, as public as a city on a hill! We are bearers of His light, and I think its time we let it shine.

New Life

The following is my personal testimony, the story of how He has set me free.

Works; works were what I based my life upon, what I longed to do, what I thought was required of me.  I had been raised in a Christian home, grew up with grandparents who firmly believed in Christ, went to church every week, and I was fed the Truth from a very young age.  I embraced this faith, I believed in God, and I wanted to prove it by doing works; most of these works were simple things such as behaving well in school, getting good grades, helping to get donations for the food shelf, treating others with respect, or simply following my parents rules, and these works continued into high school with mission trips, touring with a Christian singing group, not drinking, setting a good example, singing in church, and helping with bible school and other church related activities.  I knew what was right and what was wrong, and I was determined to prove that to others by living out my life "perfectly". 


It was in striving for this perfect image that I was trapped in the darkness.  I looked like Mr. Perfect from the outside; I appeared happy, always making jokes, and had more friends than I knew what to do with.  The inside was another story, and I hated what I had become.  I was overweight, I was presenting this false image to the outside world, and I found myself in a deep depression.

This all began to turn around for me in June of 2007. It was then that I fully grasped, understood, and felt what it meant to be in a full on, personal relationship with Christ.  It was on a tour with a Christian singing group from home, the Agape Singers, where Jesus revealed Himself to me.  I remember this night like it was yesterday, sitting on the floor in a hotel community room on the way to New York City.  One of the leader’s husbands had just given his testimony and asked me to read a verse from Ephesians aloud to the group.  As I read the words from Ephesians 2: 8-9, which says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast,” that God finally caught my attention.  I was instantly convicted of living a life dedicated to works rather than to the One who gave it all for me.  As the tears fell from my eyes that night, God lavished me with love, forgiveness, and acceptance as I turned my life over to Him completely.  I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders, I was relieved of trying to live my life without His help, of bearing the load by my lonesome.  I was no longer trying to earn this life that had already been offered to me freely, I had finally realized that I simply needed to accept it, to accept Him.

Life since that night has had its ups and downs, but knowing the Truth, knowing my Savior, and living committed to Him has saved me and set me free.  I no longer try to earn grace through works, but rather do works because of the gift of grace I have been given.  I no longer live for the approval of others, but know that I am loved by the King and that is all that matters.  I no longer live trapped inside my own body because He has given me the strength to beat obesity.  He has made me, changed me, and continues to mold me into the man of God I was meant to be. He is the Giver of Life, and on that June night in 2007, I was finally able to grasp and accept that. I had finally learned Who was in charge of my life, and continue to be in a daily process of allowing the King of all to sit on His rightful throne in my life.He and I had entered into a personal relationship, and He had given me new life.  

I pray this testimony finds you at a point in your life where you are eager and interested in learning about Who this God is, or at a point where you are ready to make a similar commitment to a loving God who longs for a relationship with you, or even at a point where you are willing to share the story of how this Savior has already set you free.  I am eager to hear any questions, thoughts, or personal stories from all of you.  Much love through Him!


God bless!

Your Call

Feeling lost in a world full of options and choices?  Longing to feel like you are doing the right thing?


God has a call for each and every one of us.  It has long been assumed that one can only be called into ministry, into service for God through a church or being a missionary; these are great callings that God can bring us to, however, He has other plans for the vast majority of us.  We can be called to do God's work through any path He leads us on, whether we are called to be teachers or artists, nurses or history majors, He can be glorified through any of them.  We must simply choose to live a life worthy of our calling, of the calling God has laid out specifically for us. 


Finding this call and living it out all starts with listening, with being still and allowing God to stir and whisper into the depths of our being.  He longs to lead us on our journey, but we are oftentimes too caught up in the noise and chaos of our surroundings to listen to His voice.  It may sound strange, but shutting down your brain for awhile and leaning into the support of our Heavenly Father may be all we need to begin this lifelong journey.  Take time, enter into prayer, find rest in His embrace, and allow Him to lead you where you have been created to go.  When you feel as though you are being drawn towards something, give it a chance; never reject an opportunity before God has had time to develop it.  He will never bring you where you are not supposed to be; we need to take advantage of the life He has given us, we need to be humble, gentle, patient, loving, and a reflection of God on any path He takes us.  He is worthy of our utmost, no matter the plans He has for us, and He will show us a way to our call.


Verse:
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
~Ephesians 4:1-6


It is never too late to discover your call, to discover God's plan for your life.  Rejoice in the fact that He has a plan for you, and that plan, that call will be revealed to you in His wonderful and perfect timing.  Pray without ceasing, dive into His word, and discover your call; the one which He has perfectly set apart just for you. 


Fully rely on Him, lean not on your own understanding, and live a life worthy of your calling.  Allow Him to bring you on your journey, to mark out the race before you, and to make your paths straight.  Remember to give Him the glory no matter what you are doing, and to be a reflection of Jesus to anyone you encounter