The Life We Leave

Tonight, as I was pondering the plan God has for my life, the song lyrics to Get Down by Audio Adrenaline filled my head.  Specifically the part that says, "to live your life you've got to lose it, and all the losers get a crown."  How true is that?  We must daily give up the things in life that seem important and necessary, things that will satisfy our flesh in order that we might store up our treasures in Heaven instead; and yet we often forget this.  We live for ourselves, lavishly spending money on what we want, focusing on our goals for our lives, and forgetting to humble ourselves before the Almighty God.

Now that I have declared myself a loser of this life,  I do not, in any way consider this a loss in light of all I have gained through Christ, through His death, and through His resurrection.  I can claim victory over sin in His name, and I have been redeemed through His blood; He has promised the crown of life for those who love Him! There is no shame or regret in giving up the things of this life, the life we leave, in order to live completely in the infinitely better plan He has for each of us.

Verse:  

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

~James 1:12

I will leave you with this; consider all there is to gain through losing, through leaving the life we live in order to live out Christ's love and plan for our lives.  I, in full faith, promise you there is so much more out there, that He has great plans for your life, and is simply waiting for you to follow them.  Forget the life we leave, and embrace something far greater: the love and redemption of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Get Down by Audio Adrenaline http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqMxE-GTsCI

No Greater Love

As this Holy Week begins, I cannot help but ponder what kind of love a Man would have to have in order to willingly lay down His life for the sake of those who routinely berate and sin against Him?  He unconditionally loved us before we even existed, knowing full well that we would choose to sin and turn our backs on Him. He knew each step we would take before we took it, and yet, He still chose the nails; He chose to take up the cross of all humanity, to sacrifice His holy and perfect self in order that we would not have to pay the penalty that we full well deserve for the sins we have committed and continue to commit. I cannot begin to fathom this love He has for us, but I do know from the very depths of my soul that there is no greater love than that of which Christ demonstrated on that cross.


As I write this blog I am still baffled by it. Why would He do this for us?  How could He possibly love us after all we do?  The answer is clearly laid before us in John 3:16 which states, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."  His love for us is the only answer, but that does not make it any easier for my human mind to rationalize; we deserved death yet we gained eternity in Heaven with our Creator through the single greatest display of affection in history.  He was beaten, bruised, whipped, and crushed for our transgressions.  It was the only way to ensure our salvation, and Christ took it upon Himself to guarantee us that option if we so choose.


Verse:
He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
~Romans 4:25


We are justified through Christ, through His death we are made new and whole in the sight of God.  Through the blood of the Lamb we are offered a fresh start, a clean slate, and a spot in Heaven for eternity along side of our Father.  We did nothing to deserve it.  In actuality, we did everything in our power to jeopardize our chance at salvation, but God's love for us outweighed any debt we owed. There truly is no greater love than this!


I challenge you to take this Easter to remember what Christ went through on our behalf, to truly examine the love that was demonstrated on the cross to ransom our souls.  He paid the price, He died for us, and now we must live for Him; our lives should be an example of the love He has for us, a love that was willing to die for us when we never deserved it.  Live a life worthy of the love He bestows on us each and every day for there is no greater love than His!

Our Mission

In light of being a chaperone for Grace Lutheran's mission trip this summer, I was asked to put something together to present to the church body on what mission work meant to me and why it is important.  The following is the result of pondering this question...


In a world filled with so much despair, poverty, and disease, the mission field offers a great opportunity for us to bring light into the darkest of places, to bring hope to those in the greatest need, and to be a physical representation of the hands and feet of Jesus Christ both at home and throughout the world.  Mission work is in God's plan for our lives, whether it be helping your neighbor rake the yard or following a call to West Africa to share the gospel with people have never heard the wondrous name of Christ.  God calls us into this field, to spread His word, to be a light, and to show this world that our younger generations have something to offer, as well as something to hope for and believe in.


1 Timothy 4:12, for example, says, "Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity." As young people especially, God calls us to be that light and example to all who can see us; there are many things people associate with the youth of today, but being a Christian example isn't often one of them.  It is time we change that, and time to let our love for Christ and all of His people that blazes within us shine for all those around us to see as well.  Mission trip opportunities are one of many ways to allow that love that is within us to grow; a way in which we can grow in our own faith and personal relationship with Christ, but also a way to teach, love, and spread the gospel of Christ to others.


Further example of our call to mission work can be found in Matthew 28:19-20. It reads, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."


We are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ, to go out into the world and make disciples, to make a difference, and to effect change for the glory of God.  Living out this life according to the will of God is the desire of our hearts, and reaching out to His people is the first step in achieving this goal.  


Though mission work is all around us and we must be a continual light and example to all we come in contact with, the mission trips I have been able to attend have been life changing; they have taught me what it means to be a reflection of Jesus, to give and sacrifice a little of oneself for the benefit of others, to truly love God's people as we are called to do, and finally to delve deeper into my own relationship with Him.  

Pressing On

Having trouble letting go?  Long to find the strength to move along?


As Christians, we are promised a future; not only a future, but one full of hope and prosperity as promised to us through Jesus Christ in Jeremiah 29:11.  Lately, I have been finding within myself, and through Christ, the strength to move ahead with my life, to let go of my past, and to strive ahead towards the goal which He has already planned for me.  My past, like most, is full of mistakes and hardships, but through Him they have been turned into valuable lessons, and He has washed me and made me whole. He has so much more in store for us and for our futures!  Why would we ever want to hinder what is coming by dwelling on what has passed?


This also holds true for the good things in our past; it is so valuable to hold onto those precious moments, those unforgettable memories, but it is also important to know that God has so much more in store for your life.  He is not finished with you yet!  He has blessed us with great memories in our past that we can look to and reminisce about, but we must not get trapped within them and not move on with our lives.  He calls us to move forward, to press on, and yet remain grateful for what He has already blessed us with. He has equipped us with everything we will need, it is now our turn to accept His love, His strength, and His guidance, and trust that no matter where He leads us, it will all be worth it in the end.  For His plans far outweigh anything we could ever plan for ourselves.


This verse in Philippians rang so true for me tonight; I am not finished, I am not at my goal, but the good news is that He isn't finished with me either.  It is for this reason that I press on, that I cling to what He has promised, that I strive to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  I am trusting with full faith that His love, His grace, His forgiveness, and His redemption are more than enough to lead me into a promising future full of more joy and wonder than I will know what to do with.


Verse:

I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of His resurrection and participation in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.  Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.


~Philippians 3:10-14


I pray that each of you can find peace with your past, with your mistakes, with your shortcomings; I pray that you can find comfort and healing in God, and let Him be your promise, your encouragement to reach heavenward. I pray also that He gives you strength to move on from the good times, in order that He may supply you with so many more, and that He gives you strength and faith to strive toward the goal of winning the prize that Christ has laid before us.