Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Continue

You may have accepted Him, but have you continued to follow Him?


Many times I find this question on my heart; do we simply accept Him and consider that enough, or do we continue to strive to strengthen our relationship with Him?  He is truly all we need, but knowing that and accepting that is not the life He has called us to.  He wants us to realize that only He can save us, but that is just the starting point for this wonderful relationship with Him. From there, He longs for us to get to know Him, to feel His love, to rely on His grace, and to wholly surrender ourselves to Him so that He may complete the work He has started in us. 


He has so many wonderful things planned for our lives, for our futures, and they are more than we could ask for or imagine.  However, we cannot grasp these plans for our lives if we are not leaning on Him, and trusting in what He is doing in our lives.  If we say we trust in Him, and yet continue to lean on our own understanding, and our own plans, then what is that saying about our trust in Him?  We need to surrender control, to root our lives in Christ, and build our lives on Him.  If we allow this total surrender, then we will finally be able to glimpse what a true life of following Christ, and centering our lives around Him might look like.  Take a leap of faith, and give Him the reigns; allow yourself to be surrounded in His love and His plans for your life.


Verse:
 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow Him. Let your roots grow down into Him, and let your lives be built on Him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
~Colossians 2:6-7


Be still and know that He is in control, and He will never let you go.  Continue to grow in Him, to develop this relationship with our Creator, our Father, our Restorer, and live the life He has called you to live.  We cannot settle, we cannot get complacent, we must continue to strive, to live, to love, and to worship Him in all we do.  He is the only one worthy of it all; the praise, the love, the glory, and our lives. 

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

True Freedom

Galatians 5:1 says, "So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law."  Today God reminded me of how He has truly set us free; He has not only freed us from sin, but from death itself.  He sent Jesus to die on a cross, to redeem our souls, and save us in the process.  He loves us that much!  


With that in mind, I found myself wondering why then, do we so often sink back into habitual sin?  What in our brains makes us revert back to these things we know bring no glory to God, and yet we do them anyway?  The answer is our human nature, and how we are so easily tempted by our own selfish desires, and the temptations of Satan who longs to steal, kill, and destroy us.  Christ has set us free from these things, but until we can die to ourselves, and allow Christ to be the center of our lives Satan has room to convince us otherwise.  In order to truly experience and accept that freedom, we have to be so lost in Christ and His love, that Satan cannot find us.  If we were to remove our desires, our selfishness, and allow Christ's love and plan to guide us, the true freedom that awaits us is like nothing I can describe.  


Verse:
For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.
~Galatians 5:13


I'm not saying we can be perfect, but what I am saying is that the more we delve into Christ, into His love, and into His word, the farther we can separate ourselves from our sin; this will allow for more of His true freedom to be experienced.  God knows we are not perfect, He has known that from the beginning of time, but He loves us anyway.  We must strive to know Him more, to love Him more, and begin to remove the sin from our lives that comes from Him not being allowed to be at the center.  We are called to live in His freedom and serve one another in love, as it says in Galatians, and to do that, we must allow Christ to take His rightful place on the throne of our lives.  

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Encouragement

Today I was reminded, by God, of what a true blessing encouragement from fellow believers can be.  We walk this life God has called us to, but as we all know, it can be difficult.  We face trials daily, we are continually tempted to stray from the path, and it can be hard to stay on track with what the Lord is calling us to do.  


Knowing this, I find it so very important to encourage our fellow believers.  We all go through similar struggles, and it is important to share in them, as well as our successes.  Encouraging someone can be as simple as sending a text, sharing a verse, giving a hug, lending a hand, or just letting someone know you care and are praying for them.  These things sound so minor, but when experienced, can be just the thing we need to stay on track and deter us from doing something we will later regret.


In John 13, God calls us to love one another as He has loved us.  I believe that this love we share with one another, goes hand in hand with encouraging each other.  If we love as we are called, then we are also called to encourage our fellow believers in their walk with the Lord, to keep them on track, to hold them accountable, to recognize their successes and help them work out the faults, and expect the same from them in return.  We are human, we are imperfect, and we are hopeless without Christ, but with Him we have the power of His perfect and redeeming love and mercy on our side.  If we are living, breathing, lights for Christ, then we must be there to encourage, and ignite the lights of others on a daily basis. 


Verse:


"So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
~John 13:34-35


Go out and encourage others.  We are not meant to live this life alone, but rather in fellowship with Christ and other believers.  We are called to love, to encourage, and to ignite the flame inside each other in order to grow closer and delve deeper into the perfect love of Christ.  You are not alone, and no one should feel that way.  We have Christ, and as Christians we need to be a physical representation of Christ so that no one will feel that way.  Be like Jesus, spread the love, spread His word, and spread encouragement.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Enduring it All

Last night was an interesting night for me.  God laid this passage on my heart, and it filled me with so much joy that I could not help but share it.  I was texting and calling people with these wonderful words of truth and felt inclined to share it with all of you.


We have a race that God has laid before us, a distinct path that He has perfectly created for us to run; however He has given us the free will to decide how we will make it to that finish line.  There are obstacles, detours, and other members in this race whose only goal is to bring us down.  He never said it would be an easy race, but He did guarantee He would be by our side and we would have victory through Him.  It is because of this promise that we must make every effort to rid our lives of the things holding us back from competing in this race, from finishing the works that God has called us to and set apart for us.  We all struggle with sin, with Earthly desires, with "things" and "stuff" that distract us and entangle us, keeping us from doing what God so strongly desires in our lives.  


We must keep in mind that Jesus perfected this life, this faith, this humanity; He was tempted and He beat sin, He defeated death in and of itself.  How amazing is that?! Because of Jesus Christ, His perfect life and perfect death, we can also have that victory.  The victory over sin, the victory over death, and the victory in this race of life that God has called us to.  


I ask that you read the following passage, pray on it, soak it in, and allow God to speak through it.  Let it hit you at the core of your being, and just see how God can use it to change your life.  Allow Him to point out the perfect way to run the race.  After all, He made the course. 








Verse:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.  We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility He endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.
~Hebrews 12:1-4




Such truth, such love, such a mighty God.  I love you all!






I also recently recorded the song East to West by Casting Crowns and have put a link to that on here as well.  Much love y'all!


East to West link
http://snd.sc/nKhFv5