Salvation: a pardon, not a blanket.

     **Warning: This may offend you.. some of it may offend me, even as the writer** 

¹⁴ Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. ¹⁵ Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.- Ephesians 4:14-16

    What is sin? My dear friend, Webster gives several definitions but two I think, say it the best. Sin: a vitiated state of human nature in which self is estranged from God. Sin: an often serious shortcoming: fault. If there's one pet peeve I have about modern-day teaching, it's the outlook of "if I don't feel convicted, it's not a sin." Say what!? This is such a scary, and flawed way of thinking. Where in the bible does Jesus say, "do what you want, that's what I'm here for!"?? (Hmm.. there must be a hidden page that I missed.) Am I saying I am innocent of this frame of mind some times? Far from the truth. I think everyone at one point or another has selfishly allowed themselves to become "desensitized" from conviction. Our attitude of being saved, should be reflected to others by living in humility to our Savior, not making everything "ok". It seems as if we walk around bragging about our Salvation as if we deserved it and can do what we want with it, instead of sharing in humility what it can do for others. Jesus paid much too high a price, and we should be mindful of how we walk the walk. 

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.- Matthew 6:24 (mammon means: material wealth or possessions especially as having a debasing influence) 

    What is Salvation? Salvation: deliverance from the power and effects of sin. If you risked your life to save someone who was drowning in a rushing river, and they turned around and jumped right back in, how angry would you be? Then why would you claim that because you are "saved", that it's ok for you to sin because you are forgiven? Is this not the voice of someone who is childish in their thinking? We should be begging for His mercy, and yet it is new every morning. When we are saved, we are receiving the greatest gift.. a pardon from sin, that we should not suffer the effects of sin. The wages of sin is death, and through salvation we are conquerors over the grave! When we receive Him, we die to ourselves.. we die to OUR desires, die to OUR wills and surrender them ALL to HIM. We are not perfect, and we will all fall short.. otherwise, salvation would be achieved through self and not Christ. But we need to make a stand.. to truly serve Him, with all our heart, mind, soul and strength and ALL the time. We are privileged to have the honor of being called a Christian. The life we live, is no longer our own. 

¹⁵ “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! ¹⁶ But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!-Revelation 3:15-16

   What is a Christian? We shouldn't need a dictionary for that one. A Christian is someone who has professed that Christ is Lord, and believes in His teachings. Some one who has been fully, and wonderfully washed by the blood of the Lamb. In essence, simply: a follower of Christ, to strive to be Christ-like. Does it mean you have to be sheltered and phony? Of course not. But be mindful of your actions, because the world is always watching and always waiting to call you out on it. I too have days where I feel so set apart from those around me who aren't saved. I fear living in these days, which I truly believe are the last days, the fact that we are set apart from the world will become more and more evident. But don't let it consume you, don't let it steer you away from surrendering to His perfect will. If anything, let it be your driving force, let it remind you that there are still so many lost. Pray for your loved ones, especially in those times you feel outcast.. there's a reason you feel that way, the enemy doesn't want you praying for them. Don't live your life trying to be with the "in-crowd", someday you may just find yourself stuck in the sea of people, unable to hear His voice clearly. Above all, live your life to glorify Him in all that you say and all that you do, until that great day comes!

 “I know all the things you do, and that you have a reputation for being alive—but you are dead.² Wake up! Strengthen what little remains, for even what is left is almost dead. I find that your actions do not meet the requirements of my God. ³ Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly. Repent and turn to me again. If you don’t wake up, I will come to you suddenly, as unexpected as a thief."- Revelation 3:1-3

 

Keep fighting the good fight in His name! <><

  

The Peace of God

  This past week was one of those long, grueling weeks. The kind where you subconsciously numb yourself just to get through it. This one was a little different for me, as last week during a devotional with a group of friends we were challenged to make time with God a priority every day and keep the peace of Jesus in our hearts. Though I was feeling miserable in my mind, I had that blessed assurance, and tranquility. I didn't get depressed and feel defeated. (I had moments when I started to fall down) I kept my hands stretched out (Of course metaphorically! Otherwise, I think I would have some major circulation problems just about now!) and the peace remained in my heart, and when peace remains in your heart it functions somewhat the same, as when it pumps blood, and radiates it to your mind and soul.
  Then came last night (Friday). Money is tight right now, it's stressful and frustrating when you have to juggle finances. I had that "this sucks" attitude, and just wanted bed time to come so I could sleep it all away. While I was cooking I popped on the iPod as usual, normally I shuffle it but this time I put on Chris Tomlin and "Our God" came on. My son Kai, was in and out of the kitchen until this point, when he stopped and just hung out. He made me play the song over again... and again.. and again. He began dancing in the kitchen singing along with the chorus "Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other", then he stopped and said "OH, I'll be right back!" A few moments later he came back in with his toy electric guitar, and even though the guitar plays it's own song, he said "Ok, let's rock out! Play it again!" It made me laugh, but during that time watching him strum along (to the rhythm, makes me proud! haha) I heard that still, small voice once again, how many times did I need to hear those words to realize their meaning. How many times did I sing along within that span of 20 mins, so completely focused on my circumstance, and completely block out the reason/meaning of those words?
   I started to claim that for myself. MY GOD is GREATER, MY GOD is STRONGER, MY GOD is HIGHER than any other! It brought that peace back in to my heart. That assurance. Even though I don't always feel like things are going to be ok, there is a peace within me where I know He's got this. If He is with me, what can stand against??
  By the time Jay arrived, Kai decided they needed to rock out together.. so Jay sat down and got out the guitar, and they played in the song over and over. The more they played, the more His peace consumed our household, and along with His peace came His joy! I prayed that this wouldn't be the last time our family entered in to worship together, and that there will always be spontaneous "Rock Out" sessions in our home. It makes my heart glad that my son, who is only 4.. is already being used to bring Him glory and pray it continues as he grows.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” - Phillipians 4:6-7

Love Them

   People watching, it's always interesting! I think it's some thing we all enjoy doing and for many different reasons. Some enjoy fashion, some enjoy picking out the quirky things they see people doing.. it's fun to see how people react to each other and their environment. Some times we're just plain intrigued with an individual's choice of actions, or dress.. haha! In any case, it's enjoyable to some extent.


  Lately I catch myself people watching a lot more than I used to. But it's not the surface things that concern me (although some can be .. interesting to say the least), I feel a tug to look at people closer. As I watch I can hear the words "Love them." Love them? I don't even know them. We are commanded by Christ himself to love. He doesn't ask us to love only those we know, but to also love those we don't know. I find myself more and more, asking Him to give me eyes like His. 
  Now, I am not a "crier", my tears don't flow easily. Yet, I find myself crying in other ways lately. Watching people living to die and dying to live.. it brings a huge sorrow, and sorrow is uncomfortable for me. Still, I watch and hear "Love them." I can't help but marvel at the wonder of His love.. does my definition of love even remotely match His? I look at these complete strangers and just see a deep deep sorrow, I can't fix that.. but I can offer love. What is love? Maybe it's doing the only thing you are capable of at that given moment.. a smile, a prayer (silent or out loud).. a simple "Hello!" to just acknowledge their existence. I believe by these gestures, we are in some small way allowing His love to shine through us, so that His compassion, His spirit, can reach out to their souls, even without their knowledge. 
  I know the Lord is speaking to my heart, burdening me to move forward in His plans for my life. I have slowly over the years seen answers to prayers for the friends and family of my hometown to know Him. This is just the next step. I truly believe to begin to love people as a whole, is the greatest step we can take in fulfilling our mission here on earth. To take God's word to the ends of the earth, or even the ends of your street.. you must first learn to love. 


And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ -Matthew 25:40

Beautiful Victory!

  I love Easter time.. why? Because it's a time of the year that brings us to a state of reflection, and every year I seem to learn something new about His love for us.This past year has been an extreme stretch of faith and perseverance, and I would be lying if I said I didn't want to walk away from the struggles and give up. But if there's anything I have learned, through struggle and hardship, comes a beautiful victory. This is the part of His love I have learned about this year. We will find beauty in pain, if we keep our eyes on Him. We see it in His sacrifice for us.. out of the struggles and sorrow Christ endured on the cross for us, came the most beautiful and perfect love story ever told! I believe through Him, and in Him we find the victory not just at Easter, but in every day situations. (and not so every day situations)
 If you're in a struggle today, whether it be big or small.. I urge you to keep pushing through and keep fighting. It's not comfortable and it's not easy.. but I assure you to every hardship, there is a beautiful ending.. you just need to get through the ugly part first. The victory is already there on the other side waiting for us, we need only to claim it!

"Now this I know: The LORD gives victory to his anointed. He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary with the victorious power of his right hand."- Psalm 20:5-7

A Lesson in Trust

   My son puts me to shame some times.. he woke me up one night because he had a bad dream. Half-wake, I let him climb in bed to tell me about it and cuddle, and fell back asleep. He woke me up again a little while later saying, "Mommy, can we pray?" So I said, "Sure buddy, let's pray.." He held my hand and started to pray out loud himself, for Jesus to help him not have bad dreams. I gave him a kiss, and rubbed his forehead and he was out in seconds. He knew who to go to for peace. He knew who to run to in his darkest hour. Why is it, that it's so easy for a child to grasp and believe in that concept? Why do I struggle entrusting my life to the very same hands that made it? 
  I know in my own life, I have cried out to God till I've had no more tears to shed, no more words to say. I felt like God wasn't listening, like it was pointless to continue pouring myself out. What was I doing wrong? Why wasn't I seeing any results? I came to realize, it wasn't the actions I was taking that were wrong, but the actions I wasn't taking. The things I were holding onto were an excuse, security for me; a safety padding, acting like rubber would react to a lightening strike. I cried out for change, and change couldn't happen without burning away the dross surrounding me. The things God had for me, were being deflected by the insecurities and pride I hid behind. I needed to look past the emotional out pour, and to the studs (no, not my boys), the innermost parts of me that needed to be stripped away. Things I needed to just trust God to take care of and pray with expectation of some thing great! 
  I think we some times cry out because it's what we're taught to do, out of routine. Imagine the things that would happen if we could just completely let go, and have that child-like vulnerability and trust in Him? The faith and trust my son prays with, is something I strive for. The pure, simple, expecting spirit he exemplified really touched me. God used him to get to me, and I am so blessed to have such a wonderful God use such a beautiful blessing, as a vessel of His love to speak to me. 

⁷ “But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, 
   whose confidence is in him. 
⁸ They will be like a tree planted by the water 
   that sends out its roots by the stream. 
It does not fear when heat comes; 
   its leaves are always green. 
It has no worries in a year of drought 
   and never fails to bear fruit.” 
-Jeremiah 17:7 & 8

A new song!

     ⁶ This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. ⁷ For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. - 2 Timothy 1:6&7


  We all have our times where we get caught in a rut. I know it happens to me! We go through the motions, slap a smile on our face and "do our thing".. but in all actuality, everything is a blur and we just feel numb. We all hit dry spots, where we feel distant but that's not the rut I'm talking about here. I'm talking about when we feel comfortable. We have overcome obstacles and hit our peak and kind of just camp there for a while. What happens when we just lay around? We get lazy. We become careless. This is more dangerous than walking in the desert. 


  I like the analogy my high school science teacher used a few times (for something totally unrelated of course). He said, "If you boil a pot of water and try to stick a frog in it, it will jump out. But start that same frog in a pot of cool water and slowly bring it to a boil, it will stay there as it "acclimates" and gets "comfortable" in the temperature of it's surroundings." What happens to the frog? It dies. (I know what you're thinking; what is this chick talking about??) It is just like this for us in our spiritual walk. If we lay there and acclimate and get comfortable where we are with Christ, our thirst and our hunger will dwindle away.. our passion will die. So how do we pull ourselves out of our comfort zone? Simple, take a moment to step back and hear God. There is no break in His plans for us, we just need to seek out and listen to what He is calling us to do next. A great way to do this, is digging in to His word. 


  He has given each and every one of us a special calling and spiritual gifts. If we don't exercise them, we become lazy and spiritually out of shape. We were given these passions as a way to serve, and to also give us spiritual drive! If we are exercising our gifts, it doesn't mean we are feeding into the passion He has bestowed us. We need to be diligently searching and growing and stretching these passions to be a burning fire.. to keep a fresh anointing and to effectively live our lives the way He intended. This can be applied not only to our personal life, but in our ministries in our churches. In a ministry, this is not a pyramid scheme.. we're not all going to rise up an be the head of our ministry, but we can be spiritual warriors and are essential parts to building up an effective ministry!  


¹⁰ God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. ¹¹ Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen. 1 Peter 4:10&11


  Also, in the bible it is mentioned several times that we should "sing a new song"! I don't think this pertains to musicians alone, but to each of us in our own passions and seasons. All of our passions and gifts are songs of praise unto Him when used for His glory! We need to not get so stuck in what happened yesterday, but be excited for what He will do today!  Expect new things, and accept the challenges laid out before you. Sure they're a little scary some times, but oh how sweet to taste and see what He has for you next! 


He has given me a new song to sing, 
      a hymn of praise to our God. 
   Many will see what he has done and be amazed. 
      They will put their trust in the LORD. - Psalm 40:3


Be blessed!

Giving because it has been Given

And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.- Philipians 4:19


  Merry Christmas! I trust you are all keeping in mind the real reason for the season as we all scramble to finish up shopping and prepping! I have always loved Christmas and look forward to that exciting time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, it always feels so magical! I remember how long it used to seem as a kid, waiting for Christmas to come.. it seemed like eons between the two Holidays.. boy does THAT change when you're an adult. Haha! 


  This year though, I'll admit I have been a little disconnected. I am not a lover of shopping.. spending money makes me feel ill and it also makes me feel guilty. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing my son's face light up when Christmas morning comes, or my husband get excited over a new gadget.. but in the back of my mind something is always pulling my thoughts to those suffering. I hate how Christmas has become so stressful, I hate that I know people are destroying themselves financially and sadly some times ending up taking tragic turns. Admittedly, this year is a first since our son has been born that we haven't had to turn to credit cards, or struggled to buy gifts.. but in a way for me it's been harder. I feel wrong for having a little extra, for finally catching a break and I ask myself "why?" We are hard and honest workers, we are God fearing and thankful for what we have, so why the guilt? Then I came to realize, it's no so much guilt.. it's compassion. It's having been through those hard times, having walked across the hot coals. It's that still small voice saying "remember me". It's God reminding me where I have been, and why I am where I am today and giving me ways to help others in the place I once was. 


   I heard of a friend who helped another and she described the look of children's faces as they tore through boxes of shampoo and food with joy. It was not so long ago my family and I were there. It's foreign to some how much joy a simple box of essentials can bring to those in need. Just this past summer we had about $15.00 to feed our family of 3, for 2 weeks. It was that week I walked in to our hallway to find a big white box sent from my husband's co-worker, full of meats and wept in thanksgiving. God carried us, it wasn't an easy time by any means.. but some how our needs were always met. 
Isn't that always like our God? 


  He supplies all we need. However, I don't think He ever intends us to have MORE than we need, and I think a lot of us desire that at times. He gives unto us, so that we can give unto others. He blesses us with gifts whether it be financially, spiritually, intellectually.. so that we may in turn bless others. THIS IS AN AMAZING GIFT! He wants us to share in His EXCITEMENT and JOY.. what else would these feelings be described as but heavenly? He gave the ultimate gift, His son and in that alone we should be overjoyed! We spread a little glimpse of that joy, in that same attitude of giving as He provides for us to give. This isn't limited to just Christmas, or just gifts. All year long we have the gift of giving hope and love; the simple things, the essentials. If your gift is encouragement, give it.. if you are given financial blessings, bless others.. or if the only possession you have is time, give it. WHY? Because God has blessed you with what you have, so that you can bless others. 


From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.- Luke 12:48


Blessings to you and yours this Christmas <><