In Your Life, or in the Way of Your Life?

   A quick story before I get to my point. Before having my son, I worked in a daycare with many underprivileged kids (not all of them, but more than not). One little girl had a very rough situation.. her and I connected and she touched my heart so deeply, I remember her the best out of all the kids that went through there and pray for her from time to time. While at the carnival on Monday, I saw her and my heart was so happy to just know she's ok :) I watched her big smile as she enjoyed one of the rides we were in line for and it was the same beautiful smile she had at 4 years old. She must be about 11 or 12 now, she is taller than me, and she probably doesn't remember me.. but I felt as though I found a long lost child, and just wanted to run over and hug her and tell her how much I've missed her.

   In the same way, I know God was showing me how He feels about those who once walked with Him. Everyday spending time with them, watching them grow and just having that personal relationship with them. He was showing me how much He still loves them and thinks about them, even after they've walked away. He taught me that emotional meaning of the parable about the prodigal son, and showed me a glimpse of the joy and fullness that comes of a child returning home. It's beyond all human intensity and ability to understand how much He truly loves us!

  I believe those who know the truth, but maybe have lost the desire to walk and talk with Him daily, are in need a fervent prayer. I'm not talking about those who don't attend church weekly, your church attendance record doesn't measure your relationship with Jesus at all. I'm talking about those inside and outside of the church who believe in Him, who may love Him, but don't necessarily KNOW Him.

  I have noticed a rise in "Apostate Christianity", which is mentioned in the book of Revelation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. Rev 3:15-17 I know I have sat through those conversations with people where they know all the scriptures, and know all about the teaching of Jesus and say they believe.. but there's almost a lack of evidence in their life. It seems as though they keep just enough of Jesus as a " feel-safe", while justifying their own lusts by finding others who agree with them. They search for loop-holes, and live without fear of Him. They fail to realize that their "loop-holes" are self-made, to avoid the convictions they feel. So what do we do? How do we reach out to them? Well, probably the best way.. to follow what God's word tell us.

 Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths. But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.- 2 Timothy 4:2-5

   Why should we focus on them? Because they are part of the flock.They are the church attenders, who are part of every ministry because they need to feel accepted, but have they accepted Him? They are the sons and daughters of Christ who have either been mislead, or hurt, or just simply fell away. They are the ones who claim victory, but run after other "idols" in their lives. They are on their way to destruction. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Matthew 7:21-23 They are in need of encouragement, and guidance, and most importantly love. And lastly, God deems them as worthy of His affection as we are.

   Time is growing short my friends. It's time to get up, time to let those passions become callings, and those burdens to become the drive of your ministries! It's time we rise up.

Blood Drive

   A funny little story to begin. We took our son Malakai (5) to the park this weekend and along the road were signs promoting a Blood Drive that was taking place. Malakai is a huge Scooby-Doo fan, and his imagination is always on full-force, and blood is NOT his favorite subject.. lol. [just to paint a mental picture for you to surround the following conversation]:

Malakai: Daddy!! Did you see that? They call this road.. **dramatic gulp of fear** BLOOD DRIVE!!
Mom and Dad: **insert hysterical laughter**
Dad: No buddy, a blood drive is when you give your blood to help save someones life who may need it.
Malakai: **insert look of disgust and horror** 

  Conversations like these are why I love being around kids!! But also, because their innocence teaches us so much, they are truly pure in spirit. There's nothing better in this life, when God uses your own child and information you taught them to speak to you. So as funny as the conversation on Saturday was.. Sunday it came back to blow me away. 

  Sunday we went to the early service, and during announcements, the speaker shared upcoming events and the fact there was a blood drive taking place on campus. I started to giggle, as Malakai's eyes grew wide hearing the words BLOOD DRIVE in church. Then he breathed a sigh of relief and giggled saying "Oh I know.. they're talking about the blood drive Jesus did." It made me stop giggling, and just look at my beautiful child in astonishment with the connection he made. What a concept!

   Since then, it's been playing over in my mind.. "the blood drive Jesus did." In essence, that is what He did.. He GAVE blood, so that WE may have LIFE! I love when I get a new perspective on what Jesus gave. Through our belief and proclamation of the life of Jesus Christ and the fact that He died on the cross in atonement for us, is like getting a blood transfusion. It gives life to a dying soul, it gives us a new beginning.. and His blood type matches everyone's, you just need to ask for it! It replenishes and enhances. Without this transfusion, you will die. His blood adds to your life, what you cannot do on your own. 

 Though His blood drive happened on earth years ago... it has yet to expire and never will. Transfusions are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

Revelation 1:5-6
5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. 

"Indef"

   Jay and I met a man today at McDonald's who was spending time with his great-grandkids, watching them play in the play place. He was a man, probably in his 70's or 80's.. with white hair and a beard. He took great pride in his family and the fact that last year he got to play Santa at his great-grandson's school. He was even more proud about his 26 years in the Navy. He showed us his Navy ID card with the expiration date stating "Indef". He shared how he could hop aboard any military plane, and go anywhere in the world.. but after 26 years traveling in the military, he never wanted to leave the states. He told us how it was hard, that he was gone all the time but he remained faithful to his wife and they had 4 children, some of which he wasn't able to be around for their birth. 

  As he talked, we noticed he began repeating himself, word for word. The more he talked about his life, the more I realized how sad he was. Sad about the events he missed out on, and a deep sadness hid in his eyes.. a loneliness, maybe the memories of war and the experiences he wished to not share. He would occasionally stop and ask "Did I already tell you about this?" Some times I would say yes.. but other times I would let him go on. I couldn't really tell if it was the beginning of Alzheimer's, or the long lasting effects of war. I guess either scenario doesn't really matter. He is a man who sacrificed so his family could have a better life, even if that meant not being able to be there for a lot of it. He is a man who fought to support and defend this country, even if this country didn't always support and defend him. A true Veteran, a true hard-working man. 

   What touched me so much about this man, was how full of life he still was, how he is still very much a fighter today in a different way. He knows his memory isn't perfect, yet he goes out of his way to strike up conversation with strangers. He puts a smile on his face and reaches out to share his life with others. He wasn't always able to physically be there for his children, but is making efforts to fix that with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He is out LIVING because he is ALIVE. How precious life is to him. It was an honor to meet him, and an honor to speak with him, even if he won't remember it. 

  His Navy ID.. Expiration Date: "Indef", speaks more than just to travel. It speaks of Indefinite sacrifice, Indefinite appreciation for life, and Indefinite effects of war.  I only pray that in my life.. I can be marked with such attributes by my Heavenly Father and to never lose zest and zeal for life, no matter what may come.  

You can't Handle it Without Him

I always hear people say "God will never give you more than you can handle." I also see a lot of comments protesting against this saying, some include: "God won't give me more than I can handle, He must think I'm pretty strong!" "I've heard God won't give you more than you can handle.. well I'm at my breaking point!" I thought to myself the last few times, does this even come from the Bible? So I looked it up, and here's what I found.

The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.- 1 Corinthians 10:13

  The scripture above speaks of false idols, temptations or anything that we would put first, before Christ. The truth is, yes, we will have things in our lives that we cannot handle on our own. There will be hard times, there will be loss, there will be battles in and of ourselves as well as with others. But He is so faithful, that He is telling us "I've got this..", "I won't let you fall". Remember playing CandyLand and picking the card with the candy that is closest to the Castle? (somehow my 5 y/o pick that every time! I'm not bitter..) That's what God does for us, He give us a way out and by doing so, it is not we who handle anything, but God Himself. 

  There will be times when we struggle to get up, when it hurts to move on. Times when it seems it would be better to give in, and give up. Yet, He steps in and gives us a motive. He is our strength:

But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.- 2 Thessalonians 3:3 

  There are times we think we are going to lose it, that we're at breaking point and He's right there ASKING for us to give Him our problems, our stress. He grants us endurance:

Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you.
He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.- Psalm 55:22

 

And just when we think we are done "relying" on Him, and we're laying prostrate, exhausted from carrying or sobbing.. what does He do? He gives us rest:


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


When He is ruler of Your heart, the saying has some truth to it.. He won't give us anything we can't handle with His help. I would be lying if I said I never uttered the old saying myself, but I will never use it again. Why? I see too many being hurt by the misinterpretation, too many people become angry. The fact is, we sometimes can't handle things on our own strength or might.. but only through His spirit. I thank God that when temptation rears it's ugly head, that there's a bridge waiting for me to put me back on course. He gives us peace in our hearts, indescribable peace even though our world is falling apart around us.. our hearts hold steadfast under His wing. "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” - John 16:33


<>< Blessings!

A Servant or a Slave?

"Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors."- Matthew 6:12


As humans, we have all yearned for things we didn't necessarily need. That newer car, faster computer, new shoes etc. As imperfect and impatient humans, most of us have all fallen in to, at one point or another borrowing money or "charging it" or taking a loan from the bank. But what happens when we accumulate too much debt? We stress out, we over work and all in all we become consumed and obsessed with trying to keep up. Debt becomes our master, in turn making us slaves to it's every whim. It's weight wears us down, and it's image embeds itself in our minds keeping us from rest. There comes a time when we ask ourselves "Who/What is in charge of my life?"


The Lord asks us to not serve two masters, and does not want us to become slaves to self and in turn to worldly desires. Some times that's really, really hard; especially in this economy, where we feel like we have to fend for ourselves. But what does His word say about our needs?


Do not worry. Do not keep saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘What will we wear?’ The people who do not know God are looking for all these things. Your Father in heaven knows you need all these things.- Matthew 6:31


There are many desires that we can fall in to serving. Many things we enjoy or we dream about, can slowly become Masters of our lives if we let them. It's okay to have dreams and desires, in fact the very desires of your heart were put there by none other than God, Himself! But it is in how we treat these desires that makes them blessings or nightmares. Does this mean He doesn't want us to dare to dream? Noway. Does this mean we are not to be consumers of the "in" things? Of course not. He wants us to enjoy life, but he wants us to be content first and foremost. He wants us free from worry and burdens. More than anything, He wants to be the ONLY Master of our lives! He calls us to serve Him, not as slaves, but as servants who have a choice.

Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it.- 1 Timothy 6:5-7


So ask yourself this, are you a slave to a temporary master; or a servant of the everlasting Lord?

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