It is the dirty, broken, lifeless vessel that God transforms into a fruitful example of his splendor. It's the flower most trampled most unworthy that can be used most mightily for the works of the kingdom. When our understanding of our true powerlessness is revealed it is in that moment of weakness our thoughts an hearts can be provoked by grace to become something we are not. Something that can only be attributes to the loving creator. It is his love that accounts for all that is good, and it has been said his nearness is to us our good. Any companion we spend tine with we come to know and are shaped heavily by their influence. Oh what else could be better than to be shaped by the one who formed and weaved us from the beginning. It is he who delight in his craftsmanship and would be most delighted in seeing them become whole. He perfects us through his precious sons sacrifice. Holy holy holy is the Lord!

BELIEVE. FIGHT. DREAM

Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
2 Timothy 2:3

You see, I have this vision for my life. I believe it to be a God instilled vision. I see myself as so many things Im not. Of course many of these things I want to be because I feel it will have a huge impact on others. So often I feel its my vision. I feel like I havent let God put bigger dreams in my heart. I feel my lack of surrender leaves this vision lacking in the beauty that he sees for a life like mine...I dont say that as if my life is more special than anyone elses. I fully believe the same is the case for the majority of the Christian world. I get a taste of his goodness yet am not willing to wait for him again. I find ways to take his vision and make it my own and settle. I dont care to be famous or for everyone to adore me(although it wouldnt hurt the ego Ive done a pretty good job of building this far) I just think I dont pray big enough prayers. I dont open myself up to God working in ways unimaginable because I dont feel I deserve unimaginable. The truth is I still feel I have to do something to earn him...I dont..To know him more I believe is a different story. I definitely dont have to perfect but Im rarely even patient. When faced with something hard I dont endure hardship well. I dont keep my eyes focused on the battle and the big picture. I want to, I long to and I cling to hope. In verse 4 of the same passage it says" no one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs" WOW IT HIT ME THERE..We are in a battle and im busy living MY LIFE FOR MY GLORY. Its who Ive always been so it makes sense that even in my desire to live for him my selfish nature takes hold. We are in a war to see Gods kingdom come crashing into earth and the majority of us are to busy making friends with the world to love them. To earn status rather than humble ourselves. When I face a battle I have scripture telling me(james 1, romans 5, 1 peter 1, 2 corinthians 1) that i need to persevere bc it is will build my character and my hope. How often do I even Fight these battles? I often give in in hopes of the next battle and being somehow prepared for it. It starts now. endure hardships like a good solider of Christ Jesus. Fight people. We must fight. We must present ourselves to God as one approved. If we fight for him we already know he has and will continue to fight for us as he always has.
"BUT WE ARE NOT OF THOSE WHO SHRINK BACK AND ARE DESTROYED, BUT OF THOSE WHO BELIEVE AND ARE SAVED" HEBREWS 10:39

The Stiff Arm

I stiff arm the gospel pretty regularly. It seems like in one of my favorite Shane and Shane songs, I just like the devil have forgotten the refrain "JESUS SAVES" I avoid repentance so regularly. It sucks to admit you are wrong. Especially when its something you have to do multiple times daily. Its almost a subconscious Oh ill pull out of this slump. Ill spend time with you in a little while God. The more this happens I notice I end up doing more and more foolish things, none being overwhelmingly damaging yet none leading me to the grace and knowledge of our Lord. It usually starts small and eventually I begin to avoid or merely mask this problem around the people who inspire my heart most towards him. The very community that wants nothing more than to help connect and encourage me after Gods own heart. I just cleaned up Megs(my roomates dogs) accident in the living room. It made me begin to think of all the times God has helped clean up my mess. I thought about how God just constantly deals with us as messes, failure, and a broken people. As i was driving this morning I heard Zephaniah 3:17 and i believe it fits well.
The Lord your God is with you
He is mighty to save
He will take great delight in you
He will quiet you with his love
He will rejoice over you with singing.

I could have gotten mad at Meg and maybe it teaches her a lesson but I knew today I had to just love her. How many times has God just reached down and put his hand on my shoulder and said I love YOU. I love you...Tyler I love you.. Dont you get it kid I JUST LOVE YOU. THere is NO BUT. The anger that had begun to stir made me quickly realize I had avoided time with the Lord today. I had put up my guard against his love again. So defensive to the guilt and the shame that Satan wanted to press into me at the time I had avoided the only true solution. to live in the goodness and the joy of the Lord. You see when we attempt things on OUR strength we attempt to supercede Christs sacrifice. Being a super christian isnt something I want to be anymore. I want to be honest and I want to grow with all of YOU. We must let down our guards and allow him to "REJOICE OVER YOU WITH SINGING!" Forgive us Lord but dont stop there. Change us. ONE heartbeat for your name.

LIGHT

As i was driving to work this morning I was just looking down the road and the Sun was just incredibly bright. It got me thinking about Light and Darkness. The only thing that could take away the brightness of the sun would be clouds. The truth is that doesnt take away the brightness of the sun it only takes away how evident the suns brightness is to us. The suns brightness doesn't change only the way we see it.
In him was life and that life was the light of men. the light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. John 1;4-5
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you:God is light: in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.
When thinking about how bright and incredibly visible the Sun was I couldn't help but think about the times when God is so overwhelmingly evident in everything we do. If i turn and face the opposite way of the Sun I still see it lighting up the world around me.I can close my eyes but even then if I'm staring at it I still am aware that something bright is just beyond my eyelids. The only way the light becomes unknown is if clouds are covering it up or the earth is turned away from it and has been given to darkness and the moon.
So often we cloud our lives with unnecessary wants and worries and cover up and quench the light by putting other things before the Lord. We then cry out asking God where are you? I cant see or feel you...God never left maybe we turned away and were given over to darkness for a time? Hebrews 12: says let us Throw off EVERYTHING that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles...Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith...The sun is always the sun and shining brightly...God is Light;in him there is no darkness...I urge you to see if you've placed anything in front of God in your life clouding his presence from your life, or quite possibly youve turned away completely and been given over to darkness and the death that comes from earthly desires. His light shines brightly for the world to see! matthew 5:14 says WE are the light of the world and a city on a hill cannot be hidden...Letyour light shine before men... If our lives our clouded and we arent seeing the fullness of His light how could others ever see it in us? Let everytime you see sunlight be a reminder of the great burning Light the Lord is.

Let him light you with a passion for the whole world to see!

Those who honor Him, He will Honor

In chapter 2 of Samuel this was said to ELI: Therefore the LORD, the God of Israel, declares:(A) 'I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,'(B) but now the LORD declares: 'Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed.
THOSE WHO HONOR ME I WILL HONOR
THOSE WHO DESPISE ME SHALL BE LIGHTLY ESTEEMED...another version says disdained
The Websters definition of disdain says, " To regard or treat with haughty contempt; despise"
Eli was a man who had seen the goodness of the Lord in his family line but due to his sons wicked ways and his inability to discipline them God said he would cut short his family line and that noone would die an old man...
I often think of the promises we receive and how we take them for granted without remembering the possible wrath of God. To honor the Lord is to give him the glory deserved and we as fallen creatures constantly fall short. Even more we often dont care. We have been given the promise of salvation, and neglected the call to discipleship. People dont like to see this wrathful side of God, but would it really make sense for a God who is LOVE to rejoice in evil? Good and Evil don't seem to coincide. Evil is a LACkING of good. My prayer is that you will honor him with your words, your deeds, your thoughts, and YOUR WHOLE LIVES. That is when this LOVE we speak of so constantly becomes real and we actually experience it rather than merely rejoice at the idea.

At the cross

you tore the veil. you made a way. when you said that it is done.

Whatever it is holding you back, whether it be shame guilt or fear lay it down. His sacrifice was enough. Just run the race marked out! IN Freedom.

Be Sure that noone takes you captive

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that NO ONE TAKES YOU CAPTIVE through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world, rather than on Christ. Colossians 2:6-8
This passage has been something Ive been chewing on for a little while and trying to understand. It seems pretty clear the problem is how often am i taken captive through the teaching and tradition of the world. I have weeks of incredible zeal for the Lord and nothing can keep me from shouting his name followed by weeks of incredible laziness and following of the trends so as to not be an outcast. Im tired of caring what people may say. What will my Father say to me when he welcomes me home? Well done, or away from me I never knew you.. I'm serious when I say i think these words are far truer than we would ever care to admit. If I dont forsake myself for HIS kingdom I will drown in my own. Praying with some buddies today really got me thinking about this concept and how often the world around me quiets me down and gets me to play along in the silly "christian" game. If satan can just keep us quiet he has won. If he can just get us to keep our concern at a base level he has won, but today I stand and say just like Jimmy Needham that Jesus won, Jesus won, JESUS WON AND FILLED THE DIVIDE. It seems quite trivial to me that we bicker and ridicule and do everything but stand for his name. Romans 12:9 says, "Don't just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good." LEts cling to his goodness and only boast in him. Stop standing up against things and stand up for the ONLY THING that will ever satisfy. Real PEACE LOVE AND JOY

Home

Yesterday I had the privilege of leading worship at the church I grew up in. First Baptist Church Archer City, Texas has become a bigger blessing than I had ever previously realized. As I stood in front of the congregation before leading the first song I was overwhelmed by memory after memory. The first thing that came to mind upon all the great memories was how beautiful the group of people looked to me. I am sure I was grinning ear to ear and fighting back some of the emotions playing out through my head. As I gazed over the crowd all i could think was how I just knew this was how God saw his beautiful children, his precious creation. He loves us so much and takes so much delight in his creation. No matter how flawed we are he doesnt see that. Romans 8:1 says Now there is no condemnation under christ..Galatians 5:1 says It is for freedom we are free...The grace of God has covered all of our iniquities and he sees beauty. He holds no record of wrongdoing. Im sure some of the people in the crowd had wronged me on occasion over the years of growing up in Archer city but at that moment all I could see was beauty and was struck by how much more God must love each one of us. At that moment all my fears and all my shortcomings no longer mattered. All that mattered was playing my part in seeing his kingdom come. Whatever our role is we wont play it until we begin to wrestle with his great love. Be overcome by his love today. come face to face with the beauty of creation. in turn you will overcome the world and begin to see your neighbor the way intended. LOVE. IS. WHAT. LOVE. OFFERS. FREEDOM. IS. WHAT. FREEDOM. OFFERS. CHRIST. IS. WHAT. CHRIST. OFFERS. Salvation is here.

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. 1 John 5:1-5...

We are overcomers. As children of God who have been saved by grace through faith we have already overcome because he claimed victory over the grave. We as people LOVE when people overcome. Rocky, or an underdog team in March Madness we LOVE to see this type of activity. If this is the case why so often are we defeated as christians? We sin and get caught in our shame and stay defeated bc we havent done right...Well if there is nothing we can do to earn Gods love there seems to be no point to living this way. He has overcome and called us his own so we will overcome this world. Lets begin to look at life through this frame. Lets stop trying to earn this grace so freely lavished upon us, and just walk in the victory that those who have a HOPE should walk in..Overcome the world this week. Hes called you to it...Overcome the world and shine brightly with peace love and joy today!

Living simply

In our culture we busy ourselves with trinkets and appointments and make less and less time to live intentionally for the sake of others. When text messaging and Facebook reign supreme it is a tough thing to discern where we draw the line of being in the world or of the world. This concept of simplification is something ive thought abot often and contemplated just exactly what that means. Im understanding more and more that if we begin to remove all the junk it frees us up to focus on others. The common theme this generation is "me". It shows in all of our technology that allows ME to do what i want now. This has only led us as a people to continually seek ourselves and rarely seek for the betterment of others. Our calls as christians our to live outside our agendas and take on the kingdom agenda. This means to live for others and to show love to others and constantly pour out in hopes of seeing souls transformed for the name of the Lord. When considering living simply it doesnt mean living with nothing but it means only living with the things that benefit and not what can possibly hinder. Hebrews 12 says to throw off all the things that hinder and the sin that so easily entangels and run the race marked out for us. When it says the things that hinder maybe its talking about the morally neutral things that steal our affections from God and his kingdom work? This is something to ponder because in 1 Corinthians paul says all things are permissible but not all things permissible. Maybe we should consider what it is that sends us to him and not to ourselves. His yoke is easy and his burden is light but we so often burden ourselves with plenty of unnecessary things. Lets run this race. effectively. together.

Be still my soul be still...

Turn down the music
Turn down the noise
Turn up your voice oh God and let us hear the sound
Of people broken, willing to love
Give us your heart oh God a new song rise in us

How often do you look up at the end of a week and notice you have spent very little time engaging God?
How often can you say I did a lot of Christian things such as listen to great music, hear a great sermon, or read a good spiritual book?
Maybe its time we turn down the music and turn down the noise and engage our creator. Its so easy to busy ourselves and never have to get out of our comfort zone for the sake of the gospel. I bet if we turned down the busy nature of our lives and spent some time in reflection on all the blessings and little miracles in life or maybe spent some time studying the word to allow God to reveal himself a little more our lives would call for drastic change. In philippians 2:12 Paul says to work out your salvation with fear and trembling...I challenge anyone reading this to take some time this week and slow down, turn off the music, and let God speak...and by the way even through silence we are receiving an answer...Psalm 37: Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him...

Do NOT QUENCH THE SPIRIT

I understand the need for practical application but I hate the thought of Doing things rather than being. So often we are not walking with the Spirit that was so freely given to us. In John 14 Jesus says,"I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. ¹⁴You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." Im not sure i need to say another word it speaks for itself, but what i will say is that the MOST IMPORTANT thing in ministering is being cognizant of the Spirit right now. That is the only thing that will mend hearts and fix broken people. When we are in tune witht he spirit and allow his presence to reign in our lives others receive that. In matthew 10 Jesus says freely you have received, freely give. We need to stop trying so hard and let God do the work. Lets spend more time engaging and drawing near to him. He will send us and take care of the rest. I just returned home from a conference and am overwhelmed by what God did tonight. Lets just say IM no longer a skeptic. God truly has no limits and I pray that he will continue to break chains in my life that hold me back from believing that. Freely you have received; Freely give...Matthew 10:8

All i need is You

Can i let go of the things I DONT NEED long enough to become HIS HANDS? I so often grab and take hold of the things of this world. These things dont satisfy and they take away from intimacy with my savior. Im constantly reminded that as long as I cling to the things of this world I cant possibly be His hands or his feet, his eyes, his ears. Who will listen? Who will see? Who will speak? Who will go? Who will hold tightly to his truths? It is the one who loses his life. Jesus says anyone who loses his life will find it. Lets let go of this world and open ourselves up to be his today. Hearts will change. Brokennes will be healed. Christ will reign. Be a part of it.

Check out this video!

The Waiting Game

Following Jesus means to drop our agenda and pick his up. In life it is great to have drive and dreams but they must be rooted in furthering of the Kingdom. When it comes to discrimination and issues like this it seems we will compromise at all costs to keep the church setting comfortable. Its easy to minister and love a community of people who are like you. The problem is we were never called to minister to the people similar to us. We were called to minister to all and to love our enemies. When we drop whatever drive we have to be recognized or comfy and begin to recognize the humanity of others and the need for all to be loved it certainly shifts the paradigm. I long for the day that ministers want to minister at all costs to the people No one else wants to love or be there for. I am certainly in no way there yet but as of late Ive began to understand that I would LOVE to go to africa or romania but how much do I want to be put near the meth labs of hawley, or spend time on cedar street near high levels of gang activity? Maybe somewhere along the journey we liked Jesus enough to claim him but haven't quite submitted our lives and allowed him to claim us and truly become his, myself included. As believers Jesus has to be given Lordship in our lives and from that grows humble action. WE WERE MADE FOR GOD BY GOD AND EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW AND TONGUE CONFESS THAT HE IS LORD. Why not now?

From the Inside Out

As i sat down this morning to reflect a little bit before i Began to do anything I was listening to some music. From the inside out by hillsong was on and as i listened these words pierced my heart..."Your will above all else my purpose remains, the art of losing myself in bringing you praise"...Im not even sure that at this moment in time I grasp how deep and wide that statement goes. How often do I sing the songs or hear the words and say thats great, yet in no way make an attempt for that to be a reality in my life. Songs such as I surrender all, or None but Jesus quickly come to mind when I think about this. How often in "bringing him praise" am i completely a part of it, and often only praising for my sake. If worship isnt about me why do i constantly feel the need for it to feel good or to have it go a particular way. If thats the case is it not simply again worship of my desires and fulfilling that? God is worthy to be worshipped in all things because he is God and not bc a catchy song about his glory was written. How often do we set aside our agendas and just praise him? How often are we cognizant enough of who he is to let our lives reflect his glory? Bringing him praise is never about me...Its about him...Lets hit our knees and rediscover the ART of losing ourselves to bring him praise...
Everlasting your light will shine when all else fades. Neverending your glory goes beyond all fame...He must become greater I must become less...John 3:30

Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear: do not be frightened.But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, ¹⁶keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. ¹⁸For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit
1 Peter 3:13-19


Wow....I cant add anything to this so i just thought Id put it up by itself

1 Peter

I was listening to a podcast recently declaring our need to have a foundation in the word. Francis Chan, the preacher of this particular podcast, went on to challenge his congregation to read 1 Peter every day for the week and come back ready to delve into 2 Peter the next week. Seeming like an interesting challenge I started to read 1 peter with the intention of reading it through and not stopping to interpret just to simply read and develop a broad understanding of the text. In the midst of this I found francis chans comments on how hard that should be because of how amazing Gods word is when we look at it with the intent to uncover the Lords character and barely made it through the first chapter before having to stop and reread and meditate a bit on what exactly was being said. with all that said I challenge anyone reading this blog to spend some time in a specific book this week and read it through several times and allow it to sit in your thoughts and meditate on it. It still amazes me at how alive the scriptures become when we seek Gods heart for it and how sometimes in my selfish attempts to gain knowledge the Lord humbles me and shows me his heart anyway. Take some time to be found in him this week...the author and perfector of our faith wants to continue to reconcile you back to himself. I will continue to blog on what exactly this book tells me this week. I pray you take the time this week to get out of your comfort zone and allow your heart to be aligned with the Heart of the creator! I pray we will seek him because when we earnestly seek him his kingdom comes crashing into earth!!

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk so by it you may grow up in your salvation now that you have TASTED that the Lord is GOOD. 1 Peter 2:1-3

Last night as I lead worship at FBC Marble Falls I was struck and struck hard.
While practicing the song You're Beautiful by Phil Wickham it just hit me really hard how Beautiful our God is. Its not that when ive listened to this song before I havent been stirred or when reading words about his beauty I havent been in awe. There was just something different about getting to play that song with a band and proclaim it. The third verse baffles me...
I see you there Hanging on a tree
you bled and then you died and then you rose again for me
Now you are sitting on your heavenly throne
Soon you will be coming home
Youre beautiful....
IF THAT DOESNT FIRE YOU UP YOURE NUTS!!! i hope im not the only who gets excited about reconciliation of all things and that it doesnt stop at Christ dying for me. HEs coming back to reign! In his full splendor we will encounter him...Can you think of the most incredible times youve shared with your Father in heaven? Those intimate times you can hardly put into words? Can you imagine that type of intimacy that never ceases and is most assuredly more intense? If not I pray youll take some time to realize the beauty of our creator. The only beauty that satisfies and never fades...The Great I Am is beautiful....In the beginning there was God...ya chew on that for a minute

Somethings gotta change

We live in a world full of broken hurt people who need the hope of our creator...The saddest thing is sometimes the most broken thing that happens is ignoring the pain. When we refuse to accept brokenness for what it is and let it affect us we wont long for the Hope our Creator gives. Until i hurt for the broken I will never love the broken. Until I understand my brokenness and the redemption grace has and continues to bring I will never extend grace or understand the need to care for others in the way intended. Its late and maybe Im not making sense but I know one thing is true. People are dying right now and we just dont care all that much...Somethings gotta change.

Listening to Bethany Dillons "everyone to know" and have just been resting in the love that is so abundantly yet undeservingly poured out! How often do i just sit and rest in that grace. How often am I broken enough to be thankful for how much he loves with how little i deserve. To often i let my days get the best of me and my worries and troubles take over. When the truth is I have a savior who died for me. He bled and died and was rose again. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.John 15:13...Thats right he calls us friend. Are YOU KIDDING ME? Does this not get your heart racing? does it not move and overwhelm you? I just love being able to bask in that regeneration he offers. He stirs me..I live selfishly...He calls me back...I continue living in arrogance...He loves. He Pours. He offers. Im like a wife who is continually giving my affections to things that arent my husband but I arrive at home and all the while he fully knows where Ive been or what ive been doing or where my thoughts are and yet HE EMBRACES ME. WITH NO HESITATION. Dont hesitate to tell the world about this love. Dont hesitate to fall on your knees in light of this great love that passes all understanding!

I just Arrived home from the Texas tech vs. Kansas state football game. First off it was ridiculously cold and most were underprepred due to the forecast claiming the temperature would be in the mid 50s rather than the 30s.. That's really all beside the point. My point with this post is that 44000 people showed up to see two mediocre football teams play. Even in the cold most were excited about it. Tomorrow morning millions of people will attend church in a building that is plenty warm Yet few will be as excited as they were about an eternally meaningless game of football(which I might add I do love the game) when will life become more than a show. My heart cries out for something more than a show, something authentic that I can be shaped by and something I can cling to. That something is the love of God and the sacrifice of christ. If you can't become as excited about your creator especially on Sunday when it's easy then it's fair enough to say there is little excitement any other day of the week. God deserves to be praise simply because HE IS THE GREAT I AM..not to mention all of the things he does for us despite our lack of love.. Let us sit back and reflect on that love. Maybe just maybe we can become as excited about our creator as he is about us.. And maybe a football game can be another reminder of how he loves. Romans 12:1

Morality

What drives us? Well many things thats for sure. I cant really give any real clear answer to that other than we are driven by the things we perceive to give us more life. Whether it be power through good morals(which we can take and hover over people to attain our worth) or whether it be the undending use of grace as a motive to live we all have a purpose to seek "good". That "good" takes on many different forms due to the shaping of our minds. Its such a relative term that its really hard to put a finger on what exactly "good" is. the thing is that consistently the puruit of "good" does not give life. It steals life. Self righteousness steals the freedom to be honest and transparent and have any meaningful relationship with the creator or with other humans. The pursuit of pleasure also leads to death because we constantly have to have more and more of what our heart craves and what we have to own ends up owning us. The only good that satisfies isnt really "good" at all...It is God and yes of course God is good but the truth is God is so much more than Good. He is life, love, power, might, triumph,purity. He is all that is "good" yet more . All this to say, the pursuit of God and the pursuit of righteousness that comes only from faith rooted in him is the only that satisfies yesterday, today, and tomorrow. In light of eternity there is nothing on this earth that supplies any satisfaction beyond today other than the joy of life given by the creator. Pursue Life in its true form...Pursue love....PURSUE GOD.

Old note...still relevant

I wrote this note a few months ago and its neat to see how things change and how at the same time they stay the same...

Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? 26If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

Im pretty sure this taking up your cross daily thing is lost on us. I know for myself im to busy crucifying Christ again and again for that statement to hold any meaning. I know that sounds crazy but if christ lives in me and i continue to sin Im essentially nailing him right back up there. I sin and give no second thought a lot of times and the more I think about what I force christ to do for me it hurts. I wanna take up my cross' daily bc havent i caused enough harm and hasnt his grace up to this point been sufficient. Romans 6:1-2 says, Should i sin all the more so that grace may abound? by no means, we died to sin, how can we live in it any longer?" ..To Live is Christ and to die is gain. Paul had it figured out. Paul although not perfect wanted nothing more than to be just like Christ. He had previously been an enemy of the cross and persecuted christians but became the most incredible follower and disciple. Philippians 3: 18-19,"For, as I have often told you befor and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction their god is their stomach and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things." I just wonder how many of us as believers live as enemies of the cross of Christ. If these verses dont cause you to speculate and ponder upon the way you live then id venture to say you might not be truly living. As much as God has completely transformed my life in the last year I am still on my best days not living as Im called to live. I pray that we as christians can begin to be honest with ourselves and let the author of salvation examine our hearts and change and mold us to who he created us to be. Let us no longer be conformed to this world but let us be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Romans 12:2...I want to stop focus on what others dont do as well as me and begin to focus on what I dont do like Jesus, bc my self righetousness gets me nowhere and his grace and mercy cover me and make me new again. "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love..Galatians 5:6...When all is said and done and I look back on my life I hope that the person I am after today looks nothing like the person Ive been. There is so much love needed in this world and we are capable through the sacrifice of Christ to give that love. Love covers a multitude of sins and my prayer is that our love will truly change this world we live in. Lets stop crucifying christ all over again and begin to die to ourselves today so that his kingdom can come!

Salt and Light

Salt can change a completely ordinary meal into one that tastes great. It can take a mediocre french fry and make it something you enjoy. Light can eliminate darkness depending on the brightness of the bulb. Light has the ABILITY to eliminate darkness. Darkness doesnt have the ability to put out light...Salt and Light are both used in the bible to describe what kind of effect we as "christians" are supposed to have. Both of these things can cause tremendous change to the situation ascribed it. Do I make a significant difference in my relationships with believer and non believers alike? If we werent given a spirit of timidity and were given a spirit of Love Power and Self Discipline where is the evidence of these things? I often wonder how much merit we truly give scripture. Whether literal or metaphorical do we believe the message being presented enough to allow it to transform us by the renewing of our minds?(romans 12:2) I think when scripture becomes more than just another way to try to defend our "religion" and becomes an active belief and constant conviction we will begin to see the fruit of that and can start to become the things scripture proclaims. Truth sets people free and the truth has begun to set my heart on fire. What about God sets you on fire...Seek that passion in him and see your heart come alive...1 Thessalonians 5:19 do not put out the spirits fire!