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!