Worry, Worry, Worrry...

Sitting here, sipping coffee, watching the Olympics in the comfort of air conditioning and a reclining chair...how blessed are we! Life can be so demanding and worrisome...God has reminded me this week of Matthew 6:25-34

“This is why I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they? Can any of you add a single cubit to his height by worrying? And why do you worry about clothes? Learn how the wildflowers of the field grow: they don’t labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these! If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t He do much more for you—you of little faith? So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ or the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Our God clothes the flowers of the field and feeds the birds in the sky...and yet we worry...over everything...that we won't have enough, we won't have the same as someone else, we won't get what we want, we won't be able to have it now...worry and wait seem to pair themselves conveniently together, don't they? We worry that we have to wait so we worry while we wait...forgetting all the while that God has THE plan for our lives...God knows how it will end...God knows what we NEED! Culture and media in America capitalizes on our human desire to be and have the biggest and best (whether that's selfishness or pompous pride) we always want to look better than the person next to us...Romans 12:10 says, however, we should "Outdo one another in showing honor" NOT to outdo in showing possessions or wealth or health or strength or ANYthing else we humans look to as we wish to be the best, BUT to outdo in showing HONOR! Dictionary.com defines "honor" as "honesty, fairness, or integrity in one's beliefs and actions." Honor is a word of Character. Showing more honor does not mean being first, but being last. Allowing others to come before yourself, giving the person next to you the biggest and best rather than taking it for yourself. This is a difficult thing to do with every input into our senses telling us differently...commerce tell us that what we have isn't good enough (forget that it meets our needs, it must be bigger, better, and more expensive), gigantic appliances send the message that what we eat and cook is too small, we must have more, the housing market alerts us to our deficiency in space and size, isle after isle in the book store totes ways to "become a better you," the Internet encourages time wasting and money spending, and all of this only to mutate out feelings of inadequacy into worry and fear at the end of the day. Of course, there are aspects of these things that are good, portions that God provides to us out of His generosity to bless us in our short time here on this Earth...and at the end of the day the choice is yours....a choice to either thank God for His generosity and blessing OR look at your neighbor and decide God hasn't blessed you enough.

My hope is that at the end of my day I will choose to thank God and bask in the glory of His grace and love and blessing so that I might take that blessing and share it with my neighbor. And, through it all, remember not to worry...God's got this.

In God's Name

At Bible study this week, we had a Seminary professor come and lead our discussion. He spoke about the history of the church and of Christianity, and I'll be honest, history of any kind is just not my area of interest. There was one point that stood out to me though...He referenced 2Corinthians 5:20 "Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, certain that God is appealing through us." And, as ambassadors, we are the face and voice of the embassy. I had never thought of the Church as God's Embassy before...There are American Embassies all over the world...land in other countries that the US owns with a building run by the president and with people who are expected to be the face of America to whatever country they serve...the Church is God's Kingdom Embassy. So then this professor posed a question: "What kind of ambassador are you? Do you represent the Embassy well? Do you represent God well?"

I have been confronted with this a lot lately in my own life. Do I represent God the way I should? In everything I do? "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (1Corinthians 10:31) And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.(Colossians 3:17)" So, how am I doing? How are you doing? How do we represent Christ when we're stuck in traffic? When someone cuts us off? When we have a bad day? When we have a good day? When we're out with friends? When we're out with co-workers? When we're at the gym? When we're at the store? When we watch that movie, or listen to that music, or use those words or that tone of voice?...Because the fact is, whether we represent Him well or poorly, we ARE His representation to the world. Do we turn people TO Christ, or AWAY from Him? I wish the church would focus on this more...I wish I would focus on this more.

We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but as Redeemed sinners covered by the blood of the lamb with the Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts, we have a responsibility to the world to endure, press on, and SHOW the grace and mercy of God. I pray that God would continue to provide opportunities in my life and in yours to practice being a GREAT ambassador for His Kingdom! I pray God would guide our steps today, tomorrow, and each day until His coming in such a way that glorifies His name. I pray He would make us less so He could be more! I pray for His strength to run this race with endurance and thank Him for His presence and protection each step of the way! Thank you God that you are with us wherever we are and you welcome us with open arms. Thank you that you equip us with every good and perfect gift so that we may be ambassadors for your Kingdom to win others to Christ! Help us to realize and accomplish the plans and dreams you have for each of our lives in the name of Jesus!

By Grace

Fellow Forgiven,

Have you ever, or do you remember a time when you've really come to understand how far you've fallen? I don't think we can ever know the true gravity of our sin, nor can we comprehend what our sin does within the walls of our savior's heart. Can you imagine adding cream into black coffee? How it permeates every space within the coffee...causing the coffee to cloud...and the two can not be separated. I think that may be a little what our sin does in our hearts and in the heart of God...only, God has the ONE way to separate cream from coffee, sin from heart, darkness from light.

"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." That's comforting to me in some way...not one of us is better than the other...not one of us is worse than the other...there is not one of us who God loves better...there is not one of His children whom God is disappointed with...ALL is a level playing field within the body of Christ. What a sweet thought. I know I have fallen--I have fallen hard and I have fallen fast and I have fallen worse than I ever thought I would...but ONE thing remains...Jesus. nails. death. life. redemption.

I praise God tonight for His healing love and redemptive grace. I am daily reminded about my misdeeds...Satan makes sure I am reminded how "bad" I am like it's his job...and THE response to the evil one is to preach truth and gospel to ourselves. Take every thought captive. Remove all unwholesome talk. And rejoice in the place God has prepared for you!

I hope, friends, that you had a great weekend! While you read this, I hope you will ponder the greatness God has accomplished in your lives and in the lives of loved ones...than pray for those you love who have yet to have their eyes opened. How can we keep such great love to ourselves?

The Things of This World Grow Strangely Dim

Sorry for missing Saturday this weekend, I was up in the mountains at camp with some of the youth from church! Was so excited to be asked and get to go! I left with the expectation for God to work, what I got was so much more, for me and my group! The camp was fun, the worship was moving, and the message was powerful, impactful, and convicting! The thing that stuck with me most was the points made this morning before we left for home. Jared (the pastor for the week) talked about sin and overcoming sin. What he said was basically this: struggling with a sin is difficult, overcoming that sin can be even more difficult...depending on how you approach it. He used the illustration of having a "sinful addiction" to chocolate. If you tell yourself to stay away from chocolate, and you tell your friends to keep you away from chocolate, and you continually say "no chocolate" all you're going to think about is CHOCOLATE! You're setting yourself up for failure because you've continued to keep the sin (in this case, chocolate) on your mind. Rather, if we focus ALL our ATTENTION on Christ and the gospel and sharing and living holy and blameless lives, we won't be thinking about the sin. Wow. Did you get that? I didn't really listen the first time (I was a bit distracted) and was glad he said it again.

If you're focusing on God rather than the sin you are trying to overcome, your mind and heart will be so full of the Gospel and of God that there will be no room for your sin to continue to torment you. If we allow Him, God can fill our hearts and minds to overflowing and all that yucky sin stuff will be forced over the edge and out of our lives.

Point being, focus on Christ in the midst of overcoming sin rather than focusing on saying "no" to the sin. That's what got me. I often find myself saying no to things I am working to overcome and it becomes all about me. Instead, I need to make it about God, pray for his help, and immerse myself in His love and in His word to overflow the sin right out of my life. I had never thought of it that way. What sin are you struggling with that you just can't seem to kick? Are you focusing on the SIN? or on GOD? I pray God will change my habits and cause me to rethink how I approach my sin and I pray the same for you!

Got Satisfaction?

God has taught me one big lesson this week, one that is still in process...and I don't think I'll ever get it perfect this side of eternity...

Through Facebook I "like" a page called "Trust in the Lord." It posts frequent pictures about the love and grace and truth of God with sayings and bible verses integrated into the picture. They often show up in my news feed and are often encouraging. One in particular has been the anthem to my week: It was plain blue (a teal/greenish blue) and stated "The only one who can truly satisfy the human heart is the one who made it." The question following the statement is, "do you believe that?"

Do I?

Current culture would plead with us not to believe such promises. "Don't you know?" the world asks us, "you can't get no satisfaction?" Mick Jagger said it best, I'm sure, from the vantage point of our fleshy sinful selfish hearts...so we go through life thinking he's right..."I can't get no satisfaction"...but it's a lie! A black, poisonous lie from the pit of Hell bent on destroying any faith and belief we hold in God. The TRUTH is, God made out hearts to seek, find, rely on, and be WHOLEY satisfied IN HIM! "There's a God-shaped hole in all of us"...not sure who sings that one.

My challenge this week has been to check my motives...am I looking to God, the creator of my heart, to satisfy my heart? Or, am I putting hopes and burdens on people (or things) who are not qualified to tackle such a task? The ONLY one qualified is Christ Jesus! So, check your motives...ask yourself, "am I engaging this way because I choose to find favor and satisfaction in God (the ONLY one who can satisfy) or because I search for approval and fullness in temporary pleasures (unqualified and unequipped to satisfy)?" There's only one right answer.

A-Way With Words

God is good and His timing and plan are perfect! This week's SWS was going to be about something completely different than what is on my heart right now, so, we'll put that off until next time (if the Lord wills)! God spoke to me at the beach today and I feel I should share my conviction and challenge with you (mostly because I feel this is God's plan for out time this week, but I also know that you struggle with this the same as I do the same as every person I know).

While lying on the beach today with a salty sea breeze, the sound of crashing waves, and sandy toes I overheard a conversation a few towels down from our spot...what I heard filled my heart part with sadness and part with a mirror image of myself. I can't remember the conversation or the words used, but what I DO remember is that there were two topics...the group was either talking about/making fun of someone on the beach, or they were talking about nothing just to hear their own voices and curse every other word. Then, they stopped talking to drink. That was their whole "fellowship" at the beach. No substance. No encouragement. Not even the slightest "Hey, how was your week?" Nothing of value.

I have a little card hanging in my room that says "Please, Lord, fill my mouth with worthwhile stuff, and nudge me when I've said enough!" How different the world would be if we all lived by this little phrase... So, you see where my sadness came from. But, the worst part is, I find myself in the same mindset sometimes-talking just to hear myself talk or judging the people around me. Then, God reminded me of this passage:

"Now when we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we also guide the whole animal. And consider ships: Though very large and driven by fierce winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how large a forest a small fire ignites. And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among the parts of our bodies. It pollutes the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is set on fire by hell. Every sea creature, reptile, bird, or animal is tamed and has been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. We praise our Lord and Father with it, and we curse men who are made in God’s likeness with it. Praising and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers, these things should not be this way. Does a spring pour out sweet and bitter water from the same opening? Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a saltwater spring yield fresh water."

-James 3:3-12

Let us focus on building others up with our conversation and building the kingdom of God with words of affirmation and encouragement! This is not an easy task! Thank God for the Holy Spirit to help us!!! And let this become our prayer as we allow the potter to reshape us: "Please, Lord, fill my mouth with worthwhile stuff, and nudge me when I've said enough!"

Wash, Rinse, Repeat

Summer is off to a bang and God has been at work!

My week was pretty usual...work, home, bible study (which I look forward to all week), more work, lazy Saturday...etc. Just your typical hum-drum week...or so it would seem. More than any other lesson this week (and God's been working a few), I've been reminded of God's unending unconditional unmatched love for me. No matter how my day is going, no matter what I've done in the past year...week...day...hour...minute, no matter how many times He's had to teach me the same lesson in the past 20 seconds, He loves me the same yesterday, today, and forever! Just like shampoo, He is willing to wash me in His cleansing waters, lather me with His love, rinse away all the mess, and repeat! What an incredible God!

I found myself this week revisiting some of the same struggles I've encountered over and over again all my life...thinking all these were behind me...and I am SO thankful that God chooses to speak to us in this way! Do you ever notice repeating themes in your life? Maybe the same songs always pop up in your heart, or perhaps there is that one sin you just can't seem to stay away from, a habit you can't break, or a routine you never miss, a bible verse that seems to encompass the entirety of your walk with God...I believe God created us this way. He patterned our lives in such a way so that when He speaks to us, it's special just for us... No two people are created the same and I believe that causes a more intimate relationship with God, because no two relationships are the same... Making sense? For example: I struggle with the unfulfilled desire to be married, cared for by a husband, loved by a man...so, God reveals Himself to me as my Husband, lover, provider, protector. I struggle with body image...so God shows me the beauty of His creation until I can no longer deny my beauty as one created in His image. I struggle with self control...so God has protected me from myself. I struggle with pride...so God humbles me.

Do you see? This is one idea I really struggle to put into words...as I read over what I've written, it makes little sense...BUT, I am trusting God to help you understand. :)

God created us personally so we would live life personally so He could love us personally! We (Christians) are the body of Christ so we reflect Christ and every attribute of His character. Christ is to magnificent for just one mirror, so we each exhibit different (and some the same) attributes of His Character. This way, we can reflect the attributes of Christ to each other. I LOVE how different we people are and yet how compatible we can be! Do you repeat the same struggles in your life? How does God reveal Himself to you in a personal and specific way?

Oh Lord, continue to reveal yourself to me in ways specific to my heart and help me to see clearly your plan for my life! Lord, continually free me from the bondage I create in my mind. Grant me freedom in the blood of Christ to live a life that is pleasing to you as I embrace the person you created me to be. Thank you for being my protector, my lover, my provider, my father, my brother, my husband, my joy, my smile my love and everything else that I am! Help me, Lord, to be satisfied in you and you alone. Help me to leave my agenda and my selfishness behind me as I give my life over to your will and your timing. Your plan is perfect, God! I thank you for who you are and who I am in you!