Worshiping God with our Lives

This morning I headed out to the grocery store and pulled into a parking space, only to find I had left my purse at home. Good thing my house is only about 5 minutes away! I drove back home to get my purse and when I went out he door for the second time, someone had entered my driveway. A woman got out of the vehicle and handed me a pamphlet, saying she wanted to invite me and my family to a special event. After she had left, I read over the pamphlet and came to the conclusion that she was a Jehovah's Witness and the event was to remember the anniversary of The Lord's crucifixion and death and for others to learn more about it. One line of text on the paper got my attention though. It said,

"You will hear an explanation of how his death can benefit you and your family."

I don't think any harm was meant by this statement but I'm using it as an example of how we all, in the flesh, may think at times. We have to be careful not to stay in the mindset of "What can God do for me?" rather than "What can I do to further His kingdom?" Notice I said, we shouldn't stay in that mindset. I believe God intends for us know what He is capable and willing to do for us as His children: He gives good gifts (Mat. 7:11), He is our protector (Psa. 91:14), He provides for us (Phil. 4:19), one day we will live with Him in Paradise (Heb. 13:14), etc.
Since we know of His goodness, since we have tasted and seen, we are all called to action! Although we could never in a thousand lifetimes repay The One who has given us life and love and grace when we were unworthy, we can be effective Christians in return. Do all Christians live an effective life? Do you think there are any Christians who want the "benefits of Salvation" but want to give nothing of their lives in return? I'll leave that question up in the air for all of us.

We know Salvation is a gift- a free gift. But when you are provided for, blessed, protected, and promised a home in Paradise, wouldn't you count it a privilege and a joy to live a life that goes above and beyond for Him? Not because God needs us to love and follow Him, but because we desperately need to love and follow God. And he desires a passionate relationship with us.

In the book 'Crazy Love' written by Francis Chan, he says, "Have you ever wondered if we're missing it? It's crazy if you think about it. The God of the universe...loves us with a radical, unconditional, self-sacrificing love. And what is our typical response? We go to church, sing songs, and try not to curse." How convicting that statement has been for me at times.

I don't want that to be true for me, though. Jesus physically gave up His life on the cross and because of that, I want to spiritually give up my life to Him.
My debt was paid in full by Jesus so I should count it all joy to witness to or befriend someone even if it happens to be painfully awkward.
He has placed talents and gifts within us and the way we use them is our gift back to Him.
He offered himself as ransom for me, so I should count it a small price to pay to give up anything he asks of me. It isn't always easy, no sometimes the price we pay for living radical lives for Christ are devastating. But in the end, our lives aren't our own and this isn't our home.

He is worthy of all our praise even if no one else gives Him glory. He has proved Himself and we must trust Him even if everyone is second guessing His presence. We must spread the word of His incredible love even if they choose not to believe. He is more than worthy of our time and attention even if everyone else pulls us from all sides with distraction.

The more time we spend with the Father, the more He reveals to us how good He is. And the more He reveals to us how deeply He loves us, the more we love Him. The more we love Him, the more we begin to make it our life's goal to better serve Him. Because as Francis Chan says in the book I mentioned, "When you're wildly in love with someone, it changes everything." We can worship Him by how we use the time He has given us here!

Portraying Perfection

 

This evening Braxton and I got take out and brought it to a place a few miles from our house that we love to go. It has amazing views of the lake and sky and the sunset was beautiful tonight! I love to take walks down the road in front of this view. I can't get over how pretty it always is, no matter the season!

 

Tonight in particular, though, I noticed the trash that had washed up on the shore and had gotten caught in all the branches in the shallow water. It has rained a lot lately, so any trash that was on the shore is now floating in the water.

 

I was jogging down the road earlier, admiring the water and sky. As the road came to a curve and made the water's edge visible, I was shocked by how much debris was floating around.

From far away, the view looked gorgeous. But as I got closer, I was able to see a part of it I hadn't before- an ugly, undesirable part. In the picture above, the sunset is glowing pink and the reflection on the water is beautiful. But if you look very closely along the bottom, a ton branches and dozens of plastic bottles and wrappers are floating in the water. 

 

It made me think about us. We look on the lives of others and many times see only the desirable parts. A lot of us put on a façade to hide the unpleasant things about us. We shouldn't fall for the false image of perfection put on by others, nor should we try to present that image about ourselves. Because truth be known, we all have undesirable traits about us. We all have seen the ugly parts of life show up in our very own. None of us are faultless or flawless. At one point or another we forget appointments, we run late, we get in bad moods, we acquire a bad attitude or a bad habit, we use the wrong words, we get impatient. Sometimes we find ourselves swimming in debt or our relationship with a spouse or family member is on the rocks.

 

 From far away someone may seem to have a fantastic life. But behind closed doors, her heart may be broken and bruised. Have you ever seen another female and thought something along the lines of, "Women who look like that have it easy. They don't have to worry about their weight or their looks. She is so beautiful!" But if you could see her life under a microscope, you may very well see that she is anything but confident. She might never dream of going out without makeup, and worry about her weight. You might find eating disorders and deep rooted insecurity under the microscope as well.

A seemingly perfect marriage from the outside may be falling apart while no one else is looking.

A successful businessman may be doing all the right things when it comes to his career. He may have all the nicest and newest things money can buy, but if you look closely at his children, you'll see they feel unloved and abandoned by their absent father.

 

A lot of the time, we can choose how we want to portray our lives to the world. And a lot of the time, the rest of the world will fall for it. But if we were all honest, we would all admit that our lives are often messy. We are broken people, and our entire species is full of flaws. Romans 2:23 says ALL have fallen short.  John 16:33 says we WILL have tribulation in this world.

 

That is why we are all in need of a perfect savior.

 

We don't have to have it all together, or measure up to worldly standards, because we never will.

We don't have to try desperately to appear flawless to others, because no one on this entire earth is flawless-not one person. Jesus Christ is the only perfect one.

 

All good and perfect things come from above (James 1:17). By this, I know that anything good about me comes from Him. Any good thing that I do is for His glory. Even in my weakness, His power is made perfect! (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). He has all power to clean up the messiness of our lives and to mend and restore all things broken in us. But, how beautiful it is for us to allow Him to USE our brokenness, our mess, our suffering, and turn into a powerful testimony that can change our lives and even the lives of others- all for His glory. If we will let Him, and if we will be honest with our selves and with others, He can create something glorious out of our chaos.

 

Who would want to waste time trying to portray perfection or to fall for perfection in another mortal being when we have a Savior who is waiting for the opportunity to pick up the ugly broken pieces, bind up a heart that needs mending, and polish us so that our lives can truly shine for Him even, in our weaknesses?

 

 



 

 

 

His Grace > Gifts

With today being Valentine's day, I'm sure most of us saw plenty of couples on dates, large vases full of roses, giant teddy bears, and heart shaped boxes full of sweets all weekend! In one way I find it romantic that so many people take the whole day (or whole weekend) to celebrate LOVE! But in some ways, our culture has made Valentine's Day into something negative as well. Our culture has a way of materializing holidays whenever possible (Christmas and Easter for sure!) With that being said, I hope those who received diamonds know that they will eventually lose their sparkle and shine. Roses wilt after a while and chocolate most certainly doesn't last long!

Even Matthew 6:19-21 (ESV) says:
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up yourselves treasures in Heaven where neither moth or rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Please don't misunderstand me! I love to receive gifts and I think it's wonderful to pick out nice and special things for yourself and for others.

I was reminded of this during Valentine's day but the point I'm trying to make doesn't single out a holiday, but rather brings to surface matters of the heart in general.
Things that our flesh desires, like pricey vehicles and all inclusive resorts, aren't the problem. It's our hearts we have to watch more closely. It's one thing for me to buy myself something nice, but it's absolutely something else if I brag about it all day long or hope to make others jealous. It's not healthy if I can't continue to be satisfied with it even if someone else gets a gift "five times better than mine." I'm not just talking about gifts here. Sometimes others seem to have better lives, relationships, etc! Sometimes it isn't just someone's brand spanking new car we wish we were driving...sometimes it's her life we wish we were living! I will reluctantly admit that I've been guilty of this at times. It is usually always followed by quite the strong conviction! That's because God wants to be enough for me (you). He wants us to understand that His grace is sufficient and that He will remain faithful to provide. (2 Corinthians 12:9, Philippians 4:19)  He wants to be our source of joy and completeness, our security.

And that's when I'm brought back to reality, because I don't want to lay my treasures or desires up here in this world or to rely on earthly desires to give me happiness and security. And I know you don't either. Who would? Look at it; It's obvious that one day the earth we live on will be no longer.
1 John 2:17 assures us: "The world and its desires will pass away..." Yes, even the things that our flesh desires will pass away with it.

Is His grace enough for you? Whether ends barely meet or we have plenty of excess when it comes to what money can buy, I pray that He would continue to reveal to each of us that He is more than enough. THE CROSS was enough. He is faithful and gracious, and that is enough to be content. His love for us is worth celebrating every day of the year!

Something New (Isaiah 43:19)

I've always enjoyed reading the blogs of Godly women I've grown to admire. I love reading their honest posts about their struggles and victories. I know the encouragement it gives me and I've often thought about whether or not I could successfully provide some of the same encouragement to other women through writing on a blog forum.

It was always a fleeting thought, though.

Being honest right off the bat, I'll tell you I always thought I didn't have enough struggles or victories to write about. I always figured my life wasn't interesting enough to create a successful blog. On top of that, I don't feel I'm a very creative person, or have the gift of writing in such a way that will hook the reader from the beginning.
Recently though, I've had some thoughts that were on my heart. I felt I needed to share these thoughts-to physically write or type them out. So I would post them on Facebook or on my Instagram account. It was then that several women commented on the posts encouraging me specifically to start a devotional blog for women. I had never said anything to anyone about my desire to start a blog, or write devotional posts to anyone! I was surprised by how specifically God used their comments to confirm my desires about this. I asked them to pray about it with me, and a few months later, I'm typing my first post!

At first, I was hesitant again, even with an undeniable confirmation. I thought "I don't even know many people who read blogs." Then God spoke to my heart, reminding me:

It isn't about me showcasing an interesting life.
It isn't about any talent or creativity that I may or may not have.
It isn't even about having what the Internet world would call a successful blog.
It's about me being obedient to He who has confirmed the desires of my heart even when I'm not sure about them myself.
It's about letting Him use me to encourage even just one woman when she is down and stumbles across one of these posts, showing one young reader that she isn't alone in her struggle, rejoicing in God's victory over me even if no one reads it.

If only one woman is positively impacted by a thought that God has put on my heart that I record here, that's good enough for me. Even if that one woman is just my mom! :)