About WHO?

This morning, as I spent my time alone with God, I sat in the van, doors shut, sun rising over the horizon, starting to warm up the place where I sat. One question seemed to dominate my thoughts...

How do I know I'm useful in God's opinion? 

For the past 24 hours, a feeling had been threatening to dominate my actions. "I don't really matter in the bigger scheme of things." That's how I felt, and I knew that there was only one place this lie could melt away. That would be in God's presence. So, here I was, sitting in the car before God, asking Him my question, waiting for an answer. 

I knew that whatever God gives me to do is important. Nothing can change that. But, for some reason, I felt unseen, unimportant to everyone else. 

As I opened up my bible to search for His answer to my question, my eye fell upon several different verses that talked about Jesus. 

I have been "...united... with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Him to be wisdom itself...." (1 Cor. 1:30) 

And then I started to pray Col. 1:15-20 back to Jesus. 

"Jesus, You are the visible image of the invisible God. You existed before anything was created and are supreme over all creation... You existed before anything else and hold all creation together... Through you God reconciled me to Himself, He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of YOUR blood on the cross...." 

All of a sudden it hit me. IT'S NOT ABOUT ME, IT'S ABOUT JESUS!!!!! 

I don't need to change me to become more useful to God. JESUS makes the difference in my life! He is the one its all about. I am not the one I am to live for, JESUS is! 

Ah, what Jesus did was incredible....

I was once his enemy, "separated from Him by [my] evil thoughts and actions. Yet now He has reconciled [me] to Himself through the death of Christ in His physical body. As a result, He has brought [me] into His own presence and [I am] holy and blameless as [I] stand before Him without a single fault." (Col. 1:21-22)

Wow! What an amazing thing Jesus has done. Christians, if we aren't living life for Him, then we are missing the point...

When we are tools in His hands, we are useful, but it is because HE makes us so, and HE gets the glory for such works that HE chooses to do. 

Never Again...

    The cage was old and rickety, but it still served its purpose. An odor of death seemed to penetrate every ounce of air that was in the vicinity. A thick darkness surrounded the cage. Within the cage lay a small, almost lifeless, girl. She was starved and dirty, and if one were to look into her eyes, a hint of despair and hopelessness could be seen there.

    Outside the cage sat a cruel old man, guarding the doorway so none could get in or out. He held in his hands a weapon that none could distinguish in our modern world. His eyes lurched to and fro, looking for anyone who would assay to set the girl free.

   Suddenly, out of the distance, the girl could hear a cry. At first it was faint, but soon it became louder and clear. The voice was crying for joy, “I’m free! My cage is broken! I don’t have to be trapped in there anymore!”

   The girl was stirred from her resting place. She sat up and looked around. Her eyes were blinded by the darkness, but she could hear the voice, almost as though it were talking to her. “You can be free, too…” It whispered. Was it her imagination?

   “Don’t listen to that,” The old man grunted in anger. “If you do, I’ll kill you.”

For a brief second, the voice was silent, but then it came back. “You can be free too. Just ask Him. His name is Jesus.”

   Who is Jesus? She wondered. Almost as though the voice heard her, it explained, “He is the Son of God. He has paid for your sin and can set you free. Ask Him.”

   What could she lose? “Jesus, set me free!” She cried in a weak, but determined voice.

  “NO!” The old man cried. In that instant, a man dressed like a King appeared out of nowhere. He held a light that seemed to frighten the old man. “You can’t do this!” The old man shouted.

  “Ah, but I already have.” The other said. He then proceeded to take the weapon out of the old man’s hands and smashed it onto the ground. “You cannot have her anymore. I have already set her free. Now leave!” At that, the old man got up and ran. At that instant, the girl could see the lock on the cage door crumble. The man pulled the door open and helped her off the ground. 

   “You are free, my daughter. Never again do you have to be trapped in this cage. There is no more lock on this door. Remember that. Never again.” 

"...The trap is broken, and we are free!" -Psalm 124:7 NLT

  If you have received Christ as Savior, you are free as well. The cage is broken, it no longer works. But often times, that old man will come back, lure you back into his cage, and then he will tell you, "You can't get out. There is no way out of this sin." 

  Have you ever dealt with that lie? Maybe it came in the form of, "I can't stop _____." Or maybe recently you broke the habit of a particular sin, and the lie lingers in the back of your mind, "One day I'll be doing it again. I can't stay free forever!" 

  But, Christian, if Christ has broken the lock, it is truly broken! You can get back into that cage all you want, but you will NEVER be trapped in it. You have only to push on the door and it will swing wide open! 

  If Christ has set you free, you are free indeed! (John 8:36) When He said, "Never again," that is what He meant. 

   "But," you may be thinking, "I feel trapped. I feel like I'm in bondage." Satan has lied to you. With every temptation, there is a way of escape. JESUS is that way of escape! 

  "Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord; for He shall puck my feet out of the net." -Psalm 25:15

  Believe Him, dear Christian. He freed you once. Turn your eyes to Him. He is your only hope. He is your Salvation, not just for eternity, but for every day!

I'm back... :)

Hey everyone! Wow! I've gone WAY too long without posting on here, but I'm back. After months of being too busy to get on here, whether because of travelling, Christmas, etc. I'm now back, and hoping to start writing on a more regular basis. Having just returned from Australia several weeks ago, God is constantly reminding me of HIS amazing power, which has the capacity to change lives!

I was reading in Colossians this morning, paying close attention to who Jesus is and what He has done, and it is SO amazing how incredibly great HE is! He is the satisfaction of all our needs, the One who completes us, the one who gives us strength and who makes us holy enough to get into God's presence, He is all and in all.

His sacrifice on the cross is SO incredibly powerful! I'm so excited to share with all of you more (later... lol) just how amazing He is.

Thank you all so much for your patience as I have been away from my computer so long... Looking forward to sharing with you more about our awesome God!

Still Praising

"Blessed are they that dwell in Thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah." Psalm 84:4

Time of prayer was had, and we get up from our knees, praising God. Lifting high His name. We leave the closet, leave the place where secrets where whispered, grace was given, love was received -we leave it and forget it, almost as though it didn't happen- and we go about our business, forgetting the precious moments we had with the Savior.

And then, clouds roll over our Christian life, thunder rumbles, lightning strikes, we are dealt hatred by those we love, unkind words from those we cherish. People turn on us. We lose our most precious belongings to tragedies. Trials come that were completely unexpected. Things don't go our way.

...And what do we do? What is the first thing we run to? Some run to food as their solace, others to a room to be alone, while still others stuff their feelings into a deep crevice, hoping they're never revived again. Some whisper words of anger at themselves, others curse God. "Why have You done this?" They cry. "I don't deserve another trial! I serve You! I love You! How could You do this to me?"

But none that do those things receive any kind of true relief from their pain. Only more pain is received. Sometimes temporary solace is found, but then pain returns and anger burns hotter than before.

But then we fail to notice the few -oh, a select few- that stood firm through the storm. Their anchor was deeply founded on a Rock, still hooked in, not daring to let go. Their hearts' response to the storm is, "Bless the Lord, Oh my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name."

They lift up praise to Him without hesitation.

Why do they know He is worthy? Why are they still praising Him? Because those who dwell in God's presence -who stay there and don't leave- have no reason to stop praising Him. Life is dim in comparison to His presence. Circumstances can't shake them. Peace is their dwelling place. Every storm is still real to them, but God presence is greater still. And His name is so powerful that it is His name they praise in every circumstance.

These are the people who take their cares to God -no matter what the care may be. They are the ones who cast them at His feet and trust Him... still praising Him in every circumstance.

Safe?

When we think of God, what exactly do we think? Is He safe?

I believe that in many hearts of many people, we believe God is unsafe. You sin and you had better not go near Him. If you tried, He will punish you in some way. Sure, He loves you, but when you associate yourself with sin, He no longer associates Himself with you.

But... is that true?

Now God hates sin. And He even hates it when we go and associate ourselves with it. He especially hates it when we make friends of it and hang out with it. But here is one truth we never seem to get, and therefore, we get scared to go near Him because of our disbelief: HE LOVES US!

No, he doesn't love it when we sin, as a matter of fact, He will go and discipline us for it, but He loves us through it all. As a matter of fact, His chiefest goal is to get us out of it by means of His great love. To extricate us from its grasp so we can be free to have an intimate, special relationship with Him.

God is, in fact safe! Satan's goal is to make us think that going near God would be a disaster, but that is so not the case. Going to Him will be a soothing balm, a place of quiet relief, a place of comfort and release, acceptance and love, grace and strength, might, power, and complete satisfaction. Not a place of rejection and hatred!

Oh, how the devil loves to paint nasty portraits of our God! How he loves to distort His character and make Him appear weak or hateful! Listen to his lies, and God will no longer be your refuge and strength. He will not be safe for you. But it won't be God's fault, it will be the fault of your perception gotten from the mouth of the devil.

The psalmist put it correctly when he said, "Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty."

His next words are so important for us: "This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God., and I trust Him."

We must declare this truth to us daily, else the devil will continue to paint and sketch pictures of God that will distort His beauty! We must tell ourselves, "God is my only Refuge, my place of safety! I cannot go anywhere else to be safe, but in Him!"

There is only one place where true rest is found, where we truly are safe, and that is with Him in His very presence, running into His tower of strength.

One of my favorite verses is Proverbs 18:10: "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it and is safe."

Run into that tower and you will be safe. There is no safer, more secure place than in God's very presence.

Every Girl's Battle

I walked all alone down the leaf-strewn sidewalk, my hands in my pockets. A dark figure came out of the shadows and walked towards me. I could not make out who it was, but I sensed an evil about him -an evil that threatened my beautiful surroundings. And then he spoke in a forceful tone. "You had better face it. You are alone, and it will always be that way. Nobody really loves you. You just think they do. Really, though, you are alone."

I tried to fight back the tears as the reality of his words sank in. Was it really true? People seemed to like me, but really, did they?

It seemed true enough. I was all alone in this world. Nobody really wanted to know what I had to say or think. It was just me, and that was it. Deep in thought, I failed to notice that the dark figure had left me to think about his lies alone.

What was I to do? As I molled it over in my mind, a voice whispered softly in my ear, "Talk to Jesus."

"Lord Jesus, I feel alone right now," I spoke aloud, daring to disrupt the silence with my voice.

And then it happened. Jesus was there beside me, walking with me over the many fall leaves towards my destination. His kind voice penetrated the wounds that had just been dealt.

"My daughter, you are not alone. I have promised that I would never leave you nor forsake you." And then He did something I did not expect. He offered me His hand.

I looked at His hand, unsure whether I should take it or not. My hands were still in my pockets- they seemed glued there. Could I trust Him? That same gentle whisper: "You can trust Him."

Slowly, I slipped my hand out of my pocket and placed it in His. No, this was no joke. Jesus meant to walk with me every step of the way.

...This kind of battle goes on in every girl's life. But Jesus calls us to remember that He is always there. He is the perfect Friend. Satan's goal is to get your eyes off of Him, and if he can succeed, then he has won most of the battle already.

Get your eyes on Jesus, dear girls!

Heart to Heart

Ok, so its been a while since I last wrote on here. I must say, much has gone on since that last post. God has done much. Many lives have been touched by His great grace and unending love. There have been times when I've felt like crying for joy as I watched Him reach through my feeble life and touch some person's hurting heart. You know, God is so capable of binding up broken hearts!

Recently, I was feeling cold and weary. Empty of goodness, because I had passed it on to all and forgotten to get "refills" from God, I struggled to find rest in His presence, but it would not come. I went to pray, and couldn't form my feelings into sentences.

Finally, I sat down on my bed, got my journal out and wrote a letter to God, expressing exactly how I felt. Finally, the words came. Crying, I confessed to God the coldness towards Him that were painful to put into words. Then, life was breathed into my soul that had been slowly seeping out. 

God's love began to wash over me in that moment of time. His grace was given. My love and passion for Him was renewed.

Do you feel like nobody understands you? His presence is the place to go. David often poured out his heart to God on paper. Read the Psalms. They show a man who's heart is often hurting, but is not afraid to tell God about it.

Go to God and let Him breathe life into you!