Living Life for Christ Alone

"The Lord rewarded me for doing right. He has seen my innocence." Psalm 18:24 I have been giving this verse a lot of thought lately.  Maybe it's because it makes me question who in the world could possibly claim such a thing before God. Yet at the same time, I'm strangely drawn to the confidence with which the psalmist said it. I mean, seriously though. If you think about who God is, and how He knows us through and through, it seems almost foolish to make such a claim to Him. In case you're not tracking with me, let me explain... Remember that day when you went the whole day doing everything perfectly?  You got up right when the alarm went off and shouted, "Praise God!" rejoicing the whole day while simultaneously doing everything He had for you to do that day for His glory AND serving every person you came into contact with by pouring out every ounce of strength you had with the right motives, while still wearing a smile on your face and not having a hi...

A few nights ago, I began to pray through the things that were bothering me most about my life. So many things had been throwing me off balance, and I was definitely not  content with where I was. After praying through everything, I settled down and whispered to my God, "I'm Yours."  Without hesitation, He whispered back to me, "Sandie, I'm yours." 

"And now abides faith, hope, love; these three; but the greatest of these is love. "                   - 1 Corinthians 13: 13 A question gnawed at my mind as I considered the sentence above. Why would love be more important than faith and hope? The world is filled with unfair circumstances. Life seems to always be getting messed up. You'd think maybe hope would be most needed. And what about faith? Isn't that the key to pleasing God? Wouldn't faith be most important, because faith pleases God? Didn't He create us for His glory? (Hebrews 11:6) But, no... the verse clearly said, "...the greatest of these is love." It is amazing how when you go to the bible with a need for one thing, if you truly are searching, God will show you something better than what you were looking for. I had been searching for hope. I was getting to a place where I wondered if there was any. As I searched for verses on hope, I realized that God is the God of hop...

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?

"Christ is all; and in all." (Colossians 3:11) Christian... Don't look for identity in what you do or who people say you are. Christ has made you a child of God! Don't seek protection in people you have in your life. Christ has made God to be your Protector in every situation. Don't look for acceptance from friends or people you respect. Christ has made you acceptable to God. Don't search for fulfillment in friendships. Christ has already said that you are His friend, and who could be a better friend than Jesus? Leave off the search for love in a boyfriend or girlfriend. Christ has made you complete in Himself! Never give in to the idea that you are as secure as the people and friends make you to be. Christ has given you eternal security in Himself! Don't seek to ease the guilt that comes when you fail by running to temporary pleasures! Christ has forgiven you once for all! You are washed in the blood and that never will need to be repeate...