Living Life for Christ Alone

I sat in the back seat of whatever car I was in at the time, looking out the window, deep in thought.  Something was stirring in me. I can't explain it. You probably wouldn't understand unless you, too have had a similar experience.  The thoughts were heavy ones. Ones of death, of heaven and hell, of lost souls all around me headed in the wrong direction. I watched as cars passed us, seeing the faces inside, deeply bothered that I did not know the state of their souls.  "God, show me what You see when You see those people out there," I prayed silently.  My heart grew heavier. Tears of anguish have fallen since.  This is no petty issue I am talking about. God's heart towards others is much bigger than we assume.   The past ten or so years since this prayer have been a slow opening of my eyes in answer to it. He's wanted me to see, really see... He wants you to see too.  Since then, I thought I was called to the mission field "out there," but God se...

"By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us...." (1 John 3:16) We do not know love any other way.  Until Jesus laid down His life for us, heavenly love wasn't tangible.  Most could only guess what God meant when He told His people He loved them.  But now, He proved His love, like a Lover pursuing a bride, setting aside His glory, giving up His very life, for the world. His love was on full display the whole time He lived here.  It wasn't just that ultimate act on the cross that revealed it.  It was seen in His every response to the world around Him.  It was made visible in His mission -the will of His Father- that defined every action He did.  Laying down His life was laying down not only the physical life He had on this earth, it was also laying down His time, His resources, His comfort, His sleep, His ease, His thoughts, desires and emotions....  And the disciples watched as He did so, floored every time God lowered Himself to se...

"No, Lord, not them..."  There has been a truth that God has been bringing me back to over and over in the course of this past year, and it's simple:  Yes, them.  Let me explain. Sometimes I wonder why it is that we who are in Christ struggle to feel God's love for us...  Could it be in part because we are not willing to be His hands and feet of love to the unlovable? In motherhood, I have tasted God's love in laying down my sleep, my own nourishment, my own emotional stability, and almost every other basic need, for the needs of a baby. Could it be that in laying down our lives for the people we don't want to love, we will discover more depths to God's love than we ever dreamed possible? It is our human tendency to love to a limit, but no farther. Believe me, motherhood helps me discover my own limits fast. But what if God's desire were to give us a taste of the limitlessness of His love by calling us beyond our comfort zones and set boundaries?   Wha...

"...I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God's mysterious plan, which is...." (Colossians 2:2) How would you finish that sentence?  I think some might launch into a long theological answer. Others might simply say, "to get glory for Himself."  Some might recite some creed they memorized a long time ago. Still more might be stumped and say nothing. Another might talk about the big dreams they believe God has for them. I'm not saying none of these are good or needed.... But what if God's mysterious plan was something incredibly simple?  What if He wants us to get our focus off of doctrine and theology alone and onto something far deeper, that touches the heart?  What if He wants us to stop pursuing some incredibly high calling, or spiritual greatness and turn our attention elsewhere?  What if He means for us to be completely awestruck with His mysterious plan because it's incredibly simple, yet profound?  Alright, alright... wha...

“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.” –John 15:18 These words forge upstream in a world where our natural inclination is to be the most well-liked, popular person we could be. But Jesus spoke these words without hesitation or shame. He spoke them right before He was to be crucified on a cross. He spoke them knowing most of the men hearing His words that day would one day be martyred for their faith in Him. He spoke them knowing that they would be written down for people like you and I to read and marvel at how difficult those words are to embrace. He spoke them so that we would not be disillusioned when people reject us for following Him with our whole heart. He spoke them so that we would not be surprised when people don’t like us talking about Him. He spoke them so we would count the cost before we make a stand for Jesus in a world where people don’t want God. He spoke them so that we would know they aren’t rejecting us, but Him. ...

"...And the people ran out of food again..." (Mark 8:1) This short little phrase jumped out to me as I read the passage in Mark 8. Perhaps because this kind of thing happens to me all the time. My food is a little different than theirs was on that day. Sometimes it's strength to get through the day. I might have found it in approval from someone or based on the circumstances that are in front of me. Other times it's patience with someone I simply  can't  be patient with... I muster up all the strength I've got to bite my tongue so that I don't say something I'll regret later.

Only a couple of weeks ago, I was asked to consider going to Australia and New Zealand to help with some girls retreats over there. These retreats are called Journey to the Heart. They are ten days long and girls come to get away from everything so they can get alone with God and find out more of His heart. It is incredible the things that God does on the retreats! I've been doing them for several years, and have watched as God changed life after life.

"Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. Whosoever will save his life shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it." I have been studying this passage for the past week or so, and one thing that I didn't notice at first glance completely changed my perspective on the verse when I finally saw it. It is found in a phrase that occurs twice: "Whosoever will." Both times, "whosoever will" in the Greek means, whoever wants to  or purposes to.  It's not enough!  "Whosoever will come after me..." In our American church, it's easy to become introspective and look for a  desire in yourself to come after Jesus. You might be asked, "do you want  to live for Jesus?" and you say "Yes." Somehow that answer is enough, and we need not worry further as to our spiritual state.

Today, I want to talk about death...  Many of you read that, and whoever was sitting nearest you heard a sharp intake of breath.  No, I am not talking about physical death.  I'm talking about a different kind of death. I alluded to it in my last post, but I must talk more specifically about it, since I myself have been meditating on it more in depth, and praying about it, and seeking to apply it to my own life over the past week. 

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.

We all, as children of our heavenly Father, have a choice every day... " 'Listen to Me, O my people, while I give you stern warnings. O Israel, if you would only listen to Me! You must never have a foreign god; you must not bow down before a false god. For it was I, the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things.'" -Ps. 81:8-10 Do we ever stop to think that God is a jealous God? He loves us so much that when we forsake Him for a false god, He burns with jealousy and is deeply grieved. He wants us so badly to give our whole hearts to Him that He sternly warns us, "Please, please do not bow down to a false god!"